Woodlawn Boneyard Tour: Sunday, Aug. 10

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Just bringing this up to date, as the graveyard is yawning ever nearer. Those who want to meet us there should go to the Jerome Avenue Gate by 12 noon. The rest of us will gather somewhere in Manhattan and go en masse: since we’ll be taking the #4 express train, we should meet at either Grand Central or Union Square, whichever is most convenient.Oh, it’s a sawbuck apiece for the tour guide.

They are giving us the Show-Biz Tour, which should include memorial statuary to such dead residents as Nora Bayes, Irving Berlin, Vernon and Irene Castle, Geo. M. Cohan, Lotta Crabtree, Smith and Dale (the inspiration for The Sunshine Boys), Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Lionel Hampton, W.C. Handy, Victor Herbert, Marilyn Miller, Florence Mills (famed Harlem dancer), Otto Preminger, Olive Thomas, Laurette Taylor, and Nat Wills.

So far, we have yesses or maybes from my friends Michael, Terry, Fern, Thea (and maybe her luscious Barbie Twins?) and Brenda; and Dopers Ukulele Ike, Oxymoron, Stuyguy, The Scrivener, Zebra, Mehitabel, Sunfish, CWN, Juniper200, Vix, Billdo, NotWithoutRage, and GrandfatherTrout. Any additions or cancellations?

You religious types might wanna pray for nice weather . . .

2

put me in as 80% in.

3

Is that 80% from the head down, or the feet up?

4

I’ll most likely be there, depending on which part of rocking chair is missing. I’d have no problem going around a cemetery with an amputee, but a headless woman might even be a bit too creepy for me. :slight_smile:

5

How I regret not living in NYC! And until I get a #%^ job, the SO and I have to hold off on any more trips. . . Oh, well, I’ll be in the graveyard eventually.

6

i bought a lovely new hat from these cute red head chaps in diagon alley. it seems to have quite a reaction from the ordinary person on the street.

the missing 20% would be family/work/cat crisis. i was rather bummed to miss the previous tour.

will there be grave dancing?

7

Sounds really interesting!
What exactly do you folks do when you go out there?
I have a friend who offered to help me get down to New Orleans and see some of their bury patches but I have a hard time getting away from the heathens.
But the heathens do love to go to the local bury patches with me all the time. They love to look at the dates and the names and try to put stories together about family plots.
And we also take pictures to see if anybody turns up. They like that part also.
I think I got one of the most unusual home made mothers day card from my son.
“I love my mom because she takes me to the simetary” And then next line down mentions “to feed the burds”
We have a pond in one of the cemetaries and after we mill around a bit we go and fee the ducks.
He also metioned that I take him to the hospital alot. (chronic illness)
But I bet his teacher thinks we are the Addams family. He drew a picture of a tombstone with a child sitting on top of it with birds that look like bats!

If anybody takes pictures will they be posted? And do you usually have a wrap up thread like after dope fests?

8

As far as I know, this is the second NYC Straight Dope cemetary tour. The first was at Green Wood cemetary a few weeks back.

On the Green Wood tour, there was a local guide who escorted us around and pointed out the gravesites of well-known people or those that had interesting anecdotes or monuments. Following the tour, several of us went to a tavern for lunch, beer, and conversation. Pictures and a wrap up thread were posted.

9

I’ll meet you guys in Manhattan this time. Glad to hear we’ll be including Duke Ellington and W.C. Handy.

The Duke’s grave is hard to miss (he’s the only guy in Woodlawn with a double marker, as his plot is divided by a tree), but Handy is way up on a hill near the south wall, and a little tricky to find. He’s planted somewhere near Matthew Henson, the black guy who went with Peary to the Pole. I have NEVER been able to locate his stone.

Bat Masterson’s a bitch to find, too.

10

Duly noted - am hoping to have OxyBF in attendance as well.

11

If you have any particular graves you want to see—entertainment-related or not—call our Friendly Tour Guide, Susan Olsen, at (718) 920-1469, and I’m sure she will accomodate you.

Here is a pretty complete list of all the famous folks planted at Woodlawn.

12

Count me in and one friend. Would you know if this is a walking tour or a tram type thing? Bad sandals would really ruin an otherwise loverly walk (if we’re walking).

13

Just checking in to say this sounds great. Maybe my Dad might come–he was president of the Bronx County Historical Society for a while and I think he knows Susan.

Miamouse, be prepared to walk and walk pretty fast at that. Susan is great but she does tend to walk and talk quickly. Eve, if your poor toe’s still bugging you, let her know and she will slow down, but her default is “brisk”. The last theater tour I took was about two miles of walking, but she’d expanded it a little.

Do people plan to eat in Woodlawn the neighborhood and take the bus back to the 4 (free transfer!! and the staff can drive us to the exit near Webster Avenue.)? That’s my neighborhood and I could steer us to some nice informal places. There’s some places way up on Gunhill Road but otherwise it’s pretty desolate around the end of the 4–Cemetery on one side, Van Cortlandt Park on the other. Pretty safe but pretty food-less.

14

BTW, since I’m already in Woodlawn I’ll meet you guys at the gate, or at the subway entrance if people want a native guide. But the cemetery is pretty hard to miss.

15

Subway entrance, please! I am descended from the Lost Tribes of Israel (I could easily wander through the desert for 40 years, just looking for the #4 train).

16

Hey Mehitabel, I’m in the neighborhood too. :slight_smile: Have you eaten in the Rambling House yet? Food’s not bad, and it has a decent atmosphere. An added plus would be the Bx34 stop virtually across the street, so folks don’t have to stagger too far if they’ve really enjoyed themselves. :wink: Hope your dad comes along too, because I would love to ask him some questions about Woodlawn itself.

**Eve/b] and others, Mehitabel and I can hang out by the station, but don’t worry about missing the gate at all. Whichever side of the street you come down from the Woodlawn end station (the 4 train is elevated through the Bronx), you just have to look at the open space beyond the station to see the cemetary gate.

17

How about if we meet under the big clock/information desk in the main room of Grand Central Terminal, at Park & 42nd?

How long of a subeway ride is it? What time shall we meet in order to get to the Jerome Ave. gate by 11:45?

18

Again, let’s gather under the big clock/information desk in the main room of Grand Central Terminal, at Park & 42nd.

I need to hear from Mehitabel or Sunfish—how long does it take the No. 4 express to get from midtown to Woodlawn? What time should we be on the train to get to Woodlawn by 11:45?

19

On a workday/rush hour it takes 45min-an hour.

IIRC, the 4 is local through Manhattan on Weekends though, so probably longer.

20

Sooo, let’s be down on the tracks at 10:30, to make sure, says Little Miss Better Early Than Late.