At the end of an early American funeral, participants were given a cookie: spiced with caraway, and stamped with a special design, they were often kept for years as a memento of the departed. Although mourning traditions have changed over time, and vary from place to place, what they have in common is food and drink. Join historic gastronomist Sarah Lohman for this talk on the culinary traditions surrounding funerals throughout American history. You’ll learn about funerary customs through the years, plus taste beer from Midas’s tomb, funeral cakes, and Mormon funeral potatoes.

James Whyte Davis, an early baseball pioneer who served as the president of the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club of New York City from 1858 to 1860, had a plan to get himself the Green-Wood monument he felt his legacy deserved. In 1892, long after he had played his last game, Davis announced a request: that every current player and official of the National League give 10 cents to pay for a home plate-shaped monument. It would be a true group effort by the world of baseball to memorialize one of its heroes. Davis would be dressed in his old Knickerbocker uniform, and wrapped in the team's original flag. He even wrote a glowing epitaph that would grace this crowdfunded monument.

But by the 1890s, the sport had moved on without Davis; most players didn't even know who he was. So this baseball trailblazer was buried in his uniform and team flag, but no monument marked his grave. That all changes on May 14th, thanks to the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) and Major League Baseball. At 10:00am, we'll unveil a new monument built to Davis' specifications - including that epitaph he wrote in which he references his old nickname "Too Late," apparently earned because he was often tardy to his own games. Celebrate Davis recognition at the free unveiling, then join Green-Wood Historian Jeff Richman and baseball expert, historian, and author Tom Gilbert for a trolley tour of early baseball pioneers at Green-Wood - many of whom knew and played with the man of the hour.

Although it may sound counterintuitive, taking time to contemplate death often works to reduce anxiety and suffering and increase happiness. Meditation and Buddhist practice have always advocated for the daily reflection on death: its inevitability and unpredictability. Confronting death helps us to overcome our fear and to develop an acceptance of death as a natural part of life. It serves to remind us of the preciousness of our time, and helps lessen the surprise and anguish when loved ones pass away. Discuss the how’s and why’s behind the practice with Bhante Suddhāso, a Western Buddhist monk and co-founder of an organization connecting laypeople to monastics in both secular and non-secular spaces. He’ll lead a guided meditation in Green-Wood’s Historic Chapel before answering questions from Common Shade host Evan Michelson and you.