Liverpool — Like it or not, we’ll all spend a lot more time buried in the cemetery than we ever spent above ground. That being the case, it behooves us to keep our village graveyard well maintained and convenient for visitors.
Since it was established some 170 years ago, the Liverpool Village Cemetery stands as a tactile representation of our rich history as a community. We owe it to those who lay at rest there — including Liverpool’s earliest settlers, its Civil War veterans and the countless movers and shakers of village life over the decades — to celebrate the cemetery as a priceless historic landmark.
Last year, the Village Cemetery Committee, a citizens’ advisory group led by Zoning Board Chairman Dr. Michael Romano, officially secured listings for the cemetery on both national and state Registers of Historic Places. Romano believes those official designations will help the cemetery qualify for government grants to fund future upkeep and renovation.
‘Past, present and future’
Residents will learn more about the committee and its work at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 14, at Liverpool Public Library, when Romano and Village Historian Dorianne Gutierrez present a multi-media program called “Liverpool Cemetery: Past, Present and Future.”
“A small group of us met on Nov. 19 at the Gleason Mansion to prepare for the Jan. 14 program,” Romano said, “and all indications are that this presentation will be both informative and exciting.”
Initial grant denied
Unfortunately, on Dec. 10 the committee was informed that its recently Consolidated Funding Application was rejected by New York state. The bad news was reported by Pat Heaton, director of cultural resources for Environmental Design & Research, a landscape architecture consulting firm from Syracuse, which has been hired by the cemetery committee.
“We share your disappointment that our grant application was not successful,” Heaton wrote in an email to committee members.
continued — The published list of 2015’s successful CFA grant applicants is available here:
ny.gov/sites/ny.gov/files/atoms/files/REDCAwardsBooklet2015.pdf.
Ramps crumbling
But with the cemetery’s historic designations in place, the CFA snub will only be a minor setback, one that will spur future efforts to secure funds.
More than 3,500 persons have been buried in the graveyard since it was established in the mid-1840s. Approximately 200 plots remain vacant, and another dozen or so are available for cremains only.
The cemetery is bounded on the east and west by Tulip and Alder streets and by Fifth and Sixth streets on the south and north. Two roads run crosswise through the cemetery.
For more than two years, orange mesh fences have blocked motorists from driving on the two-ramp entrance to the cemetery on Tulip Street. In fact, even walking on it could be hazardous because the stone retaining wall is crumbling.
The cemetery was established circa 1846, but the Tulip Street ramps probably date back to the early 20th century.
Come hear some of the cemetery’s stories on Jan. 14 at the library. You’ll learn about the current challenges in maintaining and preserving the grounds and about what the future holds for this peaceful, picturesque community treasure.
King of kings
Epiphany is defined by the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary as “the evening of the fifth of January, preceding Twelfth Day, the eve of the Epiphany, formerly the last day of the Christmas festivities and observed as a time of merrymaking.”
Last year a local tavern shared with its patrons a colorful and tasty Twelfth Night tradition from New Orleans. Tom Taylor’s Muddy Waters Kitchen & Bar, 2 Oswego St., right on the Seneca River below Sammy Malone’s in Baldwinsville topped off its Big Easy cuisine by serving King Cakes.
In New Orleans, a ring-shaped cake known as a “King Cake” (as in the three kings) is customarily served from the twelfth day of Christmas (also known as Epiphany) through Mardi Gras (the day before Ash Wednesday).
The baby Jesus is represented by a small, plastic doll inserted into the cake from underneath, and the person who gets the slice with the figurine is expected to bake the next King Cake.
Desserts at Muddy’s include beignets, bread pudding peanut bacon brittle and French Quarter cheesecake, but ‘tis the season for King Cake, y’all!
For info, visit muddywatersbville.com, or call 635-8500.
The columnist can be contacted at [email protected].
