Posts Tagged ‘Mt. Zion Cemetery’
Mt Zion 5- Sunken Houses of Sleep
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Steeling myself for the inevitable humiliating encounter with those oddly menacing children who seemed to be waiting for my reemergence on Maurice Avenue, I moved down the hill from the 58th street side of the burial grounds.
Older than my years, vast psychological inadequacies and shameful physical “episodes” render your humble narrator a helpless emotional cripple. Even the thought of direct confrontation with that which may exist around the Newtown Creek- or because of it- is enough to make me lightheaded and coat my skin in cold sweat. Staying out of sight, I broke into a dogtrot instead of my usual scuttle, and continued along the central artery of Mount Zion Cemetery. On the hill is the DSNY’s gargantuan Queens West Garage complex and an accompanying garbage incinerator.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The counterpoint of a Jewish Cemetery next door to an industrial incinerator is obvious and exhibits poor municipal siting, conversely this is probably an ideal location for such industry. Western Queens is the backbone of New York City, from a metropolitan industrial complex’s point of view.
Airports, railroad yards, maritime facilities, petrochemical storage and processing, illegal and legal dumping, sewer plants, waste and recycling facilities, cemeteries. The borders of the Newtown Pentacle’s left ventricle are festooned with heavy industry and the toll taken on the health of both land and population is manifest. A vast national agglutination of technologies and a sprawl of transportation arteries stretching across the continent are all centered on Manhattan- which is powered, fed, and flushed by that which may be found around a shimmering ribbon of abnormality called the Newtown Creek.
from jhom.com
The lion motif was common in the ancient Middle Eastern civilizations as a battling, fighting and attacking force. In the Bible, the lion is portrayed as both capable of destroying and punishing, and of saving and protecting. In ancient Jewish art we find the lions in this protective role, guarding the Holy Ark or at the entrances to the chapel, as in the sculpture of the ancient synagogues at Sardis (in Asia Minor), Horazin and Bar’am (in Palestine), and in many mosaics dating from the early Byzantine period.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
But that’s the “why” of how these people came to be buried in America, of all places.
They weren’t coming to be free (that’s Roosevelt talking), most of them, except to be free of poverty and warfare.
In 1894, when Mrs. Chasnov, (pictured below) was born, the last Tsar of Russia took his throne succeeding his father Tsar Alexander 3. Anarchists were tossing bombs in European capitals, and in New York City- the “Robert Moses” of the 19th century, Andrew Haswell Green, formed the American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society.
In 1894, the last known antichrist was only 5 years old, and lived near Linz.
from wikipedia
The stele, as they are called in an archaeological context, is one of the oldest forms of funerary art. Originally, a tombstone was the stone lid of a stone coffin, or the coffin itself, and a gravestone was the stone slab that was laid over a grave. Now all three terms are also used for markers placed at the head of the grave. Originally graves in the 1700s also contained footstones to demarcate the foot end of the grave. Footstones were rarely carved with more than the deceased’s initials and year of death, and many cemeteries and churchyards have removed them to make cutting the grass easier. Note however that in many UK cemeteries the principal, and indeed only, marker is placed at the foot of the grave.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This is the generation that “it” happened to.
Not these people, of course, who were safe in America- but their cousins and parents and friends who had stayed back in ancient Europe. They saw the Great War play out, displacing millions, and thought that at last the eternal struggles between Hapsburgh and Austrian and Turk and Frenchman and Russian had sorted themselves out.
It wasn’t just Jews, or Irish, or Italians- even the Roma came to America to find work. And the skills possessed by the Cunning Folk were older than the narrow streets of Rome, or the impenetrable complexity of the New York of its time- London, or even the lost city of pillared Irem in the pathless deserts of Arabia.
from nytimes.com
Maspeth is named for the Mespat Indians, who originally settled near what is now Mount Zion Cemetery, on the neighborhood’s edge. In 1642, the first formal colony was established in the area, though conflicts with Indians caused settlers to flee east into what is now Elmhurst.
Mount Olivet Cemetery boasts a much-cherished Manhattan view, and Nathanael West, who wrote “Miss Lonelyhearts” and “The Day of the Locust,” is buried at Mount Zion.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
In Europe, hatred of the Hebrew race has some understandable historical underpinnings. The Moorish and Turk governments employed Jews as officials and clerks, often assigning them as tax collectors to the serf and freeman villages of their conquests. After a period of time, when the islamic tide had been pushed back by Russian, German, Pole, and especially the Wallachian and Hungarian states, the Jews were left behind.
When Peter the Great settled Jews in the so-called “Pale”, it was meant to be a punishment for the Szhlactas and Boyars (Barons and Dukes) who had opposed him. Ultimately, anti-semitism is a political thema which took root and transformed into something cultural.
Hatred of the Roma, though, is something else entirely.
from junipercivic.com
In the vicinity of Mount Zion and lower Calvary cemeteries were swamps. Frogs, polywogs, goldfish were plentiful among the tall cattails and were sport for young boys. Punks were plentiful among the cattails, the plump brown ones were cut down, dried in the sun and when lit gave off an aromatic scent that was not only pleasing to the smell, but was said to keep away mosquitoes which were a nuisance.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Lingering at the suggestively open door of a tomb, trying to ignore the singsong chant of those menacing children, your humble narrator began to once again feel light headed.
also from junipercivic.com
A short distance away along Maurice Avenue, was a Gypsy Camp. A core group of gypsies lived there permanently and others came from far and wide to visit. Colorfully dressed in gypsy regalia, they danced, sang, and partied, cooking suckling pigs on spits over roaring fires and living in ramshackle huts and tents. For them a carefree existence, but I must admit, for the local lads and lassies a somewhat frightening scene and we watched from afar. When a member of the tribe died, the wake was most often held in Vogel’s Funeral Parlor which was located on Grand Avenue opposite the main entrance to Mount Olivet Cemetery. Gypsies from all around the country would come to pay their respects, especially if the deceased was a member of the Royal family.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Metal working, particularly copper smithing, that’s what the Ludar- or as the modern Croats and Bosnians call them- the Rudari- were famed for and that’s most likely how they ended up in Maspeth. That and their skill in training animals.
