Jersey City: Where the Goats Meet the Grass (in a Cemetery)

It was a cloudy, humid Saturday morning when I visited the historic Jersey City and Harsimus Cemetery last weekend.

I had never heard of a cemetery (or any place other than a farm) that used goat lawn mowing services. But when I looked into it, it seemed too good to pass up.

Sketchbook in hand, I made my way up the steep hill toward a front door to leave city life behind for a while. As expected, I was greeted with a resounding “Bah!” from a sheep.

While the goats and sheep were absorbed in their particular visitor (me), their attention was also occupied by another commotion. Less than a quarter mile down the hill, people working at the annual Goatchella Music Festival were setting up musical instruments, tents and tables.

One goat seemed to think that the prospect of another night of music and entertainment was ruining his day. He was in the middle of a party and just wanted to graze on his grass in peace.

To his left was a goat, its jaw hanging open, suffering from the heat. If goats spoke English, this one would have said (or yelled), “Can’t a goat sleep in this place?”

As I finished sketching the abundance of greenery behind them, I heard a voice yelling from down the hill. It was a hot dog vendor warning me that my car was taking up his parking space.

Gathering my pencils and markers, I gave a quick wave to the goats and sheep (they didn’t return my greeting) and hurried to my car.

It’s not a country for cartoonists, I guess.

Liam Simonelli’s cartoons have appeared in The Jersey Journal and the Star-Ledger, WashingtonPost.comand on national news pages Counterpoint.com. A senior at The College of New Jersey, where he draws cartoons for the school newspaper, The Signal, he has won numerous awards. In 2022, he won the national Mark of Excellence Award for Editorial Cartooning in the Society of Professional Journalists’ competition for college journalists for work he did while a student at Mercer County Community College.

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