Spirits Alive returns to Maple Grove

By Jessica Meditz

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The Friends of Maple Grove got into character before the tour began.

After a couple years of slumber, The Friends of Maple Grove awakened the spirits of some notable figures who rest in that cemetery.

Last Saturday, residents of Kew Gardens and its surrounding communities were able to embark on a self-guided walking tour of Maple Grove Cemetery known as “Spirits Alive.”

Every year, the event is powered solely by volunteers who commit themselves to playing the roles of the illustrious historical figures by wearing period clothing, memorizing scripts and even adapting the voice and mannerisms of another person.

Decked out in a long black cape, a detailed pink dress and a tiara, Helen Day portrayed Josephine Adams, the wife of a sea captain who went on to discover Swan Island off the coast of Honduras.

Helen Day portrayed Josephine Adams.

The couple ran a successful business selling fruits, fertilizer and other commodities before returning to the U.S.

Josephine’s husband died around 1913 and she returned back to Woodhaven in Queens, where she had family ties.

“It’s a sweet story but amazing…you will see when you look at each one of these stones that each has a story behind it,” Day said.

Day serves as vice president of The Friends of Maple Grove and president of the Richmond Hill Historical Society, and is proud to have played a part in the event since 2003.

“I read some of the newspaper articles that contributed to the creation of her script…we look at the facts and we can sort of embellish the story a bit too, so it’s interesting,” she said. “There were so many details that were reported in newspapers back in the day, that you can really get a feel for the people and who they were.”

While some volunteers have been involved in “Spirits Alive”  for several years, others participated for the first time last week.

Colleen O’Driscoll, a Forest Hills resident, played Mary Coward, a descendant of one of the first families on the Mayflower.

Colleen O’Driscoll as Mary Coward.

Her story involves a romance with her true love, Jonathan, who she met as a child. The two were separated during the effects of the Civil War, but found each other again and married at an older age.

Passionate about theater, O’Driscoll was proud to be a part of the event, even though the October cold and mist had already kicked in.

“I love acting and history, and I wanted to do something for Halloween because a lot of times, the Halloween stuff that’s not scary is usually for little kids. But I’ve always been obsessed with history and I love acting,” she said.

“I never grew out of my make pretend thing and it took me until I was in high school to lose my imaginary friends because I just loved making up some crazy scenarios for us to be in,” she continued. “When you’re acting, you get to make believe for a living.”

Floral Park resident Frances Guida portrayed Susan Stowe, the wife of Charles Edward Stowe, Harriet Beecher Stowe’s son. Stowe lived at 35 Slocum Crescent in Forest Hills Gardens.

Frances Guida as Susan Stowe.

Although this is also Guida’s first year participating in “Spirits Alive,” she was thrilled to bring her prior acting experience to the event and entertain enthusiastic visitors.

I was active in community theater in Queens for a number of years when I was younger,” she said.

“I hadn’t done any acting in a while, and I felt that this was something just to wet my feet again and portray someone else,” she continued. “And with the pandemic and everything, it’s just nice to step back into some creative things that I wasn’t able to do for such a long time.”

Carl Ballenas, president of The Friends of Maple Grove, is thrilled to have brought back the event, even on a smaller scale, after the pandemic forced the spirits to remain hidden for some time.

Maple Grove Cemetery hosts a series of events year-round, and with that, Ballenas hopes to change people’s misconceptions about cemeteries and what they have to offer to the community.

“It’s unusual because every town, every village and all the cities have cemeteries. But sadly, they are just ignored because they are places to be afraid of or places to hide from. It’s a place that we can use as an educational tool, and we can learn about our ancestors with this event,” Ballenas said.

“We have a beautiful inscription at the center, it’s a 3,000-year-old Egyptian proverb that says, ‘To speak the name of the dead is to bring them back to life,’ he continued. “So we are bringing them back to life, telling a story just for one day of the year. People won’t forget that.”

Glass art exhibit in Maple Grove Cemetery


One might not expect an art exhibit to be found inside a cemetery.

Naomi Rabinowitz, however, thinks she has found a superb location to display her glass work — The Center at Maple Grove Cemetery in Kew Gardens. 

“Whenever people hear that I do all this work in the cemetery, they are like, ‘really?’” Rabinowitz said. “Then they show up and they are amazed.”

Rabinowitz’s exhibit, titled “Off the Page,” is scattered across the walls of the Center at Maple Grove, a space that features benches, stained glass windows, classrooms and an indoor waterfall.

Rabinowitz creates wall art and wearable necklaces from glass that is found in a range of colors.

Her inspiration comes from her favorite artists — abstract creators including Wassily Kandinsky and Georgia O’Keefe — crafting colorful blocks with “bold, bold colors” through doing multiple layerings of glass upon one another.

The exhibit is dedicated to Suzanne Bagley, a close friend of Rabinowitz’s who died in 2014 and is buried in the cemetery.

The center also allowed her to give a flute concert on July 16, which she dedicated to Bagley.

I’ve been looking for an opportunity to do something that was dedicated to her, because we always dedicate events to somebody,” Rabinowitz said. “When they said July 16, everything came together, because it was Bastille Day and she was French.” 

Before she became a full-time artist and art teacher, Rabinowitz had a 29-year career as a journalist with Soap Opera Digest.

She moved to Kew Gardens from Long Island, partly to be closer to museums and other sources of art.

“When I was growing up, since I lived on Long Island, we spent almost every weekend in the city and my parents would take me to museums all the time,” she said. “So I had a pretty solid background in just appreciating art. I always enjoyed drawing. I always enjoyed making crafts.”

When Rabinowitz broke her leg in 2010 and was out of work for four months, she was searching for something to do.

In this free time, she began looking at blogs and YouTube videos for how to make jewelry. Soon after, she began selling her creations on Etsy.

“People actually started buying my work, which was really shocking,” she said. “People were buying things that I made.”

When she lost her job at Soap Opera Digest in 2012, Rabinowitz was conflicted about whether she should try and find something new.

Eventually, she decided to head in another professional direction, and take art more seriously as a source of income.

She began taking art classes full time at the 92nd Street YMCA and the Brooklyn Glass, falling in love with glassware and enameling.

“What I like about glass is that it is transformative,” she said, continuing to describe the qualities of glass that make it intriguing.

Rabinowitz layers the glass to create a multi-colored piece that may surprise even her.

“I don’t know what color it’s going to come out. I don’t know what texture it’s going to end up. It’s always a bit of a surprise. I like that after all these years, and all these firings, that I could still be surprised by the end result.”

In 2015, when looking for work in the arts, Rabinowitz began giving flute performances for senior homes.

While it is something she was doing voluntarily, it soon blossomed into an opportunity.

A senior citizen, Judith, at the center had purchased a necklace from Rabinowitz, and Helen Day, a member of the Center at Maple Grove, noticed.

“Helen saw Judith wearing the necklace that she bought from me and was intrigued, and asked her about it,” Rabinowitz said. “She told her, ‘Tell her to give me a call because we do art classes in the cemetery.’ When Judith told me, I thought it was a really strange opportunity. But why not?”

Rabinowitz began teaching glass classes in 2016. Now, her full time job is teaching glass classes throughout the tri-state area, primarily to senior citizens.

“Off the Page” is part of the Center’s “Friends of Maple Grove” exhibit series. Rabinowitz’s art will remain in the center through August 12.

For more information about the exhibits or the center, visit www.maplegrove.biz. 

 

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