HPA’s very own “Tsarina of Tours,” Mary Falvey led a Civil War tour of Cedar Hill Cemetery on Saturday. Mary is currently working on a personal research project to document all of the veterans buried in Hartford cemeteries who served during “the War of the Rebellion” and has just started to blog about it at www.hartfordinthecivilwar.com. The indefatigable group who braved the inclement weather was treated to a walk through history. It can be said that Mary did a great job bringing alive a time when Hartford as well the country was touched by men (and women) as they marched off to war. Of course this history is made more real with the knowledge that Harriet Beecher Stowe, a Hartford resident, wrote “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” which did so much to spark the anti-slavery movement. Indeed Hartford history is entwined with the Civil War. Thanks to Mary’s terrific tour we learned about the lives, loves and defections of people buried in this cemetery.
I had the great pleasure to meet Beverly Lucas who is the executive director of the Cedar Hill Foundation. There is little doubt of her passion for the work as evident when she speaks about the many and varied events on the Foundation’s calendar. Cedar Hill Cemetery Foundation’s mission is to preserve, protect and promote in perpetuity the art, culture, history and natural beauty of Hartford’s nationally-recognized (and National Register listed) Cedar Hill Cemetery. The list of events is terrific and ongoing and their Haunted Halloween Lantern Tour plays to sell-out crowds every year.