Ever wonder why the annual tradition of the Circus trains coming to LIC and Maspeth, with its spectacle of Elephants marching through the Midtown Tunnel, started? The Rudari were animal trainers, as well as being copper workers. The metal shaping work was an inheritance- Rudar means miner- which is what this tribe of Roma was forced to do during their enslavement to the princes of Europe. After their suffrage, they became trainers of bears, monkeys, and horses for circuses.
All this continued in America.
Incidentally, in Romania, the Rudari were known as the Ursari. The royal potentate that ruled over them was the Voivode of the Wallachian Throne, seated high in the Carpathian Mountains, and in the 15th century- that throne was occupied by Vlad Tepes.
Dracula, as known in the west, and the gypsies mentioned in Stoker’s book were the Ursari, or Rudari.
from wikipedia
Following the immigration waves of the 19th century, Maspeth was home to a shanty town of Boyash (Ludar) Gypsies between 1925 and 1939, though this was eventually bulldozed.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Just what kind of place is this Newtown Pentacle, anyway?
That’s the last thing I thought, another “very bad idea”, before I passed out again in another dead faint.
The Ludar, or “Romanian Gypsies,” also immigrated to the United States during the great immigration from southern and eastern Europe between 1880 and 1914. Most of the Ludar came from northwestern Bosnia. Upon their arrival in the United States they specialized as animal trainers and showpeople, and indeed passenger manifests show bears and monkeys as a major part of their baggage. Most of de Wendler-Funaro’s photographs of this group were taken in Maspeth, a section of the borough of Queens in New York City, where the Ludar created a “village” of homemade shacks that existed from about 1925 to 1939, when it was razed. A similar settlement stood in the Chicago suburbs during the same period.
Mt Zion 4- A Lurid Shimmering of Pale Light
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Befuddled by the sing song chantie evinced by those horrible children, in whose frog like faces your humble narrator found some nameless dread and whose terrible attention initiated his flight into sylvan Mount Zion, I wandered in a haze of unknowable panic through the 72 acre graveyard. Notions of familiar aspect- the smiling face of “our Lady of the Pentacle”, the friendly greeting of my little dog- Zuzu- kept me grounded and allowed me to ignore some of the macabre details of the landscape. Crazed, however, my racing thoughts began to tangentially ruminate…
from wikipedia
Kevura, or burial, should take place as soon as possible after death. The Torah requires burial as soon as possible, even for executed criminals. This means that burial will usually take place on the same day as death, or, if not possible, the next day. Some Reform and other congregations delay burial to allow more time for far-flung family to come to the funeral and participate in the other post-burial rituals.
The traditional practice may have originated from the fact that Israel was, and is, a country with a hot climate. In Biblical times, there were few ways of keeping the dead body from decomposing. Not only would this be generally undesirable, but allowing the dead body of any person to decompose would be showing that person great disrespect. Decomposition would have occurred especially quickly in Israel due to the constant heat. Thus, the custom of burying the body as soon as possible. (Although the practice of embalming and mummification had advanced to a high level in Egypt, this, too, is considered disrespectful, since it involves a great deal of manipulation and the removal of bodily organs.) In addition, respect for the dead can be seen from many examples in the Torah and Tanakh. For example, one of the last events in the Torah is the death of Moses when God himself buries him: “[God] buried him in the depression in the land of Moab, opposite Beth Peor. No man knows the place that he was buried, even to this day.” (Deuteronomy 34:6)
– photo by Mitch Waxman
My eyes shot from side to side, the tombstones led me to a fortified enclosure, and half remembered minutiae nervously filled my mind…
The tiny stones, often adorned with a lamb, are the graves of children.
Vulnerable to a host of infections which have been conquered by modern science (at least in the west), the large families characteristic of the pre World War 2 era were an insurance policy for a bloodline’s future in a world without antibiotics. Don’t forget, even the son of an American President died in 1862, most likely from Typhoid fever after drinking tainted water. As late as 1963, the son of John Kennedy died from a disease whose mortality is reduced to 15% in modernity. In my own family- Great Grandmother had 13 children, of which only 7 survived to adulthood. Of the 7 survivors- all of whom emigrated to the United States prior to 1920, all of their children (with the exception of one gruesome early death due to a malfunctioning boat propellor) lived into -at least- their late 60’s, and almost all of their grand kids are still around. In the developing world, infant mortality figures are consistent, however, with the larger experience of historical record as represented at Mount Zion.
from wikipedia
Some have a custom to visit the cemetery on fast days (Shulchan Aruch Orach Chayim 559:10) and before Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur (581:4, 605), when possible, and for a Yahrzeit. During the first year the grave may be visited on the shloshim, and the yartzeit.
Even when visiting Jewish graves of someone that the visitor never knew, he or she may place a small stone at the graveside. This shows that someone visited the graveside, and represents permanence. Leaving flowers is not a traditional Jewish practice. Another reason for leaving stones is tending the grave. In Biblical times, gravestones were not used; graves were marked with mounds of stones, so by placing (or replacing) them, one perpetuated the existence of the site. This was also helpful for Cohanim, who needed to avoid spiritual impurity that could be passed on by corpses/graves.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Trapped in a thanatic trance… eternally staring ceramic eyes accusing me… if only those nightmare children would stop their singing…
Many of the older headstones at Mount Zion, whose creeds list the age of the deceased, indicate a world where life was short. Men dropped off in their middle 40’s and 50’s with a few remarkable individuals who survived into their 60’s. Women were either longer lived- no doubt due to the domestic captivity they suffered which insulated them from the dangerous industrial milieu that typified the manufacturing and agricultural occupations of the males- or died in childbirth (leading cause of female mortality throughout recorded history) due to septic conditions or uncontrollable bleeding.
