Tomb With A View: A Cemetery Podcast: Recent Episodes
Liz Clappin
On one hill, in one cemetery, in a small town in Massachusetts are buried several American literary giants. The cemetery, Sleepy Hollow, in Concord, MA is in many ways a manifestation of the ideology that they popularized and launched a movement to conserve land.
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Did your college or university have a cemetery on campus? A surprising amount of schools do. They exist of a number of reasons (well just one actually, but there's plenty of different stories). Celebrate back to school in the best way possible...cemeteries!
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History Nerds United
Let's make history fun again! Come listen to interviews with today's best authors.
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Zinkies, or white bronze headstones are a perennial favorite of all taphophiles. Today we explore their origin, manufacturing, preservation, and discussed how the company that made them revolutionized sales techniques.
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The rural cemetery movement coincided with an intellectual fascination with past cultures. These elements of society combined to create a century of architectural distinction in American cemeteries.
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Cemetery Symbolism is often the hook that lures people into the cemetery world. What is it? What does it mean? Symbols and how they are interpreted is a complicated and much debated topic in art history.
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Radiation can both help and harm, from the atomic bomb to life saving cancer treatment the way that radioactive elements and isotopes impact the human body was little understood until the mid-20th century. The answers came from cemeteries, where scientists looked to corpses that had died of exposure to radiation to study the phenomenon, and better understand how to harness it's power in the future.
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Between 1895 and 1945 San Francisco not only outlawed burial within city limits, but within the entire county. Following that, a fast-growing western port town hungry for land rallied for the removal of the thirteen major cemeteries. Meanwhile, to the south a quiet farming community, less than two square miles was slowly transforming into something extraordinary, America's first true necropolis with more than 1.5 million burials.
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Make People Better Podcast
Science fiction is becoming science fact. In 2018, the team behind this podcast...
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The United States largest cemetery is a Catholic cemetery. One of it's most intact mortuary archaeological sites is a Catholic cemetery. Yet despite this, little has been written about Catholic cemeteries themselves, how they are founded, how the y should be run, or how they are designed. Catholic cemeteries are all about one thing... and they do it well. Volume.
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Make People Better Podcast
Science fiction is becoming science fact. In 2018, the team behind this podcast...
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The discovery of KV62, or the tomb of King Tut was one of the most significant archaeological finds in history. 100 years ago, Howard Carter, the son of an illustrator and self-taught Egyptologist under the patronage of Lord Carnovan, first glimpsed the undiscovered tomb. In the wake of his discovery, a new wave of Egyptomania would sweep the world, and no where was this more evident than in cemeteries.
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For roughly a century in isolated corners of New England the remains of those who died of consumption were exhumed and their remains used as a folk remedy for their relatives, who the population believed were being slowly drained of life by their dead relations. Were these individuals really vampires? Today I examine these fascinating cases and examine the history of this bizarre tradition.
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What are the biggest challenges that historic cemeteries face when it comes to the issue of preservation? No answers this week, just putting a name on the things that stand in the way of successful preservation.
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Death culture historically has been family and tradition-centric, for this reason the LGBTQ+ community often has felt alienated by traditional mourning rituals, and as a result has formed their own diverse traditions, which are often protests of the injustices they faced in life. The fascinating and unique death culture that has emerged is a diverse and vibrant as the LGBTQ+ community itself.
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The painstaking restoration of the women's comfort station at Oakland cemetery illustrates many of the challenges... and rewards of the field of preservation. Presented by Ashley Shares, Director of Preservation, at the 2019 Georgia Municipal Cemeteries Conference, this presentation addresses both the fundraising, planning, and execution of a major cemetery preservation project.
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Historic Oakland Foundation
In 1917 the design and marketing of American cemeteries would again change, as one man, a former chemist and miner, Hubert Eaton had a vision of a cemetery that was about life, not death. Eaton's unique marketing of the "memorial park" would eliminate gravestones, paint a glowing new-age Christian picture of death as a glorious resurrection, and most importantly monetize burial in ways never before imagined.
