Shows
The Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 254 - Beyond the Grave: The Phantom of the OperaSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Join Jennie and Dianne for the 2025 "Beyond the Grave" episode of the Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery, just in time to put you in a spooky mood for Halloween! Dim the lights, get cozy, and immerse yourself in Gaston Leroux's timeless masterpiece. With a special introduction by legendary silent film actor Lon Chaney, you'll be transported to 1880s Paris and the majestic Palais Garnier. Settle in and let the Ordinary Extraordinary tale of the Phantom of the Opera bewitch you. As...
2025-10-3051 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 218 - Real-Life Inspirations: The History Behind Virtual CemeteriesSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Don't miss the latest episode of the Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery Podcast, where Jennie and Dianne are joined by special guest Charles Johnson to chat about fictional cemeteries and ghost towns in the virtual world of video games and the real-life counterparts that inspired the game creators. Sometimes Ordinary Extraordinary history can be found in the most surprising places! View this episode on YouTube!https://youtu.be/XS9KnxrIBGQ?si=QKI2CG_Mc0g_ttOE...
2025-01-2357 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 206 - Beyond the Grave: Mary Shelley's FrankensteinSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Join Jennie and Dianne for the annual "Beyond the Grave" episode of the Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery, just in time to put you in a spooky mood for Halloween! Wrap yourself cozy, dim the lights and let Mary Shelley's haunting masterpiece envelop you as you venture into 'Frankenstein's eerie world. The tale begins with an introduction from Percy and Mary Shelley before transporting you to 19th-century Geneva, Switzerland. Witness Victor Frankenstein's doomed experiment, the creature's awakening and the devastating consequences...
2024-10-2459 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 193 - Preserving the Past: Lessons from the Annual 48 State Tour Preservation WorkshopSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. This week on the Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery podcast Jennie and Dianne review their recent "gravestone preservation workshop" after attending the "48 State Tour" hosted by Atlas Preservation at Evergreen Cemetery in Colorado Springs, Colorado. They share what they learned and what was accomplished while working alongside others whose enthusiasm for cemetery preservation is infectious! They also announce some details about this year's Beyond the Grave fundraising event this coming October as well as the 35th Annual Cemetery Crawl at Central C...
2024-07-1853 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 187 - The Ordinary Extraordinary Breen FamilySend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Ask and ye shall receive! This episode was made possible because several listeners reached out to this week's guest letting him know that Jennie and Dianne were eagerly hoping to speak with him. Get ready for a journey through history as Jennie and Dianne welcome Ed Breen, a descendant of the incorrigible Maurice Breen, whose story is a tribute to the American dream. You may remember Maurice's incredible story from episode 173 - from humble beginnings as an Irish immigrant...
2024-06-061h 01The Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 184 - The Fort Smith Twister: A Tornado of Scandal and DramaSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. In this episode of the ordinary extraordinary cemetery podcast, Jennie and Dianne are joined by returning guest Hugh Yemen as he shares a tale that in many ways is truly stranger than fiction! The story begins with a tornado that left tragedy and death in its wake in Fort Smith, Arkansas in January 1898. However, it is events that take place shortly after this tragedy that becomes a different sort of "twister" that takes us from scandal in a cemetery...
2024-05-161h 08The Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 182 - Cousin Jennies Part 1: Cornish Women of Mining Country CemeteriesSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. This week, buckle up for part one of a riveting tale as Jennie and Dianne team up with Lynette Webber, an expert who has dedicated years to researching the cemeteries and their residents in Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula. Picture this: a time machine back to the 1800s when tin miners and their kin from Cornwall, Great Britain, made the Peninsula and its copper mines their stomping ground. As the copper mines declined in productivity, families sought opportunities elsewhere, leading to...
2024-05-021h 04The Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 166 - Sewn in Stardust: Irene Lentz's Impact on Hollywood FashionSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Jennie and Dianne uncover the remark ble legacy of Irene Lentz – a trailblazing fashion designer turned Hollywood costume innovator during the 1930s and 40s. Delve into the Ord nary Extraordinary story of how she not only took the reins as MGM's chief designer in 1942 but also managed an exclusive fashion line for over 20 department stores – a true pioneer working both in Tinseltown and for herself simultaneously. Yet, beneath the glitz and glamour, Irene's life was marked by tragedies, lost love...
2024-01-0433 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 165 - A New Year's Ode to Friendship: Mark Twain and Helen Keller's Extraordinary BondSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. As we bid farewell to 2023, the Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery Podcast team wishes you a Happy New Year! Don't miss this final episode of the year, weaving history, literature, and friendship into an Ordinary Extraordinary story. Jennie and Dianne are joined by author Pamela McColl as they explore the charming friendship between literary giant Mark Twain and the remarkable Helen Keller.Discover the shared love of literature, Christmas, and adventures that bound America's most satirical storytellerand...
2023-12-2854 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 160 - Wit and Wings: A Thanksgiving Tribute to Will Rogers & Wiley PostSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Dive into a remarkable journey through time on the latest episode of "The Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery" podcast with Jennie and Dianne. This Thanksgiving, we're especially thankful for the wit and humor of Will Rogers. Join us as we celebrate the laughter-filled legacy of this iconic figure, along with the high-flying adventures of Wiley Post. In a tragic turn of fate, they bid farewell to life on earth in the same airplane accident in 1935 and were both laid to rest...
2023-11-2335 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 158 - Unbreakable Code, Unforgettable Heroes: Navajo Code Talkers and Veterans DaySend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. In this episode Jennie and Dianne honor Veterans Day and celebrate National Native American Heritage Month along with guests Charlie Johnson and Connie Kellwood Pitt. Connie's father, Joe Hosteen Kellwood was one of the renowned Navajo Code Talkers of WWII. Connie has made it her mission to share not only her father's personal story, but the stories of the 420 Ordinary Extraordinary Navajo men who participated in every major Marine operation in the Pacific theater. They translated hundreds of thousands...
