By Michael Coughlin Jr.
Forest Hills Cemetery has drawn criticism from residents over the last several years due to the discontinuation of beloved events, changed policies, removal of trees, lack of communication, and more, but for those yearning for an explanation, there might be one on the horizon. Ben Weber, District 6 City Councilor, who had residents reach out to his office about these issues, told the Jamaica Plain Gazette he had contacted cemetery leadership. Specifically, Weber, who called Forest Hills Cemetery one of Boston’s jewels, noted that the cemetery’s leadership has offered to take him and his office on a tour.
The front gate of Forest Hills Cemetery
“After hearing from a lot of neighbors of the cemetery concerned about trees being cut down and restrictions on public access, my office reached out, and the cemetery leadership offered to take us on a tour. I hope that next week I will be able to meet with the president and get a concrete sense of what they are doing,” wrote Weber in a text message Wednesday morning.
“My understanding is that the cemetery was created by a land swap between the city (then the City of Roxbury) and a non-profit entity on the condition that there would be public access to the grounds. We need to make sure that promise is kept.”
The cemetery was founded in 1848 by Roxbury’s Mayor at the time, Henry A.S. Dearborn, the first President of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society and, according to the National Park Service’s website, an individual mainly responsible for the design of Mount Auburn Cemetery between Cambridge and Watertown. However, Forest Hills was not designed to be any old cemetery. Not only was the cemetery a place for the community to bury their lost loved ones, but the cemetery’s website, which outlines its history, says Dearborn “intended to create a place which urban dwellers could visit to connect with nature, refresh the spirit, and take delight in beauty.”
Adding that Dearborn essentially “created Boston’s first public park.” According to the cemetery’s website, the concept is associated with the 19th-century rural garden cemetery movement, which it later describes, indicating, “It reflects changing attitudes about death and a cultural shift away from the severe style of the burial grounds of colonial New England,” and “It offers a gentler concept of death as eternal rest, and is rooted in a romantic vision of spiritual renewal through unity with nature.” With this concept, in the past, Forest Hills Cemetery had been a significant amenity for the community, where residents could thoughtfully and respectfully walk with their dogs, run, bike, attend community events, and more.
“When we moved here, one of the reasons that we chose to live on this street, which is, you know, it’s a pretty densely populated city street, was that we were going to have access to this park at the end of the street essentially,” said Amy Light, who has lived a few doors down from the cemetery’s Tower Street pedestrian gate for 13 years. “I spent, with my toddler and my dog — every day we went there basically.”
Sarah Buermann, who has lived in the area for a long time, said, “For a while, the cemetery was just a marvelous, affirming, appropriate, thoughtful, reverent place to be,” and referenced some past art exhibitions held at the site. Further, several residents like Steve Dudley and Caterina Scaramelli — to name a few — shared memories with the Jamaica Plain Gazette of going on walks and bike rides in the cemetery.
Dudley, who has lived on Weld Hill Street since 1981, even talked about bringing friends there to have picnics. Moreover, many residents shared memories of one of the cemetery’s most notable past events: its Lantern Festival. According to the Forest Hills Educational Trust’s (FHET)— the entity which was responsible for putting on programming at the cemetery — website, the festival is inspired by the Japanese Bon Festival, which was described as “a celebration each year when a door opens to the world of their ancestors, allowing loved ones to send messages to the other side.” However, more recently, Forest Hills Cemetery has been a source of frustration and disappointment for the same residents with fond memories of what it used to be. For example, the Jamaica Plain Gazette published a story in July 2014 that noted the cancellation of beloved events like the Lantern Festival.
In the abovementioned story, Jonathan Clark, referred to as FHET’s last employee, was interviewed and attributed the cancellation of these programs — under the leadership of George Milley (the current cemetery president) — to their lack of profitability. Moreover, the cemetery has received backlash for its policies introduced in May 2020, which barred dog-walking, biking, and jogging.