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For the past ten years Samuel Beetler II has overseen the preservation of the monuments in Savannah's five municipal cemeteries. Recently promoted to director of cemeteries he shares his thoughts on the importance of conservation, balancing burial versus tourism, and many other vital topics to cemeteries today.
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City of Savannah Cemeteries:
on August 6, 1938 Charles Addams published the first cartoon featuring an unusual, macabre family that would become colloquially known by his name. Though they only represent a small part of his prolific career as cartoonist, they have become an enduring part of American culture to this day. The origins of the Addams family lies in the small colonial town of Westfield, NJ, where Addams spent his youth... wandering where else, but a cemetery.
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Today we explore how the earliest settlers developed their burial grounds, adapting their practices from both their European roots, and their religious beliefs... and why neither was a great model for long-term success.
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What was it about Mount Auburn that so captured the American imagination, and started the trend of cemetery tourism and spawned dozens of replica rural cemeteries across America? What were some of the criticisms?
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How did the 19th century change the way that people lived in America, exploring the social, political, industrial, philosophical, and religious changes that swept America in the first half of the 19th century and how they forged a new, completely unique, American model for cemeteries (including the use of the word cemetery!).
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Why do a podcast about cemeteries? Why am I the one doing a podcast about cemeteries? In the first episode I tell the story of how I became interested in cemeteries and became a member of the cemetery community, and why I thought we all needed a podcast about them.
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Everyone knows A Christmas Carol...Why were the Victorians so obsessed with telling ghost stories at Christmas? And why did the tradition never really catch on in the United States?
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What happens when you can't just let go... In a nice bookend to the story of the wandering case of the corpse of Eva Peron, we travel to Key West for the story of a fake doctor, stolen corpse, and a tale almost too weird to be true.
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40 years has passed since the controversial design of a young Yale architecture student was unveiled on the National Mall. The Vietnam Veteran's Memorial was as controversial as the war which necessitated it, but ultimately has lead to incredible healing and an evolution in how we design memorials.
What is the value of a body once it stops living? The messy political landscape of Argentina wondered that for almost 20 years following the death of its enigmatic First Lady Eva Peron, as they preserved and hid her remains.
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It's Tomb with a View's Third Anniversary, and I openwd up the airwaves for questions!
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August 31, 2022 marks the 25th anniversary of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. Her death in an automobile accident at just age of 36 prompted a global outpouring of grief that was unprecedented in history, with half the world's population watching on television and more than a million mourners in person. I take a look at her death, funeral, and how it fits into the overall story of not only royal funerals, but how the world views grief.
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Lizzie Borden took and axe... but what happened next? Following some of the nation's most notorious murder victims to their (sort of) final resting place.
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Often the few words of an epitaph are all that we can use to know them from their tombstone. Today I trace the origins of epitaphs, and the somewhat bumpy road that brought them to the present day. What do they say not only about the person they memorialize, but about society as a whole?
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On July 6, 2022 a bomb destroyed the Georgia Guidestones. This mysterious monument erected in Elberton, GA in 1980 has been a source of fascination since their erection. Recently the topic of right-wing Satanic panic, that most likely led to their destruction, before that these stones were Elberton's number one attraction and a testament to the skill of the local granite industry, which produces 2/3 of America's gravestones.
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America is a country of immigrants; however, since 1994 death of those seeking to cross the southern border of the United States have skyrocketed. What happens to these individuals, stuck, in death, somewhere between the countries they left behind and America?
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When Harvey Milk was assassinated on November 27, 1978 he left an enormous hole in the LGBTQ+ community of San Francisco. His legacy, not just as the first openly gay politician in California, but as an empathetic and compassionate social activist created an inclusive community that serves as his true legacy.
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Ulysses S. Grant died essentially penniless, but 90,000 people donated more than $600,000 to memorialize him with a massive tomb in New York City. A century later a dedicated college student stepped in to save the day after decades of neglect. Celebrating Memorial Day with the comeback story of Grant's Tomb.