2023-11-0953 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 156 - Beyond the Grave: An Evening with Bram StokerSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Join Jennie and Dianne for this very special Halloween edition of the Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery podcast. Grab your favorite warm beverage, turn the lights down low, and curl up with a cozy blanket as we delve into the enigmatic world of Bram Stoker, the genius behind the legendary novel "Dracula." Prepare to be transported into a chilling atmosphere, embracing the essence of Stoker's timeless legacy. The tale begins with an introduction from Bram Stoker himself before being whisked off...
2023-10-2659 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 155 - Bram Stoker's Dracula: A Conversation with Professor Stan StepanicSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Just in time to help kick off the third annual Beyond the Grave: An Evening with Bram Stoker, Dianne and Jennie engage in a captivating conversation with Stanley Stepanic, an Assistant Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures at the University of Virginia who teaches a VERY popular course called "Dracula". With his vast knowledge of Slavic folklore and the origins and subsequent manifestations of vampirism, Professor Stepanic helps Jennie and Dianne take a deep dive into the world of...
2023-10-1253 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 154 - From the Grave: Omens, Taboos, and BeyondSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. It's officially October which means many of us are feeling a bit spookier than usual! In this episode Jennie and Dianne unravel some of the secrets of omens and taboos lurking in the shadows of our minds. They delve into the Ordinary Extraordinary world of cemetery lore, uncovering eerie omens and ancient taboos that have stood the test of time. They also journey across diverse cultures, shedding light on how death is perceived differently around the globe. From ancient r...
2023-10-051h 08The Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 153 - From History to Harmony Part 2: The Folk Songs of North CarolinaSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. "Hang down your head, Tom DooleyHang down your head and cryHang down your head, Tom DooleyPoor boy, you're bound to die."The murder ballad, 'Tom Dooley', made famous by the Kingston Trio in 1958, is the tale of a twisted love triangle that culminated in two sensational trials that both captivated and disgusted the people of North Carolina in the years following the American civil war.Dianne and Jennie also delve...
2023-09-2841 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 138 - Beneath the Rockies Part 1: Visiting Colorado's Historic CemeteriesSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. This week Jennie and Dianne prepare to welcome members of the Association for Gravestone Studies to colorful Colorado for the annual AGS summer conference. This will be the first time the conference has been hosted in the state of Colorado. The conference will take place June 20-25th, 2023 and members from all over the United States and around the globe will be attending. The conference will focus on all things cemetery related and of course, participants will have the...
2023-06-1535 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 130 - "Corpse for Sale: The Burke and Hare Murders of 1828"Send us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. This week Jennie and Dianne stray from the cemetery to explore the gruesome and shocking details of the Burke and Hare murders that gripped Scotland in 1828. These two notorious murderers are responsible for one of the most infamous killing sprees in history. Learn about how they lured their victims to their deaths, how they sold the bodies to a prominent doctor for dissection, and how they were finally caught and brought to justice. Buckle up for an Ordinary...
2023-04-1337 min
the Me Bet07-Letting Go of Perfectionism & Setting Boundaries While Overcoming Personal Struggles | Jennie JohnsonHow do you restore your courage to get over your perfectionism and just start? How do you arrange your work schedule so it doesn’t seep into your personal time? How can your vulnerability open a door to connection?
In episode 7, Erica talks to Jennie Johnson, an entrepreneur and digital nomad, about the transition from working a corporate job to being a business owner. She describes what helped her to connect with her audience and how she sets boundaries to prevent burnout. Additionally, she opens up about the personal challenges she dealt with and ho...
2023-04-1139 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 129 - The Shroud of Turin: Legend, Science and FaithSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. With Easter just a few days away, Jennie and Dianne dive deep into the mysterious and controversial subject of the Shroud of Turin. This ancient piece of cloth is believed by many to be the burial shroud of Jesus Christ himself, but its authenticity has been the subject of much debate and scientific analysis over the years. Jennie and Dianne explore the history, science, and faith behind the shroud, shedding light on one of the most Ordinary Extraordinary artifacts...
2023-04-0634 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 128 - Ordinary Extraordinary Women: Uncovering the Hidden Stories of the PastSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Jennie and Dianne celebrate the last week of Women's History Month by revisiting some past interviews with women who have researched the Ordinary Extraordinary women of the past who fascinated them. Join them as they chat with authors Jan MacKell Collins and Sharon Pajka about soiled doves, marvelous madams, and women writers. They also revisit a conversation with Jennie's very good friend Laurilea McDaniel to delve into the life of Elizabeth Patton Crockett who became second wife to frontiersman...
2023-03-3035 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 126 - Salem Witch Hysteria Part 3Send us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Join Jennie and Dianne as they explore the aftermath of the Salem Witch Trials in part three of their series. Discover what happened to the victims and accusers after the trials, including the difficult lives many faced, as well as the memorials and tombs in cemeteries dedicated to them. Reflect on the impact that this dark period in history had on the Ordinary Extraordinary community of Salem and the legacies that still linger today.For more stories...
2023-03-1639 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 125 - Salem Witch Hysteria Part 2Send us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. In this week's episode of The Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery, Jennie and Dianne continue their series on the infamous 1692 Salem witch trials. Last week, they talked about how Tituba's confession triggered a chain of events that shaped the course of the trials. This week, they explore the aftermath of her confession, including how it led to more accusations, the establishment of a new court system, and the execution of those found guilty of witchcraft. Don't miss this fascinating episode as...
2023-03-0940 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 122 - "How Do I Love Thee...Beyond the Grave?"Send us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways." Happy belated Valentine's Day! In this episode Jennie and Dianne are continuing a month of love by featuring three Ordinary Extraordinary love stories, two of them all the way from New Zealand's Karori Cemetery! The final story is one of love that has fascinated Jennie since she was a little girl - a story of love overcoming obstacles and proving that sometimes love really does conquer all! "Smiles, tears...
2023-02-1629 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 118 Say What? A Cemetery Q and A Part 2Send us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Dianne and Jennie continue to answer your questions in this second Q and A installment of the Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery podcast. They discuss an old-wives tale regarding burial of those who die by suicide, answer questions about how they do their research for each episode, and share some of their favorite cemetery book recommendations. To round out the episode, they discuss Boston's Granary Burying Ground and how many souls rest beneath its soil. Jennie and Dianne are so happy...
