Dead Stop: NPR Visits Cemeteries

May 29, 2012 | 0 comments

In the first installment of Dead Stop, Morning Edition‘s summer road trip series about interesting grave sites in America, they feature Ben & Jerry’s ice cream company’s “Flavor Graveyard.”

Headstones are dedicated to bygone favorites such as Oh Pear (1997), Makin’ Whoopie Pie (2002-2003), and Urban Jumble (2000-2001). Sean Greenwood, Ben and Jerry’s Grand Poobah of Publicity, provided a tour of the cemetery in Waterbury, Vermont.

Like most cemeteries, the Flavor Graveyard attracts its share of mourners and other visitors.

“It’s not uncommon,” Greenwood says. “You walk up to the graveyard here, and there’ll be fans that are up here putting flowers next to a headstone, or down on one knee, kind of paying their respects.”

In what may be a nod to the current zombie fad, Ben and Jerry’s also offers customers a chance to make the case for resurrecting a favorite flavor.

But that doesn’t mean every flavor should be brought back. In particular, Greenwood cites “the dreaded Sugar Plum” ice cream, a mix of plum and caramel that he says should remain six feet under.

Visit the NPR site for the full story. To nominate your favorite gravesite, use the hashtag #nprdeadstop on Twitter or Instagram.

A Good Goodbye