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On May 6, 1937 the Hindenburg crashed in Lakehurst, NJ. On the 85th anniversary I examine the strange lack of memorials to the many airship disasters of the 1920s and 1930s and the dedicated individuals and corners of the world that keep the memory alive.
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Is cemetery sculpture art? Who decides? and where does it fall in the spectrum of art history?
Beth Roark is a professor of art history at Chatham University in Pittsburgh, PA and today we discuss what it is like to be a cemetery scholar.
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The celebration of the 200th birthday of Frederick Law Olmsted continues with a discussion of Olmsted's grave at the Old North Burial Ground in Hartford, CT and the many cemetery projects taken on by the Olmsted Brothers in the 20th century.
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April 26, 2022 marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Frederick Law Olmsted, the father of Landscape Architecture in America. Olmsted only designed one cemetery, Mountain View in Oakland, California, early in his career. Over the next two episodes I explore how his landscape design shaped American cemeteries and elevated the landscape to a piece of art.
Olmsted 200
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German painted Caspar David Freidrich painted 10 oil paintings with the subject of cemeteries. Why did he chose those as his subject? How are they a reflection of the greater culture of the time? And most importantly why was Hitler such a fan?
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Seventy years ago Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, CA started a museum. They had been collecting art, both funerary and otherwise and their collection had grown to such an extent it needed a home. That museum is still a huge part of Forest Lawn's landscape today. I kick of Artistic April with James Fishburne, the curator of the Forest Lawn Museum and discuss the collection, art history, the " memorial impulse" and what the future of art looks like.
Forest Lawn Memorial Park Museum
Read more about James and his work at Forest Lawn here!
Follow along with the Forest Lawn Museum Instagram
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The K-9 Corps was founded 80 years ago on March 13, 1942. Since them more than 30,000 dogs have served in the US military, many who never came home. How are these dogs trained, what is their relationship to their handlers, and most importantly how are they remembered when the loose their lives in the line of duty?
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America has produced some incredible and innovative things in terms of burial traditions... but what about the unsuccessful ideas. Today I explore the brief lifespan of "marble cemeteries" .
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The New York Marble Cemetery
The New York City Marble Cemetery
The Lindbergh kidnapping is one of the most notorious true crime stories in American history. How did two cemeteries come to be at the center of the story and why was the supposed perpetrator known as "Cemetery John"?
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Childhood mortality has declined since the 19th century, but how has the was we memorialize children changed over time?
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Everyone has seen cast iron ornamental fences around family lots in cemeteries, but the history of cast iron and cemeteries doesn't end there. Looking at how cast iron became a hot commodity in American cemeteries in the 19th century.
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Everyone who has visited a cemetery has seen a Masonic grave... but why is so little actually known and written about them?
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Harriette Merrifield Forbes was and extraordinary woman for her time, well educated, a phenomenal researcher, and a talented photographer... and without intending to, started the field of gravestone studies.
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About a month ago I got a letter in the mail... today I'm sharing the weird and wonderful tale that unfolded from that letter, with surprising cemetery connections.
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Burford holly is one of the most popular ornamental shrubs in gardens across the United States, and its origins are in Atlanta's Westview Cemetery. In a story that involves Queen Victoria, eccentric gardeners, and English ballads I will explore how this Christmas symbol connects to cemeteries.
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So many of our mourning traditions come from the Victorian era... the traditions all very much tied to the death of Queen Victoria's husband Albert and how she mourning him.
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On December 7, 1941 Pearl Harbor Hawaii was bombed and torpedoed by Imperial Japanese troops. The military and civilian deaths that day lead to a massive recovery effort, temporary cemeteries, and one of the most visited memorials in American.
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The story of the Pilgrims is the quintessential American story... so we have always treasured and protected their final resting place...right?
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Islam is the primary faith of 47 countries globally, with 1.9 billion practitioners, yet the history of Islam in America is difficult to trace and their cemeteries are hard to find, and even more difficult to establish new ones. Looking at the trends, or lack thereof in Muslim cemeteries in the United States.