It cannot be stressed enough, how different the lives of these generations were from our own- and whatever its flaws are- that our age represents something wonderful, unique, and unheralded in the rich pageant of human history.
from wikipedia
Odor, color changes, and bloating of the body during decomposition are the results of putrefaction. The lower part of the abdomen turns green due to bacteria activity in the cecum. Bacteria break down hemoglobin into sulfhemoglobin which causes the green color change. A formation of gases enters the abdomen which forces liquids and feces out of the body. The gases also enter the neck and face, causing swelling of the mouth, lips, and tongue. Due to this swelling and misconfiguration of the face, identification of the body can be difficult. Bacteria also enter the venous system causing blood to hemolyze. This leads to the formation of red streaks along the veins. This color soon changes to green, through a process known as marbelization. It can be seen on the shoulders, chest and shoulder area, and thighs. The skin can develop blisters containing serous fluid. The skin also becomes fragile, leading to skin slippage, making it difficult to move a body. Body hair comes off easily. The color change of the discoloration from green to brown marks the transition of the early stage of putrefaction to the advanced decompositional stages.
During the putrefaction stage of decomposition the majority of insect activity again comes from members of the Calliphoridae family, and includes Formicidae, Muscidae, Sphaeroceridae, Silphidae, Lepidoptera, Hymenoptera, Sarcophagidae, Histeridae, Staphylinidae, Phalangida, Piophilidae, Araneae, Sepsidae, and Phoridae. As with the fresh stage of decomposition if the body is on the ground or buried in soil there is also considerable insect activity by the soil-inhabiting arthropods.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The generations born after Napoleon and after the American Civil War- with their legendary corruption, abhorrent wars of genocide, and brutal subjugation of the ancient East- conversely built the edifice of Modernity. The “system”- university education, compulsory literacy, sewer systems, municipal projects of great scope, the elevation of law and finance over heredity and martial prowess, universal suffrage, the corporations. They are the ones who built it, their kids and grandchildren proved it’s efficacy in the second thirty years war (ww1 and ww2), their great grandkids rebelled against it. We are the ones who live in what’s left of it.
from wikipedia
After the body goes through the bloating stage it begins the black putrefaction stage. At this point the body cavity ruptures, the abdominal gases escape and the body darkens from its greenish color. These activities allow for a greater invasion of scavengers, and insect activity increases greatly. This stage ends as the bones become apparent, which can take anywhere from 10 to 20 days after death depending on region and temperature. This period is also dependent on the degree to which the body is exposed.
During the black putrefaction stage of decomposition, insects that can be found living in the body are Calliphoridae larvae, Staphylinidae, Histeridae, Gamasid mites, Ptomaphila, Trichopterygidae, Piophilid larvae, Parasitic wasps, Staphylinid larvae, Trichopterygid larvae, Histerid larvae, Ptomaphila larvae, Dermestes, Tyroglyphid mites, Tineid larvae, and the Dermestes larvae. Some insects can also be found living in the soil around the body such as Isopoda, Collembola, Dermaptera, Formicidae, Pseudoscorpiones, Araneae, Plectochetos, Acari, Pauropoda, Symphyla, Geophilidae, and Protura. The types of insects will differ based on where the body is, although Diptera larvae can be found feeding on the body in almost all cases.
After the body goes through the bloating stage it begins the black putrefaction stage. At this point the body cavity ruptures, the abdominal gases escape and the body darkens from its greenish color. These activities allow for a greater invasion of scavengers, and insect activity increases greatly. This stage ends as the bones become apparent, which can take anywhere from 10 to 20 days after death depending on region and temperature. This period is also dependent on the degree to which the body is exposed.During the black putrefaction stage of decomposition, insects that can be found living in the body are Calliphoridae larvae, Staphylinidae, Histeridae, Gamasid mites, Ptomaphila, Trichopterygidae, Piophilid larvae, Parasitic wasps, Staphylinid larvae, Trichopterygid larvae, Histerid larvae, Ptomaphila larvae, Dermestes, Tyroglyphid mites, Tineid larvae, and the Dermestes larvae. Some insects can also be found living in the soil around the body such as Isopoda, Collembola, Dermaptera, Formicidae, Pseudoscorpiones, Araneae, Plectochetos, Acari, Pauropoda, Symphyla, Geophilidae, and Protura. The types of insects will differ based on where the body is, although Diptera larvae can be found feeding on the body in almost all cases.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
An industrial complex, the purveyors of doomsday tell us that the world is ending, and we greedily consume the news. Our society is failing, and will collapse soon.
A mythology of the “good old days” pervades and poisons, dividing populations over semantic points. A foreign enemy, barbarian savages devoid of mercy, threaten us. Our children are running wild, dispossessed of religious scruple or moral code. All that stands on the line between chaos and order are a self appointed few, lettered oligarchs whose accumen and opinion is never questioned. This environment of fear, a pervasive political meme, is false. It is also quite ancient, as the text above describes Constantinople.
Tonight, both a functional and statistical number of human beings will have food in their bellies when they go to sleep, as opposed to yesterday. More women will survive childbirth today than yesterday. Even the operatic tragedy of modern times, which is the AIDS epidemic in Sub Saharan Africa, is a disease- ultimately- of relative affluence and OVERpopulation. Corpus Mundi, things are not as bad as they seem to be, gentle readers. There’s a lot of bad, but as compared to even a mere 80 years ago, there’s also good.
from wikipedia
After the early putrefaction and black putrefaction phases have taken place, the body begins mummification, in which the body begins to dry out. The human carcass is first mummified, and then goes through adipocere formation. Adipocere (grave wax) formation refers to the loss of body odor and the formation of a cheesy appearance on the cadaver. Mummification is considered a post-active stage because there is less definite distinction between changes and they are indicated by reduced skin, cartilage, and bone. Mummification is also indicated when all of the internal organs are lost due to insect activity.
