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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 North America. Happy Hanukkah!

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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 real life of Hetty Green and that of the fictional Ebenezer Scrooge.  Upon her death in 1916, Hetty Green was known as the "Wizard of Finance" and "The Richest Woman in America". She may have been the richest woman in the world! Join Jennie and Dianne as they delve into the story of this fascinating and complicated woman buried in the ordinary, extraordinary Immanuel Cemetery in Bellows Falls, Vermont. 

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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 ordinary, extraordinary cemetery. 

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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 ultimate triumph in this ordinary, extraordinary cemetery.

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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 with John Wayne, Clint Eastwood and Jeff Bridges we learn how the modern U.S. Marshalls are embracing their history, the good, the bad and the ugly to paint a true picture of life on the borderlands of the old west. 

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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. 

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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! 

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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!

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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. 

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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. 

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