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The Amish are both one of the most fascinating and fastest growing Christian subsects, their simple, humble lives extend to their burial practices and both continue certain historic practices as well as set precedents.
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Happy Halloween! Take a visit to the site of the legend(s) to learn a little about one of the most historic churches in America and the associated burial ground, red sandstone, preservation and reproductions to celebrate the spookiest day of the year!
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On Good Friday 1936 cemetery sexton Michael Gallagher was literally blown to pieces by a bomb in a cigar box, which was intended for someone else. Everyone loves a good true crime story... was the man executed two years later in the electric chair really guilty?
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We look north to Canada this week as I break down the reasons behind the recent discovery of so many forgotten and neglected cemeteries containing the remains of indigenous children over the past few months on the grounds of former residential schools. I separate facts from fiction and examine how these neglected cemeteries aren't just about burials, but an entire system.
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More than a potters field Hart Island in Long Island Sound has been in public use since the Civil War. As it was emerging as the City Cemetery for New York (a much more complex idea than simply a potters field) the land was also being used for a wide variety of purposes and is filled with historic buildings. Examining the complex history and exciting future of one of America's largest and most fascinating burial grounds.
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What happens when a person dies with no one to claim their remains? Examining how different cities across the US handle their unclaimed and impoverished dead.
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20 years, 22,000 sets of remains, and countless man hours and yet 40% of of the victims who died on September 11, 2001 remain unidentified. I look into the complex challenges that the scientists have faced in the most complex forensic investigation in modern history as well as the difficulties in handling human remains, when we don't know what or where they are.
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As the 50th anniversary of the nation's deathliest prison riot in Attica, NY approaches I consider the troubling history of those who died there, not only the inhumane way the riot was ended, but the continuing indignity after death. Also examining the best know movie prison cemetery and how it is in many ways representative of reality.
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At one time almost every cemetery had a chapel, magnificent buildings by famous architects, why did this happen and why did they eventually go out of favor?
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Hillary Burt joins me to talk about her experience caring for the over 100 cemeteries located on Fort Campbell Army installation on the Kentucky-Tennessee border. We learn about how the US Army treats and cares for not only their own cemeteries, but those that become part of an Army installation by default.
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Andersonville stands out in American history as the worst example of how to treat POWs. A look at not only the catastrophic death toll, but who was to blame and how these 13,000 POWs were memorialized and the controversial counterattack that the United Daughters of the Confederacy waged at Andersonville.
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Do all dogs go to heaven? Looking at the fascinating origins of pet cemeteries and some of the more unusual examples.
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425,000 Italian and German POWs were brought to the United States during WWII and placed in 700 camps across America, but mainly in the South. Some of them never went home, the stories of these prisoners and how their remains were treated.
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Novelist Audrey Keown joins me to discuss why she chose to place a cemetery at the center of her latest mystery novel. We cover the best cemeteries in Chattanooga, TN where her novels are set (and Audrey lives!), why exploring understudied history is important, and much more!
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Find Audrey and her latest mystery novel Dust to Dust here
Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, and More... Exploring Boston's first three graveyards along the Freedom Trail.
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SCI is the largest funeral care provider in the world, handling 1 in 9 American funerals. So why have you never heard of them? Learn the fascinating story of how Robert Waltrip turned a single funeral home into a global empire, the McDonald's of Death.
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First published in 1963 The American Way of Death by Jessica Mitford, later updated in 1998 after her death, challenged the funeral industry and its excess. What does it have to say about cemeteries?
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Today I discuss the darker side of Arlington, how acquisition of additional burial space required the removal of hundreds of black residents of the Arlington Freedmen's Village and how the. Arlington Confederate Monument is perhaps the worst Lost Cause monument of them all.
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The popularity of burial at Arlington really didn't explode until 1963, when the burial of the assassinated president, John F. Kennedy was interred there. This week I examine the importance of the gravesite both as a factor that shaped Arlington and a watershed moment in gravesite design.
