Commonly dubbed the “least interesting place to sit in the entire Nichols Arboretum,” the Eleanor R. Jenkins memorial bench has been plunged into local celebrity after being the site where sophomore Rebecca Bright and senior Matt Olsen explosively ended their year-long relationship.
The bench, located adjacent to the entrance of the park, had up until that point been overlooked for other benches with better scenic views and more notable namesakes. However, Bright and Olsen permanently upped its excitement factor with their choice to sit on that particular bench for the tear-filled, extremely tense and hours-long argument that would ultimately lead to their breaking up.
“No one cared about that bench before last Monday. That spot had always just been some dusty random corner of the Arb,” reported bystander Alana Johnson. “But all of a sudden, it becomes the spot where the iconic Rebecca-Matt breakup went down, and now it’s all anyone’s talking about. I saw a few freshmen wander over there on Thursday just to sit where they sat and reenact it. It’s all anyone’s talking about.”
Unfortunately, the Eleanor R. Jenkins bench lost its status as the most famous seat in the Nichols Arboretum after local senior citizen Bert Russell died of a heart attack on the next bench over.
