Happy Halloween ... From Sleepy Hollow Cemetery

Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord Massachusetts isn't the least bit frightening.  I have visited several times and find the historical graves rather interesting.  Here in this modest grave rests the famous Harvard graduate, American  author, philosopher and poet Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862).  Many of you will remember him for his book Walden or from some of his famous quotes. "Be true to your work, your word, and your friends."
Buried nearby on Authors ridge is Thoreau's friend Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)  another Harvard graduate was a prominent member of the Transcendentalist Movement.  Emerson's final resting place is more ornate than the other authors on the ridge, yet still rather simple by today's standards.  Most of Emerson famous essays were written for the 1500 lectures he gave. "Do not go where the path may lead, instead go where there is no path and leave a trail."  I have always loved that quote.

Is there a girl out there who hasn't read Little Women written by Louisa May Alcott ?  (1832-1888) The novel is based loosely on her life with her sisters in their home in Concord MA..  Louisa was also a feminist and was the first women to vote in a school election in Concord.   Her father was Bronson Alcott another famous member of the Transcendentalist Club and who was also the founder of the Utopian Fruitlands in Harvard Ma.   You might remember from an earlier post, I visit there quite often.  Louisa has so many notable quotes it is hard to choose just one,  so I will choose two that have been meaningful to me.  "Stay is a charming word in a friends vocabulary." the other "Far away in the sunshine are my aspirations, I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead."



Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) is another famous author and friend of Emerson and Thoreau.  The  Scarlett Letter and The House of Seven Gables  are two of the more notable books written by Hawthorne. I can remember reading The Scarlett Letter in high school and my heart aching for Hester Prynne. Great book!!    One more inspirational quote.  "Happiness is like a butterfly, which, when pursued, is always beyond our grasp, but, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you."

I hope you  have enjoyed your Halloween visit to Authors Ridge at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery.