The Robert Hay House, Eden Street, New Bern

"It appeared from nowhere...."

"If you come to New Bern make sure to notice about the Monsignor who is buried in the front yard of his home on Middle St. Evidently, he liked to sit on the porch and watch the sunsets, so when he died in 1952 they buried him right there in the front yard--a step away from his porch.

Even for as many, many days and times that I have walked down the sidewalk by the Catholic Charities, I have never noticed that tabletop marker before. And then, on that day, it just seemed to appear from nowhere.

That's the way it is in New Bern. You may walk the neighborhood a thousand times in your lifetime, but on any day (it's usually the evening walks) you will see something that you've never seen before, although it has been sitting right there for a hundred years."

Rosemary Osterhus to a friend -- 2010

Wednesday, January 19, 2011