2023-01-1838 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 116 - Christmas; Or the Good Fairy: A Harriet Beecher Stowe Christmas StorySend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Jennie and Dianne have made a tradition of sharing classic Christmas stories each year and have chosen an especially lovely to share as we say goodbye to 2022 and hello to the new year. This year the ladies pay a quick visit to the grave of Harriet Beecher Stowe whose novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin" made her a household name prior to the American Civil War. She was a woman who stood up for her beliefs her entire life and worked...
2022-12-2932 min
The Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 115 - Twas the Night Before an Interview with Author Pamela McColl on the Life and Death of Clement C. MooreSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. "Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the houseNot a creature was stirring, not even a mouse." Opening lines to one of the most well-known and well-loved Christmas poems of all time, but how did they come to be? In this episode Dianne and Jennie have a delightful chat with Pamela McColl author of the newly released book, "Twas the Night: The Art and History of the Classic Christmas Poem". They discuss Moore's Ordinary Extraordinary life...
2022-12-2247 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 107 - Beyond the Grave: The Legend of Sleepy HollowSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Join Jennie and Dianne for this very special Halloween edition of the Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery podcast. Grab your favorite warm beverage, turn the lights down low, and curl up with a cozy blanket as we visit the legendary village of Sleepy Hollow where rumor claims a Headless Horseman roams the countryside by night searching for what has been lost. Washington Irving's creepy tale of love and loss has been adapted and performed by phenomenally talented actors live at Fairmount...
2022-10-2751 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 106 - Washington Irving, The ManSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Dianne and Jennie are joined by not one, not two, but seven special guests on this episode to talk about Washington Irving, his life and his writings. Our guests are professor Tracy Hoffman who teaches Early American Literature at Baylor University and her students who are specifically studying Washington Irving this semester. We learn about Washington Irving's early life, the tragic loss of his fiance, his love of history and travel, and one of the most poignant moments in h...
2022-10-2048 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 92 - Gold Rush Cemetery in Skagway, AlaskaSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. "And those who have undergone [life in Alaska] claim that in the making of the world God grew tired, and when He came to the last barrowload, just dumped it anyhow, and that was how Alaska happened to be." - Jack London - Jennie is joined by special guest co-host Dave Johnson to discuss their recent visit to Gold Rush cemetery in Skagway, Alaska. Gold Rush Cemetery is Skagway’s oldest and most well-known cemetery and it is where you...
2022-07-1434 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 91 - An Overview of Alaskan CemeteriesSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Jennie and Dianne discuss the many cemeteries Jennie was able to visit while in Alaska. From the coastal town of Ketchikan to the center of the state in Fairbanks, learn about how life on the final frontier helped to create unique burial grounds and monuments to those ordinary, extraordinary souls who were brave enough to face harsh weather, extreme wildlife, and so much more in search or riches or glory or sometimes a fresh start on this episode of...
2022-07-071h 10The Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 87 - Paupers' Graves & Potter's FieldsSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Most cemeteries, both old and modern, contain a section often referred to as a Potter's field. In this episode, Dianne and Jennie discuss the history of Potter's fields and gravesites. From Lincoln Park in Chicago, Illinois to Hart Island in New York City, New York to quiet graves throughout England and Ireland, Many of these fields and gravesites have been forgotten with time as well as the poor souls buried within them. Dianne and Jennie try to remember the O...
2022-06-0939 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 86 - A Special Mausoleum and a Family CemeterySend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. In this episode Dianne and Jennie learn about one man's heartache and how it led him to build a magnificent mausoleum and gorgeous Victorian mansion. John Bowman built his wealth owning several tanneries and selling leather goods to the Union army during the civil war. However, his true happiness was the love he showered on his wife and daughters and when he lost them he he built the magnificent Laurel Glen Mausoleum and Laurel Hall right across the street...
2022-06-0240 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 80 - ANZAC Day in Australia and New ZealandSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. In this episode Jennie and Dianne learn about the April 25th tradition of ANZAC Day in Australia and New Zealand. ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army corps. ANZAC Day is a day that was originally begun to honor those soldiers who served during the first world war and specifically those who were part of the allied forces that set out to capture the Gallipoli peninsula. These became known as Anzacs and the pride they took in that n...
2022-04-2140 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 70 - Til Death Do Us Part - True Love All the Way to the GraveSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. In this episode Jennie and Dianne visit the gravesites of three couples who were truly in love in life and are buried side by side in death. The first is a story of young love that had barely started when it was nearly lost during the American Civil War. Second, is the true love story that sank below the seas with the RMS Titanic. Finally, a wild west madam who had many lovers throughout her life, but only one...
2022-02-1028 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 68 - In Remembrance of Joe Arridy at Greenwood Cemetery in Cañon City, ColoradoSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Jennie and Dianne are joined by special guest Casper Johnson as they revisit one of Diane's favorite cemeteries, Greenwood Cemetery in Cañon City, Colorado. They will begin with a brief history of the cemetery and then continue with the tragic story of Joe Arridy, a gentle man with an intellectual disability who was wrongly convicted and executed for a crime he never could have even begun to commit. Join us for Joe's Ordinary, Extraordinary story and how it h...
2022-01-2735 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 66 - Dr. Thomas Edge Discusses the Care and Remembrance of Lynching VictimsSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Jennie and Dianne interview their first guest of the new year! Dr. Thomas Edge is an Associate Teaching Professor in the Department of Ethnic Studies at Bowling Green State University. Tom recently took a sabbatical to research looking at the history of lynching in a different way: specifically the care given to the deceased and the efforts to remember them. His studies took him to 11 different US states and the sites and cemeteries connected to African American, German American...
2022-01-131h 04The Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 65 - Wyuka Cemetery in Lincoln, NebraskaSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Jennie and Dianne delve into the beauty and stories of Lincoln, Nebraska's Wyuka Cemetery; a cemetery with the distinction of being the only state appointed cemetery in the United States. Follow along with them as they explore the flora and fauna, the statuary, and the many unique monuments of this 140 acre park cemetery. They also share the ordinary extraordinary stories of a tragic train accident, a beloved singer, a freed slave who fought in the civil war and others.
