All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories

Before the Civil War there were two national holidays - Independence Day and Washington's Birthday.  But in Laurel Hill are 5 people who made American holidays what they are today:

*Sarah Josepha Hale, the woman who invented Thanksgiving

*Martha Tillman, the woman who MAY have invented Memorial Day

*Anna Jarvis, the mother of Mother’s Day

*Stephen F. Whitman, the man who invented Whitman chocolates

*Not included in podcast: Elizabeth Duane Gillespie, who is probably responsible for Flag Day

Join our email list to get the latest on episode releases, special events, and more: http://eepurl.com/idNN1X

Three creators of the mythology of the Wild West are buried at Laurel Hill.

*Henry Deringer, inventor of the pocket pistol and father of concealed carry

*Owen Wister, who wrote the first definitive Western novel "The Virginian"

*John Batterson Stetson, the man who invented the hat that defined the Old West. 

This podcast includes interviews with two of Laurel Hill Cemtery's volunteer guides. 

Explorer Elisha Kent Kane was one of the most famous Americans of the mid-19th century.  He knew that he would die young, and he pushed the limits.  Maggie Fox was a spiritualist and medium from New York.  Somehow they got together and became a couple.  Their story is pretty sensational. 

Join our email list to get the latest on episode releases, special events, and more: http://eepurl.com/idNN1X

Most people who walk into Laurel Hill Cemetery for the first time are struck by the greenness of the place.  The 78-acre property stretches between Ridge Avenue and Kelly Drive, and between East Falls and Strawberry Mansion - a large, open, green space with more than 75,000 inhabitants, hundreds of statues, miles of paved roads, wildlife, and 850 trees in the middle of a very modern city.  

Join our email list to get the latest on episode releases, special events, and more: http://eepurl.com/idNN1X