Insects that can be found on the body during mummification include most of the same insects as in putrefaction stage, but also include Acarina, Nitidulidae, Cleridae, Dermestes caninus, and Trogidae. The main soil-inhabiting arthropods include Dermaptera and Formicidae.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The leading cause of death in the United States in the first decade of this 21st century is Heart Disease, followed by various forms of Cancer. Your humble narrator has some small experience with the first and has resigned himself to the inevitability of the second, as he lives on a continent where Nuclear Testing was conducted.
note:
If all the Atomic tests are considered together when calculating radiation exposure to the civilian population of North America, a full scale nuclear war might as well have been fought here, and the bell curve of nuclear testing lays neatly into the rates of cancer experienced 25-30 years later. Tourist groups may visit the Frenchman Flats testing site- a “national sacrifice zone” for excursions amongst the cratered sites of Atomic detonations, I’d rather drink a glass of that queerly coloured effluviam which flows lugubriously through a crucible of dictatorial capitalism called the Newtown Creek.
Congenital illness, which medicine hasn’t figured out how to deal with -yet- notwithstanding, that which kills you these days is not an infected mosquito bite- or any of the leading causes of death in the 19th century- Pneumonia, Tuberculosis, and Diarrhea – instead its eating too much of the wrong food… which is plentiful.
Back in 1900, life expectancy was 49. Heart Disease was almost the number 4 killer, and strokes were number 5.
Number 5 is “accidents”, today. Life expectancy is almost 80.
from wikipedia
When the last of the soft-tissue has been removed from the body, the final stage of decomposition, skeletonization, occurs. This stage encompasses the deterioration of skeletal remains, and is the longest of the decomposition processes. Skeletonization differs markedly from the previous stages, not only in length, but in the deterioration process itself.
The strength and durability of bone stems from the unique protein-mineral bond present in skeletal formation. Consequently, changes to skeletal remains, known as bone diagenesis, occur at a substantially slower rate than stages of soft-tissue breakdown. As the protein-mineral bond weakens after death, however, the organic protein begins to leach away, leaving behind only the mineral composition. Unlike soft-tissue decomposition, which is influenced mainly by temperature and oxygen levels, the process of bone breakdown is more highly dependent on soil type and pH, along with presence of groundwater. However, temperature can be a contributing factor, as higher temperature leads the protein in bones to break down more rapidly. If buried, remains decay faster in acidic-based soils rather than alkaline. Bones left in areas of high moisture content also decay at a faster rate. The water leaches out skeletal minerals, which corrodes the bone, and leads to bone disintegration.
At the dry decay stage commonly found insects include Sphaeroceridae, Acarina, Nitidulidae, Cleridae, Dermestes caninus, Trogidae, Tyroglyphid mites, and the Tineid larvae. The soil-inhabiting arthropods are Collembola, Dermaptera, Heteroptera, Coleoptera and their larvae, parasitic Hymenoptera, Formicidae, Diptera larvae, Pseudoscorpiones, Aranae, Plectochetos, Acari, Pauropoda, Symphyla, Geophilidae, Protura, and Aphididae.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Still lost in those wild reveries as described above, I found myself moving ever higher in elevation. A significant and curious declination is found in Mount Zion, and as one nears the western edge of the cemetery- near the 58th street side- it becomes obvious. This was an excellent instinct which I followed, as the distance from both Maurice and 54th avenues eliminated the malefic influence of the bizarre children’s song.
Another group of children, wholesome looking urchins whose appearance was a marked contrast to that malign gathering on Maurice Avenue, appeared along the fences. They were dark and wholesome in aspect, with masses of wild black curls. Colorfully dressed, they were laughing cheerfully as they ran back and away from the vast iron gates along 53rd avenue. An odd chemical scent hung in the air and seeking a fresh breeze, I penetrated further westward.
from wikipedia
As practiced in the funeral homes of the Western World (notably North America), embalming uses several steps. Modern embalming techniques are not the result of a single practitioner, but rather the accumulation of many decades, even centuries, of research, trial and error, and invention. A standardized version follows below, but variation on techniques is very common.
The deceased is placed on the mortuary table in the supine anatomical position with the head elevated by a head block. The first step in embalming is to check that the individual is in fact deceased, and then verify the identity of the body (normally via wrist or leg tags). At this point embalmers commonly perform basic tests for signs of death, noting things such as clouded-over corneas, lividity, and rigor mortis or by simply attempting to palpate a pulse in the carotid or radial artery. In modern times people awakening on the preparation table is largely the province of horror fiction and urban myth. Any clothing on the corpse is removed and set aside and any personal effect such as jewelry is inventoried. A modesty cloth is sometimes placed over the genitalia. The corpse is washed in disinfectant and germicidal solutions. During this process the embalmer bends, flexes and massages the arms and legs to relieve rigor mortis. The eyes are posed using an eye cap that keeps them shut and in the proper expression. The mouth may be closed via suturing with a needle and ligature, using an adhesive, or by setting a wire into the maxilla and mandible with a needle injector, a specialized device most commonly utilized in North America and unique to mortuary practice. Care is taken to make the expression look as relaxed and natural as possible and ideally a recent photograph of the deceased while still living is used as a template. The process of closing the mouth, eyes, shaving, etc is collectively known as setting the features.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The aforementioned change in elevation is a morrain feature, whose glaciated sculpting endowed this corner of the Newtown Pentacle with a marshy and swamped character, in its aboriginal form. These were once -what modernity would define as- wetlands, or as the 19th century would define it- waste lands. A muddy filtration system for the Newtown Creek and part of its aquifier, these were once prime hunting grounds for Indian and Dutchman alike.
from wikipedia
Embalming chemicals are a variety of preservatives, sanitising and disinfectant agents and additives used in modern embalming to temporarily prevent decomposition and restore a natural appearance for viewing a body after death. A mixture of these chemicals is known as embalming fluid and is used to preserve deceased (dead) individuals, sometimes only until the funeral, other times indefinitely.
