All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories

Biographical Bytes from Bala #036: William, Edward & George Vare: The Dukes of South Philadelphia

The Vare brothers grew up unschooled, slopping hogs and hawking vegetables in "The Neck", the poorest section of Philadelphia.  They got into trash collection and within a few years were scooping up city contracts by the armful.  They grew rich and powerful along the way and eventually even collected a kickback from the mayor.  All three Vare brothers are interred at Laurel Hill West.

Historian, author, and fellow Laurel Hill Tour Guide Thomas Keels tells you their story. 

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #066 - Laurel Hill and the Panama Canal, Part 4

Emory Richard Johnson was the only Professor of Transportation and Commerce in the United States when he was asked to come up with a payment schedule for people using the Panama Canal.  His methods were used for more than half a century.  

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #066 - Laurel Hill and the Panama Canal, Part 3

Charles Day was a master builder.  His Philadelphia firm Day & Zimmerman was first to pour concrete at the massive Culebra locks, which worked perfectly from day one.  

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #066 - Laurel Hill and the Panama Canal, Part 2

Lewis Haupt was son of famed railroad Engineer Herman Haupt (see Biographical Bytes from Bala #10: Lincoln's Railroad Man).  Lewis became a civil engineer who was skeptical about a canal across Panama but joined the working committee when he was invited.  

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #066 - Laurel Hill and the Panama Canal, Part 1

John Cresson Trautwine was a civil engineer who wrote what became the definitive Engineer's Handbook which was standard text for decades; he also predicted that it would be impossible to build a canal through Panama. 

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #066, Pushing Water, Section 2

Rudolph Hering was son of the famed homeopath Constantine Hering.  He became such as expert on hydraulic engineering that he was invited to Chicago to assist with their drinking water problem, and he helped them reverse the river. 

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #066, Pushing Water, Section 1

Frederick Graff was a civil engineer / architect who quickly learned the principles of hydraulics when he was tagged to set up the water supply for Philadelphia.  He became a master of his craft. 

All Bones Considered #066: Pushing Water

• Frederick Graff took over from Benjamin Latrobe to develop the Philadelphia Water Works

If you have walked or ridden your bike through West Laurel Hill Cemetery from the entrance just off the Cynwyd Trail all the way to the Pencoyd exit on Righter’s Ferry Road, you have probably passed dozens of mausoleums and gravesites that you had questions about.  Now there’s an audio narration to help you quench your curiosity.  It is done by Joe Lex, the same person who researches and narrates Laurel Hill’s twice-monthly podcasts “All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories” and “Biographical Bytes from Bala: West Laurel Hill Stories.”  Find out about William Luden, inventor of the mentholated cough drop; Charles Harrah, who made his fortune in Brazil; Eldridge Reeves Johnson, inventor of the Victrola, and many more.  And at long last, you can discover the mystery of “Cocktails at Six.”  The tour covers only people interred on the right-hand side of the road and takes about 40 minutes.  Look for its companion audio covering the other side from Pencoyd back to Barmouth in a few months. 

Your walk or ride from the Righters Ferry entrance to the Barmouth entrance at the Cynwyd Heritage Trail is less than a mile, but you pass scores of grave markers and dozens of mausoleums, most with stained glass.  This 47-minute narration gives you mini-biographies of more than 50 people who have resting places you pass along the route.  They are captains of industry, philanthropists, teachers, physicians, artists, and others who helped shaped the history of Philadelphia. 

This narrative is a complement to another recording that guides you from the Barmouth Entrance back to the Righters Ferry entrance, also available wherever you find your podcasts.