2022-01-0635 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 64 - Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol with The Rebel at Large Adventure PodcastSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Drifter and Gypsie of the Rebel at Large Adventure podcast join Jennie and her son Charlie and husband Dave in an abridged retelling of Charles Dickens's beloved short story A Christmas Carol. What does this have to do with cemeteries? There is an Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery at the end of the story that truly does help Ebenezer Scrooge to learn the true meaning of Christmas. From our families to yours, Merry Christmas! (Artwork for this episode provided by: C...
2021-12-231h 49The Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 63 - Mount Calvary Cemetery and its Luminarias in Albuquerque, New MexicoSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Jennie and Dianne visit the Land of Enchantment, specifically Mount Calvary Cemetery in Albuquerque, New Mexico where every Christmas Eve the cemetery is full of of candlelit luminarias. What are luminarias and how did this tradition start? Find out in this episode of the Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery. We also give a quick news update on the Wreaths across America events around the United States happening on Saturday December 18th. Resources used to research this episode include:"...
2021-12-1625 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 62 - Winchester Cathedral, Jane Austen & ChristmasSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Dianne and Jennie explore one of the world's largest Gothic cathedrals, Winchester Cathedral in Winchester, England. This cathedral is the final resting place to kings, bishops, and many other famous persons including legendary English author Jane Austen. They also discuss how Christmas was an important holiday to Jane in her personal life and how it even played a role in many of her novels. Join us as we explore the Ordinary Extraordinary Winchester Cathedral and its burials and the...
2021-12-0930 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 61 - BloomBridge Update with Founder Kristen AllenSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Jennie and Dianne sit down with BloomBridge founder Kristen Allen for an update on how the flower delivery service has been going since it launched in spring of 2021. This is a follow-up to episode number 28 when we met Kristen for the first time. BloomBridge believes there is something to be said for remembering your loved ones. Honoring someone after they pass is about respect and loyalty. Flowers in a cemetery represent that life is still there and brings peace...
2021-12-0230 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 60 - Indigenous Peoples of the American Southwest and their Burial TraditionsSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. November is National Native American Heritage Month so in this episode Jennie and Dianne learn about the death and burial traditions of the Ordinary Extraordinary Hopi, Navajo and Apache nations of the American Southwest. They end the episode by sharing the Hopi story of The Land of the Dead. - "The young man said, "I did not believe that there was such a place as this. I thought, 'When a man dies, his spirit surely dies with him and l...
2021-11-2530 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 59 - Abolitionist Moses Summers in Oakwood Cemetery, Syracuse New YorkSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Jennie and Dianne chat with fellow taphophile and podcast host Hugh Yeman about his extraordinary leap down the rabbit hole that led to his discovery of one of America's most prolific abolitionists Moses Summers. Not only was Moses a newspaper man who wrote extensively about his abolitionist ideals, but he also served in the American Civil War writing home to the North about life on the warfront in the South. Through years of research, Hugh has been able to...
2021-11-1847 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 58 - Veteran's Day 2021 and America's Cemetery in Hermitage, PennsylvaniaSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. In this episode Jennie and Dianne pay homage to America's military veterans as they explore America's Cemetery and the Avenue of Flags in Hermitage, Pennsylvania. Formerly known as Hillcrest Memorial Park, America's Cemetery honors veterans who have served in every American conflict since World War I. The avenue of flags was established in order to recognize the hostages during the Iranian Hostage Crisis from 1979 to 1981. America's Cemetery has now become the final resting place to the cremains of hundreds of...
2021-11-1126 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 57 - Elm Grove Cemetery in Mystic, ConnecticutSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Dianne and Jennie take an Autumn stroll through beautiful Elm Grove Cemetery in Mystic, Connecticut. They explore the history of its unique shape, its gorgeous stone arch entrance, and learn about some of the people whose stories are buried off the banks of the Mystic River in this Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery.Resources for this episode include:Kulbida, Lydia. "Behind the Gates: The true story behind the haunted reputation of Brunswick’s Forest Park Cemetery ." https://ww...
2021-11-0427 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 56 - Beyond the Grave: Cemetery Wanderings with Edgar Allan PoeSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Join Jennie and Dianne for this very special Halloween edition of the ordinary extraordinary cemetery podcast. Grab your favorite warm beverage, turn the lights down low, and curl up with a cozy blanket as we wander through the cemetery to meet some of Edgar Allan Poe's most scrupulous characters. The five stories shared in this episode are performed by phenomenally talented actors who performed these stories live at Evergreen Cemetery in Colorado Springs on October 8, 2021 in order to help...
2021-10-281h 17The Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 55 - Oak Grove Cemetery and the Borden Family in Fall River, MassachusettsSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Dianne and Jennie sit down with special guest Shelley Dziedzic to discuss Oak Grove Cemetery in Fall River, Massachusetts where the infamous Lizzie Borden and her family are buried. They briefly discuss the grizzly murder of Andrew and Abby Borden, how their autopsies were conducted in the cemetery, and the importance of remembering the victims and not just those accused of their murders. They also discuss New England vampires and honoring those who were victims when the Titanic sank. A...
2021-10-211h 06The Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 54 - Eastern Cemetery in Louisville, KentuckySend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. In this episode Jennie and Dianne are joined by Andy Harpole and Savannah Darr of the Friends of Eastern Cemetery and by fellow podcaster Liz Clappin of the "Tomb with a View" podcast to discuss the story of Eastern Cemetery in Louisville, Kentucky and how its friend's group is helping it to survive. This episode was inspired by the documentary "Facing East", which was released in 2020 by Ronin Noir Films and tells the Ordinary Extraordinary story of the most...
