A reverie on snowdrops
I’ve been imbibing, with my second cup of coffee, weekly gleanings from The Dispatch. Rufus Ward is writing about Snowdrops? That subject seemed, at first, rather a departure from his usual historic turns, but, in the end, he ties it up neatly with the past.
The piece recalled my first and lasting experiences with that delicate blossom that began in my grandmother’s garden up on Highway 12.
Yes, they let you know that spring was imminent, but there was the whisper of something else, something not even grandmothers could explain … that snowdrops were not to be cut and used in indoor bouquets. Too small? Too pale? “Well, no, but we’re not supposed to cut them. We just don’t.”
Later, in Columbus, I knew of a stand of snowdrops, seemingly untended, between the curb and the fence beside Riverview on Second Street South. Obviously, I left those untouched as well. Not that I’d wanted to cut them, but their being there seemed a reminder that I mustn’t.
On into the article there was mention of snowdrops’ association with graves, particularly those of children, and that a consequent association with graveyards might have discouraged their use indoors. My mind jumped ahead to a grave in Arlington Cemetery. It was November of 1963.
As a nation we were learning that the only floral tribute at President Kennedy’s grave was the small bouquet of snowdrops from Mrs. Kennedy. As we watched her kneel to place it there, there came a distant admonition: But we’re not supposed to cut them! We just don’t.”
We know now, however, that Mrs. Kennedy wanted all details of her husband’s funeral to mirror, wherever possible, the funeral of Abraham Lincoln. You wonder, then, could “funeral flowers” have been among those myriad details? Could a bouquet of snowdrops have been placed on Lincoln’s grave after his long trip home to Springfield?
If so, who was the diligent archivist who uncovered and recorded that fact? … Ask Rufus Ward. He’ll know.
Marion Whitley
New York City
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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