All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #055, The Supremes, Part 4

William Schaffer wrote the majority opinion in the 1927 case which decided that Sunday baseball was in violation of the state's 1794 "blue laws."  He spent 20 years on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #055, The Supremes, Part 3

James T. Mitchell served as Chief Justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court from 1903 to 1910 and was considered an ideal judge.  He also amassed a world-class collection of historical engraved portraits. 

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #055, The Supremes, Part 2

George Sharswood served as Dean of the Law School at Penn from 1852 to 1868.  He served on the State Supreme Court for many years and as Chief Justice; in 1871 he and a majority ruled against suffragette Carrie Burnham, which denied the vote to women for an additional 48 years.

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #055, The Supremes, Part 1

Robert C. Grier spent 24 years on the US Supreme Court at a critical time (1846-1870) in the country's history.  Today we cringe at some of his decisions.

• Robert Cooper Grier was selected for the United States Supreme Court in 1846 to replace another justice who had died 841 days before – the longest gap in the history of the court.  He served for nearly a quarter century and voted in many key decisions, including Dred Scott v. Sandford.

Grier and Schaffer are buried at Laurel Hill West, Sharswood and Mitchell at Laurel Hill East.  They are the topics for All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #055 for October 2023 – The Supremes.

Biographical Bytes from Bala: Laurel Hill West Stories #024

Glenna Collett-Vare was one of the giants of women’s golf and the top American player in the 1920s and 30s.  She won 49 amateur tournaments between 1921 and 1935.  She could hit a ball straight down the fairway nearly 300 yards.  She was the first woman to break 80 in the U.S. Women’s Amateur, which she won six times.  She is in the golf hall of fame, and the Vare Trophy is awarded annually to the woman professional with the best scoring average.  She played into her 80s but never turned professional.  In her day, she was "The Female Bobby Jones". 

She is buried at Laurel Hill West in a crypt that does not even acknowledge her presence – an unmarked grave.  

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #054: "Hey, I Know That Song", Part 5

Singer / songwriter / A&R man Richard "Richie" Barrett was cremated at Laurel Hill West, but even the Beatles were early admirers of his work. 

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #054: "Hey, I Know That Song", Part 4

Leonard "Hub" Hubbard was founding member of The Roots whom I will cover in full in a later podcast.  

Phebe Blessington was an extremely popular local singer who was tragically killed while heading to a gig shortly after her 30th birthday. 

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #054: "Hey, I Know That Song", Part 3

After Brenda Payton was discovered while singing on a street corner, she was soon high on the R&B charts with songs like "Dry Your Eyes" and "Right on the Tip of My Tongue"

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #054: "Hey, I Know That Song", Part 2

William Kirkpatrick was an Irish-born hymn writer whose Christmas carol you have been singing all your life.  It is highly likely you have sung other hymns written by him without knowing the composer.