As the sign says: “1764 – Ossining’s oldest cemetery”. It’s located between Route 9 and Revolutionary Road, close to where they intersect.

The Ossining Daily Voice has a short but interesting article about Sparta cemetery.

One of the most fascinating inhabitants of Sparta Cemetery is The Leatherman. Wikipedia states:

The Leatherman (ca. 1839–1889) was a particular vagabond, famous for his handmade leather suit of clothes, who traveled a circuit between the Connecticut River and the Hudson River, roughly from 1856 to 1889. Of unknown origin, he was thought to be French-Canadian, or simply French, because of his fluency in the French language, his “broken English”, and the French-language prayer book found on his person after his death. His identity remains unknown, and controversial. He walked a 365-mile route (taking 34-36 days) in western Connecticut and eastern New York.

In 2011 the grave was moved. It was apparently too close to Route 9. Scientists gathered to take a look at, and perhaps perform an analysis on the Letherman’s remains. So little is known about him that they wanted to see if they could get any more information from the remains. Unfortunately they found no human remains, only coffin nails. The former grave had a headstone that read, with some certainty: “Final resting place of Jules Bourglay of Lyons, France, ‘The Leather Man’…”. I guess they are no longer so certain as the new gravestone reads only “The Leatherman”

Another interesting anecdote is associated with this wall. The plaque reads: “This stone was pierced by a cannon shot fired from the British sloop-of-war Vulture commanded by Lieut. Sutherland, 1780. Mohegan Chapter D.A.R places this tablet in memory of the event, May 1906”. This is of course connected to the story of Benedict Arnold and his attempt to sell out West Point and George Washington to the British. I’ve always been fascinated by Mr. Arnold. Had he died (as he almost did) at the Battle of Saratoga he would have gone down in history as one of the US’s greatest heroes. As it was, however, he’s known as their greatest villain. He’s also the only person I’ve come across who was a general on both sides in the same war.

We had lunch with some friends last Saturday and they mentioned Westchester’s Ridge Hill Mall in Yonkers, NY. We’d never been there so the following day off we went.

It’s quite interesting. Most Malls are enclosed areas with lots of shops. They present a nice, protected area, but at times become a little claustrophobic. The Ridge Hill Mall is quite different. It’s designed to look and function like a small village (but of course without people living there). Luckily we had, for February, a fairly decent day with temperatures above freezing and occasional light rain. I was even able to sit outside for a couple of hours reading while my wife went shopping. It don’t know how much I would have liked it if it had been snowing, or if the temperatures had been really low. Then the only thing you could do would be to go inside the stores. As far as I could tell there are no enclosed seating areas as there are in the usual malls. There are lots of places to sit, but they’re all outside – probably very nice in summer, but not so nice in bad weather. There are a few places to eat. We had quite a decent, reasonably priced lunch at Havana Central – in fact better than I thought it would be.

Pool with fountains and child

Metal structure/jungle gym in play area.

Detail of metal structure

Facade of Lord and Taylor – from the inside

I’m actually getting a bit sick of snow and ice, as well as taking pictures of it. As I write this we’ve just had about a foot of snow. The snow appears to have stopped but now we’re getting sleet and freezing rain.

There’s so much snow and ice around, however that it’s difficult not to take pictures of it. So when I was last down by the Hudson River I had to take some pictures of this broken up ice on the sides of the river.

Ice on Scarborough inlet


Ice shapes


More ice

12:30 to Poughkeepsie?

Right next to Scarborough Station on Metro North’s Hudson Line is a small park: Scarborough Park. The Village of Briarcliff Manor website says:

Plan a picnic supper at this park! Incredible sunsets, and the sights and sounds of the majestic Hudson River, await you at this six-acre, 97 year-old park. Bring your fishing poles for some great fishing. This riverside park, located right next to the Scarborough train station, is one of the hidden jewels of the Village’s park system, and the Village is currently pursuing grant funding to further improve and develop the site.

Path to boat launching area

Icy Hudson River