2021-10-141h 01The Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 53 - Happy One Year Anniversary Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery Podcast!Send us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. In this very special episode Jennie and Dianne celebrate the one year anniversary of the Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery podcast! This episode is slightly longer than normal as they recap the first year of the podcast and then have a wonderful discussion with special guest Sharon Pajka who takes them on a tour through one of Edgar Allan Poe's favorite haunts, Shockoe Hill Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia. Thank you to all of our listeners & guests who have helped to make...
2021-10-071h 23The Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 52 - Special Guest Nolan Altman and the JewishGen Online Worldwide Burial RegistrySend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Jennie and Dianne chat with special guest Nolan Altman about how a simple question from his daughter led him down genealogy rabbit holes that eventually led him to coordinate JewishGen.org’s JOWBR (*JewishGen Online Worldwide Burial Registry) database. We delve into the importance of cemeteries and their link to genealogy research, how they help to preserve stories, and how they help educate future generations about traditions and family. All this and more on this episode of the Ordinary Extr...
2021-09-3051 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 51 - The Spirit Houses in St. Nicholas Cemetery in Eklutna, AlaskaSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. In this episode of the Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery Jennie and Dianne share news of a 140-year-old cemetery that was lost but has been found again in North Dakota and they learn the history of the spirit houses that cover the burials of more than 100 graves of native Dena’ina Athabascans in a cemetery in Alaska. Join us as we once again journey through these Ordinary Extraordinary Cemeteries!Resources used to research this episode include:Sisk, Amy...
2021-09-2325 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 50 - A Conversation with Necrotourist Ken NaegeleSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Jennie and Dianne sit down and talk with necrotourist Ken Naegele who is also the host of The Cemetery Podcast. Ken shares many stories of his adventures in cemeteries around the country, talks about his non-profit 'Respect our Cemeteries' and more! Join us, for a truly fun-filled episode of the ordinary extraordinary cemetery!To learn more about The Necrotourist go to:http://www.necrotourist.com/
2021-09-1652 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 49 - Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord, MassachusettsSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. “No abbey’s gloom, nor dark cathedral stoops,No winding torches paint the midnight air;Here the green pines delight, the aspen droopsAlong the modest pathways, and those fairPale asters of the season spread their plumesAround this field, fit garden for our tombs." - WILLIAM ELLERY CHANNINGThere are more than 10,000 souls who call Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord, Massachusetts their final resting place. In this episode Jennie and Dian...
2021-09-0936 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 48 - The Little Cemetery in the Sky & St Mary of the Snows, Door County, WisconsinSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Jennie and Dianne explore a couple of highly unique Belgian immigrant cemeteries located in Door County, Wisconsin. Is there really a little cemetery in the sky? And why are the headstones at St Mary of the Snows churchyard only 6 inches apart? Find out the answers to these questions and much more more in this episode of the Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery.Cemetery events mentioned in this episode: * Ask the Historian & Cemetery Open House: Albany Rural Cemetery - A...
2021-09-0225 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 47- Oakwood Cemetery - Cuyahoga Falls, OhioSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Jennie and Dianne take you to one of Ohio's most beautiful garden cemeteries, Oakwood Cemetery in Cuyahoga Falls. In this episode they explore the lives of a teacher and a gentleman farmer, a self-made man who was one of Cuyahoga Falls' best know citizens, a man who began his career on the factory floor making tires and worked his way up to become the CEO of Goodyear tires, a poet, and the discovery and marking of the graves of...
2021-08-2632 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 46 - 5 Mysterious GravesSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. In this episode Dianne and Jennie visit five mysterious graves located throughout the United States. From the grave of a female stranger, to a group of graves marked by a turning Angel, to a supposed witch, and even to the grave of a creature that may not be of this world! Come along as we explore these ordinary extraordinary cemeteries and and the mysteries they hold within! Resources for this episode include:Connelly, Christopher. "Nearly 120 Y...
2021-08-1934 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 45 - The Irish Miners of Leadville, Colorado and Their Forgotten GravesSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Jennie and Dianne are joined by special guest James Walsh who shares the stories and histories of the Irish miners who went to Leadville, Colorado in search of silver. These miners were the bottom of the rung men who were generally shunned by other members of society because of their Irish Catholic heritage. Many of them were buried in the pauper's section of the Evergreen cemetery in Leadville, Colorado. A very large majority of the graves belong to the c...
2021-08-1252 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 44 - A Gold Mine, A Pocket Watch and a Heart of GoldSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Find out how a gold mine, a pocket watch, and a letter bring the past to life and bring a family back together. In this episode Jennie and Dianne talk with Ron West. Ron has spent many years portraying James F Burns, Jimmie to his friends, at historic events throughout Colorado. James Burns was a coal miner turned millionaire who was not all that thrilled with his wealth and the other millionaires he was forced to spend time with...
2021-08-0546 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 43 - St. John's Historic Cemetery in Thibodaux, LouisianaSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Jennie and Dianne enjoy a delightful conversation with three gentlemen who have been tasked with helping to preserve and restore St John's Historic Cemetery in Thibodaux, Louisiana. Special guests John Dennis, David Plater, and Teddy Pierre share the stories and history of St. John's and what they have been doing to preserve this historical landmark. Join us for a visit to yet another ordinary, extraordinary cemetery! Resources for this episode include:http://www.stjhca.org/ho...
2021-07-291h 02The Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 42 - John Dillinger's Grave at Crown Hill Funeral Home & Cemetery in Indianapolis, IndianaSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. "These few dollars you lose here today are going to buy you stories to tell your children and great-grandchildren. This could be one of the big moments in your life; don't make it your last!" Words spoken by American gangster John Dillinger. Join Jennie and Dianne as they visit Crown Hill Funeral Home and Cemetery in Indianapolis, Indiana specifically to tell the ordinary extraordinary story of John Dillinger on the anniversary of his death, July 22nd, 1934. Resources...
2021-07-2233 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 41 - Exploring Underwater CemeteriesSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Take a dive with Jennie and Dianne as they explore two of the world's underwater cemeteries. Their first stop will be a cemetery off the coast of the Philippines that has been underwater for more than 150 years thanks to a volcanic explosion. Their second stop is a man-made coral reef cemetery off the coast of Florida. And finally they will pay a visit to the Gloucester Fisherman's Memorial in Gloucester, Massachusetts to honor the hundreds of fishermen who have...