Today I examine one of the most integral parts of Arlington, the Tomb of the Unknowns; why do we have one? What does it say? and most importantly why there are no more unknowns.
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Part 1 of a 3-part series on America's most famous cemetery, Arlington, to honor the 100th anniversary of the dedication of the Memorial Amphitheater!
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I've talked about maritime disasters... but what about those who chose to be buried at sea, either as part of their profession or lifestyle? Looking at what you have to do to be buried in the briny deep.
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There have been thousands of shipwreck on the coastlines of the United States and the Great Lakes. How do we mourn the lost? How do they themselves view the possibility of death at sea? Using two of the most noteworthy modern shipwrecks I examine the complex challenges of remembering those lost at sea.
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The RMS Titanic I perhaps the most famous shipwreck in history, we all know what happened the night it sank... but what happened after? How were the remains of victims salvaged? Were they salvaged at all? Where we those recovered buried? And most importantly... are there any bodies still down there? I also discuss some of the most impressive Titanic memorials and the lasting impact of the sinking.
One of the rarer forms of vernacular grave markers are those crafted from terra cotta, but an examination of the topic with Philadelphia-based taphophiles reveals that New Jersey is ground zero for this unlikely material.
Check out the artwork of Jeanne and Mike, as well as their joint gravestone hunting persona Corpse Altar below:
corpse_altar
Jeanne D'Angelo
Mike Bukowski
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Continuing Materials March by considering concrete, a humble, utilitarian material that is found with surprising regularity in cemeteries, in a wide variety of forms.
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The ancient Egyptians created polished granite... but it took over 2000 years to replicate their processes. The story of granite and its influence on technology is a fascinating one that starts early than you might think.
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Marble was the undisputed king of 19th century rural cemeteries... but how did it get there. I travel back to the Old Country to look at the origins of marble grave markers and explore how the industry has both changed and remained the same over the centuries.
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In Materials March I explore the common materials used in American gravestone manufacturing... up first, slate!
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Looking at the legal history of segregation in cemeteries, how segregation both led to the rise and fall of black cemeteries, and considering ongoing patterns in the neglect and lack of preservation of Black cemeteries.
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The story is a familiar one, black cemeteries that are neglected, forgotten, and even destroyed. Starting at the beginning of the history of the United States I try to consider how this fits into a larger pattern, and consider examples from the colonial period and early days of the republic.
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Do mobsters really sleep with the fishes? Looking at the elaborate burial traditions of Italian Americans, famous Mafia graves, and how they are portrayed on TV and in the movies.
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The rural cemetery movement originated as a push back against the rapid urbanization that accompanied the Industrial Revolution. Today cemeteries remain an important piece of maintaining healthy biodiversity in cities as one of the largest collections of greenspace.
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Ashley Shares, Director of Preservation at Oakland Cemetery here in Atlanta joins me to consider the people who work (and sometimes live) in cemeteries, considering how this has evolved over the past 150 years.
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How did the tradition of burying presidents at their presidential libraries come about? Why do some presidents not choose to be buried at their presidential libraries? Why don't all presidents have them? On Inauguration Week I consider the past ten presidents and how presidential burial trends changed after the Presidential Libraries Act of 1955, and may continue to change in the future.
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On what would have been Dr. King's 92nd birthday, taking a look at how the community rallied for following Dr. King's death to create a memorable, fitting, and important memorial despite enduring institutional racism.
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How does the neighborhood a cemetery is in shape it? Looking at the unique example of the almost 300 year old Palmer Cemetery in the Fishtown neighborhood of Philadelphia, where you can only be buried if you live within the boundaries of the neighborhood.
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Picture it.... Swan Point Cemetery, Providence, Rhode Island, January 1, 2007.... You know how it's going, but where did this start?
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Some holiday musings on the inspiration for the funeral and burial customs in J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings.
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Looking at the burial customs of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and their migration west.
