These New England Graves—from Kerouac’s to a Titanic Survivor’s—Are Worth Planning a Day Trip Around
Plan a Massachusetts day trip this month around some of the most famous dead people in New England. Who should you pay your respects to? We tell you where the remains of three famous New Englanders lie and what the cities of their final resting places have to offer (Egg in a Jar, anyone?).
Isabella Stewart Gardner, art collector and philanthropist, Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge
Isabella Stewart Gardner and the grave in Cambridge where she rests.
Start your day at Cambridge’s Mount Auburn Cemetery, America’s first garden cemetery and a National Historic Landmark. It’s where Isabella Stewart Gardner is buried.
Stewart Gardner was an art collector, philanthropist, and passionate Red Sox fan (she celebrated their 1912 win by sporting a headband emblazoned with “Oh you Red Sox!’’ to a formal concert at Symphony Hall). She died in 1924 at the age of 84. You could visit the vast collection of art at the museum that bears her name, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Musuem, but then you’d have to trek all the way over to Boston. We’re keeping you in Cambridge, so we’re sending you to the MIT Museum .
Make Stewart Gardner proud by catching a talk, workshop, or exhibit such as “Daguerre’s American Legacy: Photographic Portraits (1840-1900) from the William B. Becker Collection.’’ Gaze at photos depicting 19th century men, women, and children (taken during Stewart Gardner’s lifetime) in this collection of 170 portraits, cameras, and other photography artifacts from that time. A piece called “Three Men with Fish and Lobster’’ is a tintype taken in 1890 that depicts, you guessed it, three men posing with a fish and a lobster. Save $10 per adult ticket by exploring the museum the last Sunday of the month, when the museum is free to the public.
Hungry? Head over to West Bridge, one of Bon Appetit’s 50 nominees for best new restaurant in 2013. Visitors rave about a dish called Egg in Jar, which consists of a duck egg, hen-of-the-woods mushrooms, and potato puree. We wonder if Stewart Gardner would have ordered it.
Jack Kerouac, Beat Generation author, Edson Cemetery, Lowell
Jaxk Kerouac and the grave in Lowell where he’s buried.
Is your copy of “On the Road’’ weathered and worn? Put down the book (or better yet, take it with you) and head to Lowell to pay your respects to its iconic author Jack Kerouac.
The Beat Generation author and Lowell native died in 1969 at the age of 47. He’s buried at Edson Cemetery. If you’ve been there before, it’s worth going back to see the grave’s makeover this fall. It used to be marked with a flat plaque but now includes a monument that reads “The Road is Life.’’ The words were taken, of course, from “On the Road,’’ his best known book.
“Everybody goes home in October,’’ wrote Kerouac in “On the Road.’’ You can go to Kerouac’s home, literally, by driving to 9 Lupine Road, where Kerouac was born in March of 1922. It’s a two-story brown house with yellow trim in Centralville.
Keep your Kerouac vibe going by heading to “Up You Go, Little Smoke — “The Holy Hipness of Jack Kerouac’’ at 119 Gallery, a multimedia installation about Kerouac that includes large collages, charcoal portraits, aged photos, and more. Check it out October 29 through Nov. 1.
Have you worked up an appetite? In honor of Kerouac’s adventurous spirit, head to Lowell’s up-and-coming “Little Cambodia.’’ You’ll probably need to set your GPS to 26 Lincoln St. to locate this small area of winding and narrow streets just outside of downtown.
The former mill town used to be home to mostly French Canadian (like Kerouac) and Irish immigrants. In the ‘70s and ‘80s, waves of Cambodians settled in Lowell, which today boasts one of the largest populations of Cambodians outside of Cambodia, according to the Associated Press.
Lincoln Street is home to the authentic Cambodian food at Simply Khmer Restaurant. Order the classic dish beef loc lac — seared beef marinated and cooked in a sauce made with garlic, soy sauce, and sugar. Or try the $22 alligator dish. Too much adventure for you? The restaurant’s popular hot wings are a good bet.
Lillian Gertrud Asplund, longest-living US Titanic survivor, All Faiths Cemetery, Worcester
Lillian Gertrud Asplund and her grave in Worcester.
Are you a “Titanic’’-a-holic? Have you watched the movie 100 times?
Turn off the TV and head to Worcester to visit the grave of the longest-living American Titantic survivor, Lillian Gertrud Asplund. She died in 2006 at the age of 100 and is buried in All Faiths Cemetery.
The Worcester-born Asplund was just 5 years old when the ship went down. She was traveling back from visiting family in Sweden. Asplund was rescued along with her mother and brother. Her father and three brothers (including her twin) all died in the infamous disaster.
She refused to discuss the incident for most of her quiet life, but encyclopedia-titanica.org offers this glimpse into the rescue: “…she remembered being passed through what she described as a window (later identified as the First Class Promenade Deck) into a descending lifeboat and looking back up at the sinking Titanic. Having left 3 of her brothers, including her twin, Carl, and her father onboard the doomed ship, she maintains she was haunted by their faces peering over the rail at her for much of her life. She recalled her father was holding her twin and her 2 older brothers were on each side of them.’’
After you leave the cemetery, grab lunch or dinner on Shrewsbury Street‘s Restaurant Row which boasts more than 40 eateries. Order a burger, house-made soda, or spiked shake (we’re talking fresh strawberries, rhubarb bitters, and gin) at The Fix or settle in for a juicy steak at 111 Chop House.
Not ready to end your night yet? Head to Ralph’s Rock Diner for “Cinemageddon!’’ The rock diner shows free drive-in movies every Sunday night in the parking lot from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. And you can nosh a late-night snack while you watch — the burger-and-chili joint where Alice in Chains has played will feed you until 12:30 a.m.
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