2021-07-1526 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 40 - Exploring the Wit and Wisdom of EpitaphsSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Jennie and Dianne wander through graveyards across the United States and even the world exploring the wit and wisdom of epitaphs. Some are sweet and poignant, some are comical, and some tell the tragic tales of those buried beneath the headstones. Come along on another journey through many Ordinary Extraordinary Cemeteries and their poetry.Resources for this episode include:"Epitaph." https://www.merriam-webster.com/. www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/epitaph. Accessed 27 June 2021.Crow, R.. "...
2021-07-0828 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 39 - Explosion in the Mine Part 2 - Hanna, WyomingSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. In this episode Jennie and Dianna continue their visit to the cemeteries in Hanna and Carbon, Wyoming where more than 200 men who perished in the Hanna Mine Number 1 Explosions are buried. They tell the tragic tale of the double explosion that occured on March 28, 1908 and how working and living for "the company" left many families not only grieving for their lost men, but also left many widows and children completely destitute. Join us for another episode of the Ordinary...
2021-07-0127 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 38 - Explosion in the Mine - Hanna, WyomingSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Join Jennie and Dianne as they go back in time to revisit the tragic day of June 30th, 1903 when the Union Pacific Coal Company's number one mine in Hanna, Wyoming exploded killing 169 men. This explosion was devastating to the community of Hannah, Wyoming. You will find many of these men buried in the cemeteries at Hannah and in the nearby ghost town of Carbon, Wyoming. This is part one of a two-part series on the explosions that took place i...
2021-06-2428 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 37 - A chat with Jeff Belanger of the New England Legends PodcastSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Jennie and Dianne chat with Jeff Belanger of the New England Legends podcast. They talk about visiting cemeteries, the importance of keeping stories alive, how many people feel about the Dead, and a little side story about driving in Boston, Massachusetts. Come along as we visit some ordinary extraordinary New England cemeteries and revisit their tales with a guest who has spent much of his life among the Dead.
2021-06-1748 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode #36 - Body Snatchers!Send us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. In this episode Jennie and Dianne are joined by special guest Suzie Lennox, an expert in the history of body snatching especially in England, Ireland, and Scotland. Suzie shares the stories of successful and unsuccessful body snatchers, why they wanted to dig up the Dead in the first place, and how cemeteries and families tried to prevent the snatching of the Dead. Take a walk with us through the ordinary extraordinary cemeteries where those who were laid to rest...
2021-06-101h 10The Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 35 - War Stories, Buffalo Soldiers & MoreSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. In this episode Jennie and Dianne share stories of soldiers that were sent along with photographs for our first ever Memorial Day slideshow featured on Facebook and Instagram. While the photographs were shared in the slideshow, we felt it was important to share the stories that came with them. We also learn how the Buffalo Soldier reenactors began honoring the fallen soldiers at Evergreen Cemetery in Colorado springs, Colorado. And finally,Jennie gives a teaser of some recent visits...
2021-06-0347 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 34 - Interview with Tomb Guard Ruth Robinson for Tomb of the Unknown SoldierSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. A very special Memorial Day episode! Jennie and Dianne are privileged and honored to interview Ruth Robinson a member of the Society of the Honor Guard for the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery located in Arlington, Virginia. Ruth served as SGT Ruth Hanks from 2016-2018, a Military Policeman assigned to the 3d U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard). She is the fourth female to become a Sentinel at The Tomb of the Unknowns. Ruth...
2021-05-2746 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 33 - Lone GravesSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Jennie and Dianne explore lone graves throughout Australia and the United States. Graves of those seeking gold, those who died of broken hearts, and those who chose their own perfect final resting place. Come along and explore the ordinary, extraordinary lives of those buried in lone graves.Resources for this episode include:https://www.adamshistory.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=39:haile-grave&catid=2&Itemid=42 - Adams County, Nebraska
2021-05-2031 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 32 - Cemeteries and the LawSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Special guest Ryan Seidemann returns wearing his lawyer hat and joins Jennie and Dianne to discuss legal issues that happen in and around cemeteries. In this episode they talk about the law regarding photography and cemeteries, accessing cemeteries on private property, what happens when someone is injured in a cemetery and much more! Ryan Seidemann: Louisiana Cemetery Response Task Force 225-326-6056cemeterytaskforce@ag.louisiana.gov
2021-05-1354 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 31 - Last Great Mining Boom Cripple Creek, Colorado and Mt. Pisgah CemeterySend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Jennie and Dianne take a trip to the past to explore Mt. Pisgah the ordinary extraordinary cemetery located just outside of Cripple Creek, Colorado. Cripple Creek is where Colorado's last great gold boom took place in 1891. Mt. Pisgah is the final resting place of hundreds of hard rock miners, cowboys, railway workers, mothers and children, ladies of ill repute, and many others who dreamed golden dreams. In this episode we hear tale of a man killed in a bar-room...
2021-05-0634 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 30 - Lone Fir Cemetery in Portland, OregonSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. In this episode Jennie and Dianne explore Lone Fir Pioneer Cemetery in Portland, Oregon. They share the tragic stories of victims from a steamship explosion, the heart-breaking story of the first woman charged with murder in the Oregon territory, they share an article written in 1922 about the historical significance of the cemetery and why it needs to be cared for, and they talk about a new, exciting project to commemorate the many Chinese immigrants buried in this ordinary, extraordinary c...
2021-04-2921 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 29 - Cemetery at Indian Hot Springs State Park, GeorgiaSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Dianne and Jennie attempt to uncover the history surrounding a wooded cemetery located inside of Indian springs State Park in Butts County, Georgia. We are hoping this episode will encourage anyone who has more information on this cemetery to let us know. Perhaps your ancestors are buried there? We would love to learn more of the stories laid to rest in such a fascinating ordinary, extraordinary cemetery!