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What's up with those saints-in-a-box? Considering what the concept of "incorrupt saints" shows us about Catholic beliefs and their perception of the body.
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The Shakers reached a peak population of around 6,000 in 1840, living in 19 villages in the northeastern United States. Their cemeteries are simple and reflective of their way of life... but looking a little deeper shows ingenuity and social structure that might not be evident at first.
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The Harvard Shaker Cemetery by Roben Campbell
The Disappearing Quaker Cemetery by Thomas and Brenda Malloy
Examining how the American Indian Movement and fight for Native American Rights in the 1970s and 1980s lead to the vilifying of indigenous remains and the popular trope of the haunted "Indian Burial Ground".
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Scaffold burials are some of the most striking and well documented indigenous burial traditions, but are also fascinating case studies to understand how different cultures deal with the same harsh realities of death.
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Looking at the pre-contact civilizations building incredibly complex networks of ceremonial and funerary mounds, some of which pre-date both the pyramids and Stonehenge!
Exploring the racist treatment of Native North American remains throughout history and how the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act seeks to repair that.
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This week I team up with one of my favorite Atlanta podcasts Archive Atlanta to explore the weird history of body snatching. Happy Halloween!
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Check out Victoria's podcast Archive Atlanta
Looking at how memorials can give a voice to innocent victims and how good historical research can help us to look back and understand what was previously unknown important facts about the past. The Salem Witchcraft Trials of 1692 are still being learned about and interpreted today as we continue to come to terms with our difficult past.
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We know cemeteries get moved, we know sometimes bodies get left behind... it has even inspired a few horror movies along the way (looking at you Poltergeist). What is the big issue? Why does it happen? And is it always a bad thing?
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Check out this story (pages 18-25) of responsible cemetery removal showing you step-by-step how the process happens!
Not every cemetery in the 19th century was a rural cemetery... today I talk about the often forgotten cemetery movement that dominated the post-Civil War period.
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What is the IOOF? Why are there so many cemeteries with their name on it? What do all those symbols mean? I dive into the weird and wonderful world of what was once the largest fraternal organization in the United States.
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The weird tale of the potter''s field and church cemeteries in Greenwich Village... that people seem to keep forgetting about.
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For my first anniversary on September 13, 2020 I'm ditching the script and the research and winging it! In under 1 hour, what you need to know generally about American cemeteries.
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Exploring the significant role that cemeteries have played in forwarding the labor movement in America.
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Looking at how historic hurricanes shape and reshape cemetery landscapes.
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Continuing the discussion of removing cemeteries for public works projects from last week, I look at the example of Quabbin Park Cemetery in Ware, MA and use it as a jumping off point to discuss why the cultural landscape and context in a cemetery is important, and how this is perhaps the greatest loss in cemetery removals.
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To get a look at the underwater exploration of the Quabbin check out this video
They look at the site of the Enfield Congregational Church cemetery starting around timestamp 26:47 continuing through 32:46. You'll see why maybe things aren't so simple after all!
Is the removal of graves for important public projects justified? Does the good outweigh the bad? How are we dealing with these projects today. This issue is examined through the Tennessee Valley Authority, who have removed more than 20,000 graves since 1933.
Access the TVA grave database here
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Today I look at the complicated history of cremation, from the fall of the practice along with Rome to its resurgence, started by a country doctor, cremation is perhaps the greatest comeback story ever.
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Contemplating what happens to controversial persons after death. What is our responsibility as a society? Is everyone entitled to a decent burial? Who is responsible? Should their wishes and cultural practices be observed?
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Today I examine cemetery poetry over time, and look at some of the physical graveyards that inspired these poets.
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The final installment of the national cemeteries series explores the domestic cemeteries where 3.2 million veterans are interred.
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Part III of our national cemeteries series explores the permanent overseas cemeteries established to accommodate the remains of American soldiers when their families chose not to have their remains repatriated.
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Part II of the National Cemeteries series examines how the Army learned important lessons from the Civil War burial crisis and how Army Chaplin Charles C. Pierce emerged as an unlikely cemetery hero, introducing the use of dog tags and finding new ways to identify war dead.