Typically embalming fluid contains a mixture of formaldehyde, methanol, ethanol and other solvents. The formaldehyde content generally ranges from 5 to 29 percent and the ethanol content may range from 9 to 56 percent.
In the United States alone, enough embalming fluid is buried every year to fill eight Olympic-size pools or about 20 million liters.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
That’s when another of my “very bad ideas” came to the fore, when I wondered what it is that might be lurking down there, in the wormy mud of the Newtown Pentacle.
all but one of these links lead to wikipedia, and express just a little bit of the chemical recipe that produces an anaerobic broth like that found in the Newtown Creek
Putrescine (sometimes spelled putrescin) is an organic chemical compound NH2(CH2)4NH2 (1,4-diaminobutane or butanediamine). It is related to cadaverine; both are produced by the breakdown of amino acids in living and dead organisms and both are toxic in large doses.
Cadaverine is a foul-smelling molecule produced by protein hydrolysis during putrefaction of animal tissue. Cadaverine is a toxic diamine with the formula NH2(CH2)5NH2, which is similar to putrescine. Cadaverine is also known by the names 1,5-pentanediamine and pentamethylenediamine.
The industrial form of Putrescine is produced using hydrogen cyanide and a compund called Acrylonitrile, which is on the EPA’s list of Volatile Organic Compounds– or VOC’s. As long time readers will recall, VOC’s are amongst the primary pollutants fouling the waters of a nearby cautionary tale called the Newtown Creek.
Mt Zion 3- threading precipitous lanes
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Awakening from my “very bad idea” induced faint, here on Path Number 13 in Mount Zion cemetery, your humble narrator was buoyed by the fact that only one hour of his life was lost to that timidity and cowardice with which he is cursed. A quick scan of the Maurice Avenue fences revealed that the sinister (and possibly mutant) children were still gathered along the rusted balustrade forming the cemetery’s border- were they waiting for me to quit this hallowed ground that they seemed to be unable to step upon? They were dancing in a circle around that girl with the hatefully polydactyl cat.
from wikipedia
Syncope (pronounced /ˈsɪŋkəpi/) is the medical term for fainting, a sudden, usually temporary, loss of consciousness generally caused by insufficient oxygen in the brain either through cerebral hypoxia or through hypotension, but possibly for other reasons. Typical symptoms progress through dizziness, clamminess of the skin, a dimming of vision or brownout, possibly tinnitus, complete loss of vision, weakness of limbs to physical collapse. These symptoms falling short of complete collapse, or a fall down, may be referred to as a syncoptic episode.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Scuttling disgracefully away from their view, I left Path 13 and picked my way across an avenue of graves which formed the only connection between the widely placed pavement walkways. Walking along the loathsome egress of the plots themselves and while trying to forget about the menace represented by the children, whose disgusting and icthyan appearance caused my flight into this place, my attentions were drawn by the faces of those who have passed beyond the veil.
from wikipedia
Paranoid personality disorder is a psychiatric diagnosis characterized by paranoia and a pervasive, long-standing suspiciousness and generalized mistrust of others.
Those with the condition are hypersensitive, are easily slighted, and habitually relate to the world by vigilant scanning of the environment for clues or suggestions to validate their prejudicial ideas or biases. They tend to be guarded and suspicious and have quite constricted emotional lives. Their incapacity for meaningful emotional involvement and the general pattern of isolated withdrawal often lend a quality of schizoid isolation to their life experience.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The “PC” sticker indicates “perpetual care”, a funerary industrial complex term that indicates a contracted schedule of groundskeeping and monument maintenance has been arranged by the bereaved. Ostensibly, this contract plays out over the rest of human history, or as long as the cemetery operation continues. Upstate New York, especially in the “burned over district“, has seen dozens of cemetery organizations go out of business in the last 50-100 years. Abandoned, as in many cases the townships let alone the actual congregation no longer exist due to the westward migration of populations during the 19th and 20th centuries- these graveyards became dumping grounds, suffered adolescent vandalism, and went feral. Worse, they become altars for unclean rites, animal torture, and in some cases- tomb desecration. Luckily, the rural cemeteries of Queens are still going concerns, and NYPD hushes up such matters.
from wikipedia
The psychiatrist Kurt Schneider (1887–1967) listed the forms of psychotic symptoms that he thought distinguished schizophrenia from other psychotic disorders. These are called first-rank symptoms or Schneider’s first-rank symptoms, and they include delusions of being controlled by an external force; the belief that thoughts are being inserted into or withdrawn from one’s conscious mind; the belief that one’s thoughts are being broadcast to other people; and hearing hallucinatory voices that comment on one’s thoughts or actions or that have a conversation with other hallucinated voices. Although they have significantly contributed to the current diagnostic criteria, the specificity of first-rank symptoms has been questioned. A review of the diagnostic studies conducted between 1970 and 2005 found that these studies allow neither a reconfirmation nor a rejection of Schneider’s claims, and suggested that first-rank symptoms be de-emphasized in future revisions of diagnostic systems.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Haunting ceramics adorn many markers in Mount Zion. A vogue in funerary architecture, which is making a modern comeback via laser etched digital portraits, the heavily retouched images are almost always studio portraits and not representative of the final countenance of the deceased- these are not death masks. A fellow ghoulish spectator and commenter who calls himself Sorabji produces encyclopedic photographic collections of these markers across the Cemetery Belt, and formed a thorough and profound catalog of them- click here for Sorabji‘s gallery of shadows.