2021-04-2219 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 28 - A Visit with Kristen Allen Founder of BloomBridgeSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Kristen Allen, founder of BloomBridge, joins Jennie and Dianne this week to discuss how a promise to her grandmother led to building a business that helps to connect the living and the dead. BloomBridge believes there is something to be said for remembering your loved ones. Honoring someone after they pass is about respect and loyalty. Flowers in a cemetery represent that life is still there and brings peace of healing to those that are still here. They want...
2021-04-1531 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 27 - Old Cemetery & the Ghost Town of Bannack, MontanaSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Jennie and Dianne share the history of Montana's oldest and best preserved ghost town and its cemeteries: Bannack, Montana. They tell of the discovery of gold, the tenacity of the residents and they share some of the obituaries of those who were there when the town was born and when it was no more. Come along to another ordinary, extraordinary cemetery in the wild, wild west!
2021-04-0823 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 25 - The Mysterious Grave of Miss Princess Nucassee Maeeoniii Jahan Sun Bow WoottonSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Jennie and Dianne are joined by special guest Jeff Levy to learn the mysterious story behind a unique, exotic and mysterious headstone located in Denver, Colorado's Fairmount Cemetery. We learn that not everything carved in stone is as it seems in this ordinary, extraordinary cemetery.
2021-03-2552 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 24 -Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin, IrelandSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Jennie and Dianne honor their Irish heritage by exploring Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin, Ireland. This ordinary, extraordinary cemetery is the final resting place to more than 1.5 million souls including Irish revolutionaries, poets, musicians, and many more wonderful people. It is also the site of a tower that allows you to see the ocean and the Irish mountains. Ireland is a land of stories, magic, and history.
2021-03-1820 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 23 - Riverside Cemetery in Denver, ColoradoSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Jennie and Dianne visit Denver, Colorado's oldest, continuously operated cemetery, Riverside. They will discuss how Riverside Cemetery replaced Denver's first cemetery, how it lost its water rights, and tell three ordinary, extraordinary stories of some of its permanent residents. While this cemetery is no longer the garden glory it once was, it still contains many wonderful monuments and symbolism of the Victorian era.
2021-03-1127 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 22 - The Historic Topeka Cemetery & It's Women ResidentsSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Join Jennie and Dianne as they talk with Lisa Sandmeyer, Superintendent at Historic Topeka Cemetery in Topeka, Kansas. Lisa is a wonderful storyteller as she introduces us to several fascinating women who are permanent residents of the cemetery. Some of these women include: Dr. Harriet Adams, (1867-1938), her sister Zu Adams (1859-1911) who made her career with the Kansas State Historical Society, and Hattie Freeman Tarbet (1849-1942) daughter of a freeborn-black man who built up her father's real estate...
2021-03-0443 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 21 - Old Clarkesville Cemetery - Clarkesville, GeorgiaSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Lane Gresham and Brooks Garcia join Jennie to tell the stories of those buried in the Old Clarkesville Cemetery in Clarkesville, Georgia. They will introduce us to "the meanest man in Georgia", one of the first great photographers, a young man who lost his life in a tragic farming accident, and many others. They also talk about their many restoration efforts from repairing and preserving tombstones to bringing back many of the original flowers and plants of the Victorian...
2021-02-2539 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 20 - Exploring Grover's Corner Cemetery in Act 3 of the Play "Our Town" by Thornton WilderSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Jennie, Dianne and special guest Lara Maerz explore Act 3 of Thornton Wilder's play "Our Town". The entire act takes place in the town cemetery. Find out how the fictional cemetery of Grovers Corner, New Hampshire compares to many small town cemeteries across America and around the world. We talk about the importance of sharing and remembering the ordinary, extraordinary people who make up the communities where these cemeteries are necessary and ponder just how well the living truly appreciate...
2021-02-1852 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 19 Love Beyond the GraveSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Love is in the air! OR buried beneath the soil! Join Jennie and Dianne as they visit Layton Cemetery in the town of Blackpool in Lancashire, England and Oakwood Cemetery in Raleigh, North Carolina. Both of these cemeteries hold the remains of star-crossed lovers and their stories are retold in this episode. We are very grateful to Deborah Contessa Hargreaves and Jennifer Aaron for allowing us to use their writings for this episode. Come along as we share these o...
2021-02-1123 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 18 - Special Guest Deborah Andres and Funeral Service Around the WorldSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Jennie and Dianne talk with special guest Deborah Andres. Deborah has dedicated two decades of her life to the funeral profession with an enduring mission to elevate death care to serve grieving families with empathy and professionalism. She spent 5 years at Ang Chin Moh Group, one of the most established funeral services providers in Singapore. Prior to her stint in Asia, Deborah spent over 14 years with the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) in the United States where she rose...
2021-02-0452 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 17 - The Great Fire of Salem 1914 - Walnut Grove Cemetery and The Old Burying PointSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. In this episode Jennie and Dianne travel back in time to experience June 25, 1914 in Salem, Massachusetts. On that day the worst fire Salem has ever known swept through much of the city destroying homes, churches, businesses and even part of its first and oldest cemetery, The Old Burying Point. They also "stop by" the grave site of one of the three victims who died as a direct result of the devastating inferno. Listen along as they visit these ordinary...
2021-01-2823 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 16 - America's First 10 Presidents and Where They're BuriedSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Jennie and Dianne virtually visit the gravesites of the first 10 presidents of the United States of America. They also share a bit of each of their inaugural addresses based on what was happening at the time each of these men took the oath of office. By examining each of these addresses, we learn a little about each of these men and how they helped to shape America from it's infancy as a brand new country. For our American listeners, we...
2021-01-2131 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 15 - Cemetery Task Force - Natural Disasters, Restoration & Body RecoverySend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Jennie and Dianne are joined by Ryan Seidemann and Christine Halling of the Louisiana Cemetery Task Force to discuss what happens to cemeteries and their permanent residents when natural disasters such as floods and hurricanes strike. They share their experience and expertise on planning strategies once they know a storm is about to hit and how they handle recovery and restoration in the aftermath.