National Archives film, Activities of the Graves Registration Service 1919-1920
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I update the status of Confederate monument removals across the South and clarify some very important points.
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Today I tackle the hot button issue of Confederate monuments and memorials. Where do they fall in our overall discussion of the importance of remembering the dead? What do they symbolize? Why and how were they erected? And most importantly we discuss why the time for them to exist is over.
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The Cost of the Confederacy, December 2018, Smithsonian Magazine
Today I start a month-long exploration of United States national military cemeteries. This week we will focus on how the Civil War changed both the public perception of death and how they were handled as the first national cemeteries are established.
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Facbook
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Today I'm answering listened submitted questions for the first time!
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Fifty years after the killing of four students by the National Guard during a Vietnam protest, I examine how the memorialization of their deaths is still the subject of controversy.
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Part II of my coverage of mortuary railroads examines the range of options to access the first three rural cemeteries, and how this allowed them to become major tourist attractions. I also cover the largest mortuary railroad operation in US history, the repatriation of American soldiers after WWII.
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"The Final Disposition of WWII Dead, 1945-1951"
The London Necropolis and National Mausoleum Company operated a mortuary railroad from the Necropolis Station in Central London, 23 miles to Brookwood Cemetery in Woking, Surrey, changing how cemeteries operated.
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Exploring key Jewish burial customs and discussing what sets their cemeteries apart.
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Examining the burial spots of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, who died on the same day, July 4, 1826 the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The graves of the 2nd and 3rd presidents reveal important cultural information about the emerging differences in Northern versus Southern burial practices in the United States.
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Bronze makes for some of the most striking and unusual pieces of sculptural art work in cemeteries... but people just cant seem to stop stealing it! Exploring what makes bronze unique as a material, the finest examples of bronze statuary, the story behind the podcast logo, and the scumbags who steal cemetery monuments.
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The 1918 Spanish Influenza Outbreak was the worst pandemic in modern history, some argue even worse than the Black Plague based on population. How did this catastrophic event that killed 675,000 Americans shape our cemeteries? How have cemeteries helped us better understand what happened in 1918 and learn from it?
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Check out Emily Ford's account of the 1918 epidemic in New Orleans:
https://www.oakandlaurel.com/blog/the-influenza-epidemic-of-1918-in-new-orleans
The struggles and xenophobia facing the Irish in America is examined through three stories of the struggle for acceptable as immigrants to the United States.
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Exploring the gravesites of significant figures in women's history
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Part II of our fascinating discussion with entrepreneur and preservationist Emily Ford, owner of Oak and Laurel Preservation LLC and newly appointed Superintendent of Cemeteries for the City of New Orleans.
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Check out Emily's projects and research:
https://www.oakandlaurel.com/
To celebrate Mardi Gras we discuss what makes the cemeteries and burial traditions of New Orleans so special and unique with guest star, Emily Ford.
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Check out Emily's blog with tons of fantastic photos and research on the history of New Orleans cemeteries:
https://www.oakandlaurel.com/blog
Part II of our exploration of presidential graves continues with the grave of Abraham Lincoln at Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield, Illinois.
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Part I of a two-part President's Day look at the graves of Washington and Lincoln, how presidential burials change over time and how regional practices influence their graves.
This week marks the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. To mark this occasion we examine Atlanta's own early Holocaust memorial. The Memorial to the Six Million in Atlanta's Greenwood Cemetery is a remarkable piece of International style architecture, the brainchild of Holocaust survivor and AIA architect Benjamin Hirsch (1933-2018). This history of this monument, tucked away in an unassuming corner of Greenwood Cemetery is a fascinating one, including a controversial part of the memorial which raises important questions about how we memorialize tragedies which exist on a scale that is difficult to comprehend.
Discussing the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, National Register of Historic Places, National Landmarks, and how to assess cemeteries in light of all of these.
Resources:National Register Bulletin 41