from wikipedia
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders fourth edition, DSM IV-TR, a widely used manual for diagnosing mental disorders, defines schizotypal personality disorder (in Axis II Cluster A) as:[2]
A pervasive pattern of social and interpersonal deficits marked by acute discomfort with, and reduced capacity for, close relationships as well as by cognitive or perceptual distortions and eccentricities of behavior, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by five (or more) of the following:
- Ideas of reference (excluding delusions of reference)
- Odd beliefs or magical thinking that influences behavior and is inconsistent with subcultural norms (e.g., superstitiousness, bizarre fantasies or preoccupations)
- Unusual perceptual experiences, including bodily illusions
- Odd thinking and speech (e.g., vague, circumstantial, metaphorical, overelaborate, or stereotyped)
- Suspiciousness or paranoid ideation
- Inappropriate or constricted affect
- Behavior or appearance that is odd, eccentric, or peculiar
- Lack of close friends or confidants other than first-degree relatives
- Social anxiety that tends to be associated with paranoid fears rather than negative judgments about self.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Like some aged and arthritic goat, I scattered my steps widely while crossing the plantation of marble. The grounds in these older sections are rife with collapsing vaults, teetering headstones of 8 feet or more, and disturbing subsidence. The evidence of a thriving vegetable ecosystem is everywhere, and during the fall and early winter (when these shots were taken) the thorny underbrush assumes a sinister and skeletal tone. Often- lateral progress was cut off by a congestion of stones and vine strangled trees, egress offered only by a sickeningly subsided depression in the center of a burial plot. The journey, however, brings you into a golden age of typography and poster design.
from wikipedia
A Limited Symptom Attack (LSA), also referred to as a Limited Symptom Panic Attack (LPA), is a milder, less comprehensive panic attack with fewer than 4 panic related symptoms being experienced (APA 1994). For example, a sudden episode of intense dizziness or trembling accompanied by fear that something terrible is about to happen. Many people with panic disorder have a mixture of full blown and limited symptom attacks. LSAs often manifest in anxiety disorders, phobias, panic disorder and agoraphobia. However, experiencing a LSA is not necessarily indicative of mental illness. Often persons recovering from and/or being treated for panic attacks and panic disorder will experience LSAs.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
1929, when Mr. Wiener- pictured above- died (unfortunately, I could find NOTHING on this enigmatic fellow) was one of those moments in history that replaced one view of the world with another- just like 1974 or 2001.
On August 10, the Stock Market Crash that began the Great Depression hadn’t happened yet, that would be in October. Neither had the Hebron Riots, which were the kindling of what would become the Israel/Palestine conflagration. It would be the end of August when the crushing Young Plan of reparations for World War 1 were enacted, in which the interests of the United States were represented by J.P. Morgan, whose provisions set Germany on a course toward World War 2. It would be November, after a total global annular eclipse on All-Saints Day, that saw the opening of The Museum of Modern Art with its lunatic futurism, and the aerial navigation of the fabled South Pole and its lunar Mountains of Madness by the redoubtable Admiral Byrd and the intrepid Floyd Bennett. It’s would only be 2 weeks until Yasser Arafat was born.
from wikipedia
Phobophobia is mainly linked with internal predispositions. It is developed by the unconscious mind which is linked to an event in which phobia was experienced with emotional trauma and stress, which are closely linked to anxiety disorders and by forgetting and recalling the initiating trauma. Phobophobia might develop from other phobias, in which the intense anxiety and panic caused by the phobia might lead to fearing the phobia itself, which triggers phobophobia before actually experiencing the other phobia. The extreme fear towards the other phobia might lead to make believe the patient that his condition can develop into something worse, intensifying the effects of the other phobia by fearing it. Also, phobophobia can be developed when anxiety disorders are not treated, creating an extreme predisposition to other phobias. The development of phobophobia can also be attributed to characteristics of the patient itself, such as phylogenetic influence, the prepotency of certain stimuli, individual genetic inheritance, age incidence, sex incidence, personality background, cultural influence inside and outside the family, physiological variables and biochemical factors. Phobophobia shares the symptoms of many other anxiety disorders, more specifically panic attacks and generalized anxiety disorder:
- Dizziness
- Heart Pounding
- Sweating
- Slight paresthesia
- Tension
- Hyperventilation
- Angst
- Faintness
- Avoidance
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The voices of those odd children were heard, repeating some sort of rhyming chant whose exact philology I could not make out due to the constant noise of nearby industry and highway. All that could be cogently reported was a syllabic eee-orrre… or was it eee-ahhh? At any rate, the rhythm of their chantie was identical to the “ring around the rosie” nursery mantra of the english speaking world. The reptilian complexion of the children was mirrored in the gull like voices with which they sang. Its melody affected me, and your humble narrator became befuddled…
from wikipedia
Many have associated the poem with the Great Plague of London in 1665, or with earlier outbreaks of bubonic plague in England. Interpreters of the rhyme before World War II make no mention of this; by 1951, however, it seems to have become well established as an explanation for the form of the rhyme that had become standard in the United Kingdom. Peter and Iona Opie remark: “The invariable sneezing and falling down in modern English versions have given would-be origin finders the opportunity to say that the rhyme dates back to the Great Plague. A rosy rash, they allege, was a symptom of the plague, posies of herbs were carried as protection, sneezing was a final fatal symptom , and ‘all fall down’ was exactly what happened.”
Mt Zion 2- Palaces of Light
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Seeking to avoid the infantile menace of the odd and possibly mutated Maspeth children whose appearance filled him with an unguessable sense memory of pure terror, your humble narrator hurriedly entered the incredible locale of Mount Zion Cemetery. Located analagously to the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Calvary Cemeteries, Mount Zion is 78 acres and holds a staggering 210,000 interments.
There are a few mausoleums here, but nowhere close to the multitudinous monuments found in nearby Calvary in number or ostentatious quality- however- the remarkably detailed metalwork on the doors of the Katcher monument demand notice and consideration from passersby. Click the photo below and check out the larger incarnations of it at our flickr page for a lot of detail.
