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

Biographical Bytes from Bala #035

William Morris Meredith, Jr., described himself as a "B+ poet who has written a few A+ poems".  Despite his modesty, his poetry was recognized as some of the best in post-WWII America.  He served for two years as US Poet Laureate and was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.  He is interred at Laurel Hill West.  

All Bones Considered #065 - Part 4 

Richard Burr was a Civil War surgeon who found there was more money in "treating" the dead and became an embalmer. Photographer Matthew Brady immortalized him with a battlefield photo.

This is section 4 of All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #065 - Fathers and Mothers of American Medicine, Part 4.  You can find plenty of other stories about American medical pioneers in earlier episodes.