Around Town
Living Among the Dead in the Old Burying Ground
Efforts to preserve the Old Burying Ground’s historical and aesthetic legacy have given rise to an entirely new set of questions: Who gets memorialized after death, and why? What makes us devote money and manpower to the upkeep of a graveyard so old that no surviving descendants are left to visit? And what does all of it say about us now?
skull and crossbones grave
The tombstones are remnants of Puritan-era craftsmanship that the Fannins take pride in preserving. Many of them are painstakingly carved with images of the “death’s head” — a foreboding, winged skull, etched alongside phrases like “memento mori” (remember you must die) and “fugit hora” (the hour flies).
Old Burying Ground
The Old Burying Ground, the oldest surviving graveyard in Cambridge, is a fixture of Harvard Square. Over the past two decades, efforts to maintain the cemetery have drawn together a wide swath of Cambridge residents, historians, scholars, and preservationists.
Easter Graveyard
Volunteers are busy scattering rainbow plastic eggs for the annual Easter egg hunt.
Haimo and Pastreich B+W Print
Henry N. Haimo ’24 (left) and Julia K. Pastreich ’25 (right) prepare a black and white print at the Bow & Arrow Press in Adams House.
Bow and Arrow Print
A print the writers helped make on the last print run of Bow & Arrow Press. The black manicule points to its former location at the intersection of Bow Street and Arrow Street.
Inside Bow & Arrow Press’ Final Days in Adams House
Through hours long visits to the Bow & Arrow Press, we discover a vibrant and passionate community in celebration and sadness. It is the week of the Press’ 45th anniversary — it is also the week that the Press learns of its imminent closure.