The monuments contained within our gates are a window to the past and a connection to the future. The inscriptions on these memorials tells us of relationships; Cherished Mother, Father, Beloved Aunt or Uncle. They sadly pay tribute to those who have passed on before us while leaving behind remembrances sometimes in the form of a sepulcher photo. The use of these miniature photos was popular in Eastern Europe and the custom was continued here by the Jewish immigrants. These photos were images burnt into porcelain and glazed. The monuments themselves are of a time when cookie-cutter and factory turned out stones were unheard of. The tree of life signifying a person’s life cut too short and the infant graves with their sand stone markers topped off with images of little lambs are a small sampling of the way in which the dead were honored.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Extraordinarily engraved and artistically molded by sculptor’s hands, the remarkable monuments of Zion are provided with generations of patina courtesy of the city surrounding them. A caustic etching (manufactured by acid rain, air pollution, and that miasmic suggestion of indescribable colours spreading around- and indeed- swirling within a nearby cataract of tears called the Newtown Creek) worms into and corrodes the metal. Once, there must have been a population of skilled metal artisans located in Blissville or nearby Maspeth.
from wikipedia
Since the Industrial Revolution, emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides to the atmosphere have increased. In 1852, Robert Angus Smith was the first to show the relationship between acid rain and atmospheric pollution in Manchester, England. Though acidic rain was discovered in 1852, it was not until the late 1960s that scientists began widely observing and studying the phenomenon. The term “acid rain” was generated in 1972. Canadian Harold Harvey was among the first to research a “dead” lake. Public awareness of acid rain in the U.S increased in the 1970s after the New York Times promulgated reports from the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in New Hampshire of the myriad deleterious environmental effects demonstrated to result from it.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The older parts of the place are in fairly good repair, all things considered, but there are still subsidences and the occasional overturned headstone. In these older sections, where the deaths are listed as having occurred in the 1900’s or earlier, things are a little worse for wear. In defense of the organization though, signs of ancient and recent repair are everywhere, and several grounds keepers were observed as on duty and performing maintenance.
from chabad.org
The blood and limbs of an individual are considered by Jewish law to be part of the human being. As such, they require burial. If the deceased was found with severed limbs, or with blood-stained clothes, both the limbs and the clothes must be buried with him.
If limbs were amputated during one’s lifetime, they require burial in the person’s future gravesite. If he does not own a plot as yet, or if he is squeamish in this regard, it should be buried in a separate plot, preferably near the graves of members of his family. The limbs are cleansed and placed in the earth. No observance of mourning is necessary.
Jewish law generally discourages contribution of one’s limbs to hospitals. If one has absolutely stipulated that a limb be donated for medical research, the question of following his will depends on many details, and requires rabbinic research. It is best, therefore, to consult an expert on Jewish law. At any rate, even if it were permitted, the limb would require burial when it is no longer in use by the medical institution.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Some of the older parts of Mount Zion, however, are deteriorating badly – as the same atmospheric and hydrological processes whose chemical actions are eating away at the metals also affect the stone and cement – but nowhere at Mount Zion are observed the sort of malefic horrors rumored to be playing out at the Bayside Cemetery further east (where exposed human remains and desecrated tombs have been found- click here).
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A squirming mass was moving about the hole in the monument, but I couldn’t get close enough with the shallow zoom on my trusty G10. By the time I arrived close enough, only this last vanguard was visible, as his fellows had fled into the aperture (squamous, the loathsome reptile’s camouflage can be penetrated in the top left quadrant of this zoomed in enlargement).
One of my spells began just then and a swooning faint elevated my conscious center to the top of my head and then right down to my bottom which sat down on a section marker block. While resting, and remembering the unwholesome children whose menace remained just outside the cemetery gates, I noticed this sad scenario.
from nyc.gov
(document refers to 2004 budget- I’ve got photos of the floods they’re talking about in 2007, and the project has been concluded only this past summer of 2009)
54th Avenue is main entranceway to Mt. Zion Cemetery. Roadway is totally eroded and there is water flowing on this street on a regular basis. DEP investigated and found underground springs that allows for water to eminate through the road. Currently DDC is designing sewer replacement, new catch basins, etc., to alleviate this condition. The project must move forward so as to improve this road, eliminate the chronic water from underground springs, and to provide for a developed street safe for vehicular traffic and accessibility to the cemetery.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
What genuine manifestation of joy is excited within the sorts of people who commit this sort of vandalism escapes logic. All over Mt. Zion, indeed- throughout the Cemetery Belt- you see smashed portrait photos, toppled and broken stones, blasted out windows of stained glass. What sort of braying underworld of iconoclasts- savage atavists all- may run loose, here, in the Newtown Pentacle after dark? Could some ghoulish legion pray upon this place, and could it somehow be related to the large pored and scaly looking children whose malefic staring had hastened me into this place? They seemed precluded from entering the cemetery, for some reason. Perhaps… this is where they wanted… me… to…
from nylandmarks.org
The general type of stone used in the grave marker should be identified as accurately as possible. Stones can be identified by first observing for crystals. If crystals are visible, the stone is likely a marble or granite. Granite is typically more strongly colored, has larger crystals, and is significantly harder than marble. If the stone contains visible grains of sand and has clearly defined layers, the stone is probably a sandstone. If the stone does not contain crystals or sand grains, it is likely to be either limestone, which is normally a light beige or brown color, or slate, which is often bluish with clearly defined layers.
Stone identification is not always this simple. Some limestones, for example, have semi-formed crystals that give it a marble- like appearance. Also, some sandstones are so finely grained and buff in color that they resemble limestone.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
note: There are some things which you must never think about. Paranoia, jealousy- that sort of thing. A thought virus… or an emotional infection… you must never entertain these thoughts, lest they sour the meat in your head. Thinking these thoughts, the very eidelons of “a very bad idea”, can cause a psychotic break- and then “the Man” comes for you. Stop.