2021-01-1452 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 14 - The Old Burying Ground and the Wreck of the Brig Hattie Eaton off Kittery Point, MaineSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. In this episode Jennie and Dianne pay a visit to the Old Burying Ground, also called the First Congregational Church Cemetery, in Kittery Point, Maine where lie the bodies of six sailors who lost their lives in a wintery sea accident in 1876. It is a tale of woe and one of a community joining together to do what they could to see to it that these men were not forgotten after their tragic deaths.
2021-01-0717 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 13 - Happy New Year and the Spoon River AnthologySend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Join Jennie and Dianne as they read select and rather juicy poems from The Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters. These poems are written from the perspective of those buried in the cemetery of the fictional town of Spoon River. Meet husbands and wives who drive each other crazy, the madam of a brothel who must pay regularly to support the public school, the tragic story of a young woman whose "virtue" is stolen and dies a tragic...
2020-12-3123 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 12 - Tilly's Christmas & Louisa May Alcott's grave in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Concord, MassachusettsSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Merry Christmas! In this episode Jennie and Dianne make a brief stop at the graveside of Louisa May Alcott and then retell one of her Christmas short stories, Tilly's Christmas. We wish you a very merry Christmas!
2020-12-2420 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 11 - Arctic Explorers of Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VirginiaSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Jennie and Dianne travel back in time to explore the Arctic and the North Pole with three explorers who are buried in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. Will they meet up with the jolly man in red on their journey? They also tell the story of how Wreaths Across America began and how you can become a part of something that has become an annual tradition for many American families. Join them once again as they explore another...
2020-12-1725 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 10 - Hanukkah and the American Revolution - Chatham Square Jewish Cemetery in New York CitySend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Dianne and Jennie learn the story of Hanukkah and how it parallels to the American Revolution through the war heroes buried in Chatham Square Jewish Cemetery in New York City, New York. They will share the stories of Gershom Mendes Seixas, Jonas Phillips, Haym Salomon, and several others who felt that their desire to be free to live as their laws and religion dictated were worth fighting for in 165 B.C.E as well as in 1770's and 1780's...
2020-12-1024 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 9 - An American Christmas Carol Immanuel Cemetery, Bellows Falls, VermontSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. It's December and that means for many people a month long celebration of winter festivities as we approach the end of another year. One of those celebrations is, of course, Christmas! In this episode Jennie and Dianne will begin with a visit to the grave of Hetty Green, often called "The Witch of Wall Street". As they tell her story they also share snippets of Charles Dickens's famous Christmas tale, "A Christmas Carol" in order to parallel the r...
2020-12-0324 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 8 - Evergreen Cemetery in Colorado Springs, ColoradoSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Jennie and Dianne discuss the founding of the oldest cemetery in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Evergreen Cemetery as well as Colorado Springs will be celebrating their 150th anniversary in 2021! It is a cemetery that is near and dear to Dianne's heart as she has spent the past 20 years volunteering there to help keep it maintained and preserve its history. They will talk about some of the notable people buried there and how you the listener can help to support this o...
2020-11-2621 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 7 - Oak Grove Cemetery's Acadian People's: Saint Marys, GeorgiaSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Jennie and Dianne begin this episode in Oak Grove Cemetery in Saint Marys, Georgia, but to tell the story of the Tomb of Acadians which can be found in this charming cemetery, they must travel back to 1755 and the settlement of Acadie in what is now Nova Scotia, Canada. With a little help from the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and the long memory of the French-Acadian descendants, Jennie and Dianne will tell a story of great tragedy and...
2020-11-1923 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 6 - "They rode for Parker" - Oak Cemetery, Fort Smith, ArkansasSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Jennie and Diane speak with Ryan M. Seidemann, lawyer, archeologist, anthropologist, professor, and cemeterian as he tells the true story of the U.S. Marshalls and Judge Issac Parker (often known as the Hangin' Judge) at Fort Smith, Arkansas from the 1870's through the 1890's. He takes us through Oak Cemetery and explains how they chose to be remembered vs. how the generations of the mid-late 20th century have embraced their wild west legacy. From novels to Hollywood movies w...
2020-11-1254 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 5 - Burial Customs and Cemetery TraditionsSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Did you know that to be buried facing West is symbolic for facing freedom? When is it appropriate to cry for a deceased loved one in Irish tradition? What does it mean when stones and coins are left on gravesites? Find out the answers to these questions along with Jennie and Dianne as they explore ordinary, extraordinary burial customs and cemetery traditions throughout America and the world on this week's episode of the Ordinary, Extraordinary Cemetery.
2020-11-0543 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 4 - Coast to Coast Haunted CemeteriesSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Join Dianne and Jennie as they "road trip" from the West coast to the East coast of the United States seeking out ordinary, extraordinary cemeteries that may or may not be haunted. They will be visiting the graves sites in Oregon, California, Idaho, Utah, New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Kentucky, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, New Jersey and lastly Massachusetts. Come along...if you dare!
2020-10-2935 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 3 - Bald Mountain Cemetery & the Poetry of P.E. RedmondSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Jennie and Dianne return to Central City, CO to explore the hidden mountain gem that is Bald Mountain Cemetery. They also find out what happened to Central City and Gilpin County in the years after the 1859 Gold Rush through the eyes and poetry of local miner Pete Redmond. Come with us to the Ordinary, Extraordinary Cemetery!
2020-10-2223 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 2 - The Champions and Central City, ColoradoSend us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Join Dianne and Jennie as they tell the story of Hugh and Levinia Champion, a couple who married, had children, and died in Central City, CO during the Colorado gold rush that began in 1859. This is the story of ordinary people living in an extraordinary time and place. You will visit their home of Central City and their final resting place in The Knights of Pythias Cemetery in the glorious Rocky Mountains of Colorado.
2020-10-1523 minThe Ordinary, Extraordinary CemeteryEpisode 1 - Welcome to the Ordinary, Extraordinary Cemetery!Send us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Meet taphophiles (cemetery lovers) Jennie and Dianne as they discuss their love for cemeteries, talk cemetery history, and even share a bit of classic literature from Nathaniel Hawthorne. It's the Ordinary, Extraordinary Cemetery! Where every death had a life, and every life had a story.
2020-10-0828 min