Larchmont Eagle Scout Project Improves Local Cemetery

LARCHMONT, NY — Boy Scout and Mamaroneck High School senior Yuji Kono and community organizations dedicated a bench and plaque Oct. 18 at the Quaker-Barker Cemetery on Boston Post Road in Larchmont.

The dedication ceremony was attended by the Boy Scouts, Larchmont-Mamaroneck Lions & Leos and Town of Mamaroneck leaders, including Town Supervisor Nancy Seligson, Town Administrator Steve Altieri and Town Councilwomen Jaine Elkind Eney, Abby Katz and Sabrina Fiddelman.

Cemeteries in the Town of Mamaroneck and Villages of Larchmont and Mamaroneck are maintained by the Town of Mamaroneck. The Town Highway Department conducted a major cleanup of the grounds prior to the final cleanup by the Boys Scouts and Lions Club Leos.

General Forman Alan Casterella was at the dedication, and was thanked for his work and that of his department.

The project was Yuji Kono’s Boy Scout Eagle badge community service project, which included working with Town Historian Lynne Crowley of the Larchmont Historical Society to understand the cemetery’s history.

Kono initiated phase one of this two-phase project which included a major grounds cleanup and fund raising for the installation of a bench and plaque.

A proposed second phase could involve a more extensive refurbishing, including preservation or reconstruction of headstones and statuary. It will also include a full historical study of the cemetery, its residents and its connection to the community.

The last burial in the Quaker-Barker Cemetery was in the late 19th century and many of the gravestones have broken or fallen over. A centerpiece mausoleum houses the remains of James Donaldson Jr., the manager of the London Theatre in the Bowery section of Manhattan. Photos can be found on the Larchmont Historical Society website.