Your humble narrator, unfortunately, didn’t stop himself from thinking one of the “very bad ideas” whose generally loathsome and indescribable impression was shattered when a nearby pheasant suddenly shot into the air from behind a headstone. The shock of the sudden noise and movement overcame me, and that’s when I passed out in Mount Zion, on the tangled hilltop at Path number 13.
Encountered another one of these “very bad ideas” in researching this post – if you read this, you might go crazy- good luck:
also from nylandmarks.org
Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) is a non-invasive geophysical remote sensing device that utilizes the transmission of electromagnetic waves called radar. The electromagnetic waves are transmitted into the earth and are reflected by discontinuities or disruptions caused by changes in materials electrical properties. The discontinuities that do not follow natural patterns are called anomalies. GPR thus provides a nondestructive means of mapping subsurface objects and disturbances associated with human activity through the identification of anomalies. GPR surveys of burial grounds have been conducted to determine the presence or absence of anomalies related to the presence of potential unmarked graves within specific project areas. GPR allows cultural resource management (CRM) professionals to locate areas of interest within cemeteries without disturbing objects or the ground, enabling them to plan their site excavations and site management with minimal worry of disturbing or destroying unmarked burials. GPR systems collect geophysical data that provides information on the location of probable disturbances, such as grave shafts, based on the changes in soil properties within grave shafts and the surrounding soil. GPR data can also provide information on the existence or absence of caskets or burial chambers. Because GPR is a non-invasive method, it does not provide conclusive evidence that any anomalies identified during the survey are related to human burials. By comparing the data from known burials within a burial ground with data from areas with no grave markers, however, it is possible to identify unmarked grave locations by their similar data patterns.
Mt. Zion 1 – imps of the perverse
– photo by Mitch Waxman
What would appear to be a Jewish section of the vast funerary complex that is 2nd and 3rd Calvary Cemeteries, is actually a distinct cemetery organized as and referred to as Mount Zion.
It made a convenient hiding spot for me one day when a group of children on Maurice Avenue took notice of me and began to follow me around. The possibility of some vaguely malign intention toward me, on their part, caused a near faint and I ran away- here’s what happened.
Narrow, juvenile faces, their appearance and aspect were dominated by a toothy grimace- much wider than the usual proportion- and oddly jowled chins. The corners of their mouths stretched to mid cheek and passed well beyond the bulging center point of those widely set and unblinking milky blue eyes- which I attribute to the possibly mutagenic qualities of the chemical pollution of that nearby extinction of hope called the Newtown Creek.
A little girl amongst them, barefoot and carrying a polydactyl calico which was buzzing with attention, pointed me out and all the other odd looking children turned and stared in my direction. A vast physical coward, and unable to withstand even the thought of defending myself against a crowd of 10 year olds, your humble narrator screamed a shrill shriek and broke into a clumsy run to make an escape to hallowed ground.
Mount Zion Cemetery encompasses an area of 78 acres. This cemetery is located in Maspeth, Queens near the Manhattan Border. When this cemetery was first established the surrounding area was considered to be rural. There was an ongoing need for burial spaces to accommodate the explosion of the immigrant population in not only Queens, but also the nearby neighborhoods of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Mount Zion Cemetery has more than 210,000 burials on its 78 acres making it one of the more interesting burial grounds.
note: Mount Zion has come up once before, in the shot above from a Newtown Pentacle post of June 22- called Newtown Grafiti
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Once within the iron gates of Mount Zion, I enacted an old Brooklyn “run away and hide from pursuers strategy” which basically boils down to running around at full speed in a completely random manner and finding something to hide behind or in. Luckily, the tightly packed environs of this Cemetery make for good cover, and I was dressed in a black fedora and black raincoat- making the perfect camouflage for blending in with other visitors at Mt. Zion.
Once, this panic stricken series of turns and circles was called “cheese it”, and the modern English would call it “Leg it”. I knew a guy who once fled from the cops through 4 blocks of brooklyn backyards, hopping a six foot chain link fence every 30 yards, ran across Flatbush, through a golf course, then ran across the Belt Parkway, and dug himself a sand dune hole to spend the night in near Plum Beach. Brooklyn thing.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
There are distinct sections in Mount Zion, organized by burial society. Jewish Burial Societies are usually connected either to a Temple Congregation or Secular Association. The Secular ones would often be organized by a labor union, or by a brokerage business that sought to buy a large number of plots at a discount and sell them at a profit. Much information is available online about these societies if one can read hebrew or yiddish. There is also a modern and ancient division.
Some parts of the place date back to the 19th century, others have fresh interments. Unlike other faiths represented nearby, Jewish tradition calls for a single occupant in a grave. As such, the organization and placement of funerary rite and remains demands much lateral sprawl, and like most older Jewish cemeteries- Mount Zion seems crowded and claustrophobic.
But, it’s a good place to hide from those weird Maspeth kids, if you lords and ladies of Newtown don’t mind- let’s just hang out here a little while- OK?
That little girl with the maladapted and curiously 9 toed cat, she said something to the oldest boy that sounded like a name… Y’ha-nthlei?
from wikipedia
A headstone (tombstone) is known as a matzevah (“monument”). Although there is no Halakhic obligation to hold an unveiling ceremony, the ritual became popular in many communities toward the end of the 19th century. There are varying customs about when it should be placed on the grave. Most communities have an unveiling ceremony a year after the death. Some communities have it earlier, even a week after the burial. In Israel it is done after the “sheloshim”, the first thirty days of mourning. There is no restriction about the timing, other than the unveiling cannot be held during certain periods such as Passover or Chol Ha’Moed.
At the end of the ceremony, a cloth or shroud covering that has been placed on the headstone is removed, customarily by close family members. Services include reading of several psalms (1, 23, 24, 103), Mourners Kaddish (if a minyan is available), and the prayer “El Malei Rachamim.” The service may include a brief eulogy for the deceased.
The Newtown Pentacle 