The fireman memorial at a Brooklyn cemetery

The Evergreens Cemetery, 225 acres on the Bushwick-Ridgewood border, doesn’t get a fraction of the attention Green-Wood Cemetery receives.

But it should. Incorporated in 1849, this peaceful burial ground is a necropolis of over half a million.

Think Civil War soldiers, Lincoln assassination figures, artists and actors, and thousands of ordinary prosperous German-Americans who settled in this part of the city in the 19th century.

Among the elaborately carved angels and mausoleums is a curious firefighter memorial: two statues of firemen plus the gravestones of fallen firefighters from several Eastern District volunteer hose, hook, or engine companies.

An 1858 New York Times news brief describes its beginning:

“The Board of Representatives of the Eastern District Fire Department, at a recent meeting, adopted a plan for a monument to be erected on the grounds in the Cemetery of the Evergreens.

“The design is a marble pedestal six feet square, upon which is to be placed a full-size statue of a fireman.

“The whole ground to be surrounded by a galvanized iron fence, the posts representing Corinthian hydrants. The expense, it is estimated, will not exceed $2,500, and the work will be commenced forthwith.”

Going Greek with the NYU class of 1932

I have no idea if there’s a big Greek presence among New York University‘s gazillion students these days. But fraternities and sororities sure seem to have been popular 79 years ago.

The 1932 NYU yearbook, “The Album,” features six frats and 12 sororities, including this one. They look like a studious but smart-alecky crew.

The young women of Pi Alpha Tau come off as more serious, I think. You have to love those early-1930s permanent waves.

Lets say these seniors were 22 years old in 1932. They would be approaching their 101st birthdays this year.