“These regulations have been put into place to ensure that the Cemetery grounds and atmosphere are conducive to peaceful reflection and respect for the families and friends who visit their loved ones,” reads the cemetery’s website. Most recently, residents have been concerned about trees being removed within the cemetery. For example, videos have been posted on Facebook Community pages of trees being taken down, and many wonder why it’s happening. Additionally, in the last couple of days, a video taken by a resident was posted on Facebook that depicts a person with gloves, a mask, and a full-body protective suit spraying a liquid on cemetery grounds. While it is unclear what the substance is, the resident who posted the video noted that it made their eyes water and nostrils burn.
Many residents shared their dismay with the changes at the cemetery, but there was a common theme among each’s thoughts — the desire to have an open dialogue with cemetery leadership. “Right now, the cemetery acts like a gated community that became more and more hostile, using the pandemic as an excuse,” wrote Rosa Herrero in an email. Herrero, who says she used to take long walks at the cemetery, added, “We as neighbors cherish the cemetery and would love for them to reconsider their position and rules around bikes, dogs and running there…I wish they opened up to us instead of being an island.”
Adam Roberts, another resident, indicated he spent a lot of time in cemeteries due to his father’s work as a stone carver thought Forest Hills Cemetery had strayed from its garden cemetery roots through these abovementioned changes. “What could be a beautiful partnership has instead become contentious and cold. It’s a bummer. I’d love to see either a change in leadership style and vision or an actual change in leadership, and for the city to use whatever leverage it has to keep it a more active and accessible part of the “Emerald Necklace.” (Right now it feels increasingly walled off…),” wrote Roberts in an email.
“This is a really special cemetery! I really wish the current leadership would treat it more as the commons it was created to be, instead of further enclosing it.” Other residents echoed Roberts’ point. “I just think it’s a huge loss for the neighborhood and isn’t really in the spirit of how Forest Hills Cemetery was founded,” said Tina Cincotti. “Everything about the cemetery’s history points to the fact that it was intended to act as a park for its community,” wrote Amy Collier in an email. “Henry A.S. Dearborn designed Forest Hills Cemetery to function as a public park. Up until recent years, Forest Hills Cemetery respected this history and tradition.”
Finally, another resident who wished to remain anonymous spoke about their concerns about tree removal contributing to increased water runoff, flooding, and property damage, lack of community connection, issues with community gates not being open, and more, “The question I would love to see answered is, do you see yourself as a garden cemetery open to the community anymore, yes or no,” they said.
With all of this pent-up frustration and sheer bewilderment at the changes, residents are again mobilizing to at least talk with cemetery leadership. In June 2020, the Jamaica Plain Gazette reported on a community movement to remove the restrictions, which involved a petition created by Matt Shuman that amassed more than 1,700 signatures and involvement from now-former City Councilor Matt O’Malley. Now, Light has created a Facebook group called the Community for the Preservation of Forest Hills Cemetery — https://www.facebook.com/share/g/DnTiB3mdVUpxCQxm/?mibextid=lOuIew — to help organize another movement to bring back the Forest Hills Cemetery that was praised.
“We would just love him [Milley] to be more engaged and a better neighbor to our community,” said Light. Moreover, it should be noted that residents are aware that the site is an active cemetery and indicated that activities and visits in the past were done with respect. “I think it was not only respectful, you know, it kind of lifted up the purpose of the cemetery,” said Cincotti. Residents involved with this group, as noted, reached out to Weber, and it looks like wheels are in motion to at least get some answers for the community.
“Going forward, I want to have a working relationship with cemetery leadership so that the needs of both neighbors seeking access to the space and families mourning their loved ones are being met, and any issues can be resolved before the community feels like they are simply being ignored. I hope to set up a community meeting after I have sat down with the president,” wrote Weber.
It should be noted that a representative from the Forest Hills Cemetery told the Jamaica Plain Gazette over the phone that they had received our emailed request for an interview with cemetery leadership — preferably Milley — to address resident concerns about trees being taken down, the new policies, removal of events, its non-profit status, issues with the Tower Street gate, if leadership felt it was honoring the vision of a garden cemetery, and its willingness to have an open dialogue with the community. Specifically, the representative over the phone thanked us for the interview offer but indicated they had talked about it with Milley and did not have any comments.