It was 24 December 1795 —
of course there’s no one now alive

who remembers that winter day or year
when Consistory met with Stephen Van Rensselaer.

A man of wealth and prestige was he,
and  he drove from his mansion in Albany
on that cold winter day with horses and sleigh
as seven long miles slowly slipped away.

With a team of black horses, and a sleigh that was black
with gold trim around it, no style did he lack —
’twas the trend of the times in those days away back
when a team of black horses was today’s Cadillac.

He was dressed all in fur from his head to his toes,
with gloves, coat and hat that left only his nose
exposed to the cold of that December day,
when to Bethlehem Church he drove with his sleigh .

He came in response to an invitation
to sell some land to the said congregation
a parcel of land, the consistory said,
would give place for expansion, and to bury their dead.

Imagine now the thrill, the excitement, surprise
when that parcel became acres one hundred and five!

No records are found of that meeting held,
but the gift that he brought would eventually weld
a forest of beauty we now hold so dear –
and we remember the giver… Stephen Van Rensselaer.

Richard Thayer ~ December 2006