Nick and Tarzy
By: Chloe F., Jeff D., and Alyssa R.
Who
are Nick and Tarzy?
Where
are they buried?
Do you know the legend of Nick and Tarzy? A long time ago, everyone in Ludlow knew this legend. Here is the story:
Nick (Nicholas Daniels) lived in Ludlow, but Tarzy (Thyrza Olds) lived in Belchertown. Nick was a very fine gentleman as Tarzy was a very fine woman. For over forty years, every Sunday night Nick would visit Tarzy’s house, though he never asked her hand in marriage. One day Nick injured his hand on some unknown sharp object. He dressed in his best clothing even though his family wanted him to stay home on that stormy night. But Nick went to Tarzy’s house anyway. The storm caused him to come down with a terrible case of lockjaw. He died right by Tarzy’s fire side in her own home. She kept Nick’s memory in her head at all times and never married. Every Sunday night Tarzy would bake herself a hard gingerbread cake to remind her of Nick. Nick was buried on the Ludlow side of the East Cemetery on Poole Street (the “Ould Burying Ground”). When Tarzy died, she was buried relatively close to Nick, but she lay on the Belchertown side of the same cemetery.
Nicholas Daniel's headstone "The Ould Burying Ground," or East Cemetery |
Today the headstone is falling apart.
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Headstone of Thyrza Olds "The Ould Burying Ground" |