All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories

Mary Channing Wister Wister: Saving Music in the Schools

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #036 Mary, Frances, & Ella – Three Remarkable Wister Sisters, part 1
Mary Channing Wister was a busy woman; despite having five children, she served on the Philadelphia Board of Education and dedicated her time to numerous civic causes.  Some people claim she is the reason we have music in the public schools and a Broad Street line that runs underground.  She died far too young in childbirth.  

ABC #036: Mary Channing Wister, Frances Anne Wister, Ella Wister Haines - The Three Remarkable Wister Sisters

Three Victorian Philadelphia sisters helped make Philadelphia what it is today. 
The oldest Mary Channing Wister petitioned for music in the public schools, more public parks for all, and placement of the Broad Street line underground.
Frances Anne Wister was a founder of the Philadelphia Orchestra and became the city’s patron saint of preservation; without her there would likely be no Old City or Society Hill.
The youngest sister Ella Wister Haines got a late start on her career but became the public face and voice of Philadelphia Electric Company for 20 years, especially during the Great Depression. 
All three of these women are buried at Laurel Hill Cemetery.  I tell their stories today. 

Raymond Pace & Sadie T.M. Alexander: Philadelphia’s First Black "Power Couple"

Biographical Bytes from Bala: Laurel Hill West Stories #005
Raymond Pace Alexander was born in Philadelphia to former enslaved people but graduated with honors from Harvard Law School and became the go-to civil rights lawyer in Philadelphia.  In 1959, he became the first black judge to sit on the Court of Common Pleas. 
His wife Sadie Tanner Mossell came from a pioneering middle-class family and was the first Black women to earn an economics degree in the US, but then also became a lawyer. 
Together they spent their lives battling racism in Philadelphia.  

Joseph Beam: A Touchstone for Gay Black Authors

Laurel Hill Stories #035: Four Black Trailblazers, part 4
When Joe Beam worked in a bookstore, he saw no books by or about people like him - a young, Black, gay male.  He edited his own book, which he easily filled with stories and poems written by other men just like him.  

Marion Stokes: The Woman Who Videotaped Everything

Laurel Hill Stories #035: Four Black Trailblazers, part 3
Marion Stokes developed an obsession with recording television news stories, because she didn't trust the way the news seemed to shift from day to day.  She left tens of thousands of videotapes when she died.

Dennie Hoggard: Integrating the Cotton Bowl

Laurel Hill Stories #035: Four Black Trailblazers, part 2
Dennie Hoggard went to Penn State where he played football.  The team was good enough that they qualified for Cotton Bowl in the very segregated city of Dallas, Texas.  Dennie made the best of it ... and the Nittany Lions came thiiiis close to winning the game. 

Ira de Augustine Reid, PhD: A Sociologist Pursued by the "Red Scare"

Laurel Hill Stories #035: Four Black Trailblazers, part 1
Dr. Ira de Augustine Reid, PhD, spent the bulk of his career at Haverford College during the days of "separate but equal".  His studies of the Great Migration were admired by all who read them, but his progressive outlook attracted the attention of the House Unamerican Activities Committee.

ABC #035: Ira de Augustine Reid, Dennie Hoggard, Jr., Marion Stokes, Josph Beam - Four Black Trailblazers

Ira de Augustine Reid was one of the top sociologists in the country in the late 1940s, but because of his scholarship, he got swept up in the “Red Scare” of the mid-20th century. 
Dennie Hoggard, Jr., of West Philadelphia was a tight end at Penn State who helped to integrate the Cotton Bowl in Dallas on New Year’s Day of 1948. 
Marion Stokes had an obsession – to videotape every cable news program on television, and she did so for almost 35 years, amassing a treasure-trove of history. 
Joseph Beam could not find any literature by Black gay men like himself, so he put together a best-selling anthology.  
These four found their final resting place at West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd.  I will tell their stories in this month’s edition of “All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories – Four Black Trailblazers.”

Theodore Presser: The Music Man

Biographical Bytes from Bala: Laurel Hill West Stories #004
Theodore Presser got a late start in his career, but he ended up making millions of dollars from publishing a magazine for music teachers around the world, and then by selling them sheet music.  And then he gave away much of his money in his lifetime and the endowments he left continue to aid music students across the country.  His story is inspiring and his legacy is huge.  

William Clothier II: The Netster Was a Spy

Laurel Hill Stories #034: Tennis Anyone, part 5
Bill Clothier II was the son of a Hall of Fame player and was personally steeped in tennis, but after the War he was recruited for the CIA.  He spent the rest of his career promoting the sport and spying.  

Howard Head: The Patron Saint of the Average Athlete

Laurel Hill Stories #034: Tennis Anyone, part 4
Howard Head found out he was a lousy skier, so he invented Head Skis. He wasn't very good at tennis either, so he invented the Prince racket with the "banjo" head.  Anyone who used it got better.

William Clothier Sr.: A Hall of Fame Player

Laurel Hill Stories #034: Tennis Anyone, part 3
William Clothier was the son of department store founder Isaac Clothier and took up tennis at an early age.  He was good enough to be ranked in the top ten for more than a dozen years, and is in the Tennis Hall of Fam

Frederick Winslow Taylor: A Master of Time and Motion

Laurel Hill Stories #034: Tennis Anyone, part 2
While Frederick Winslow Taylor is remembered today for his theories of Scientific Managment, he was an excellent tennis player - see Clarence Clark - and his golf skills were enough to get him into the 1900 Olympics.

Clarence Clark: First US Doubles Champion

Laurel Hill Stories #034: Tennis Anyone, part 1
Clarence Clark and his next-door neighbor Frederick Winslow Taylor played tennis very chance they had on their private court. It paid off when they won the first US Open Doubles match in Newport, where Clarence is also enshrined in the Hall of Fame.

Tennis, Anyone? - Introduction

Laurel Hill Stories #034: Tennis Anyone, part 0
Tennis has been around for hundreds of years.  Here's how it got started and how it came to the Americas.

ABC #034: Clarence Clark, Frederick Winslow Taylor, William Clothier Sr. and Jr., Howard Head - Tennis, Anyone?

Tennis came to the United States in the 1870s and was quickly taken up by the East Coast upper crust, the nouveau riche of the Gilded Age. 
Germantown’s Clarence Clark became one of its primary organizers, and his good friend and neighbor Frederick Winslow Taylor joined him as a doubles partner. 
William Clothier was the son of department store magnate Isaac Clothier and played his way into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. 
Howard Head found that he was not a very good tennis player, so he changed the equipment to improve his game, just as he had done for skiing. 
William Clothier Jr. hobnobbed with the likes of Billie Jean King and Arthur Ashe while also serving as a spy for the CIA.  
All five of these men are interred at West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd.  

Aimee Ernesta Drinker Bullitt Beaux Barlow: Becoming "Commando Mary"

Biographical Bytes from Bala: Laurel Hill West Stories #003
This is the story of a woman who was so beautiful that she turned down more than 50 marriage proposals before she wed a newspaperman who became the United States’ first ambassador to the Soviet Union, and who then had an affair with one of the most famous illustrators of the 20th century, and who married a second time to a famed opera composer, and who then spent World War II as a radio propagandist pushing for the rights of women, and then spent years in New York City running one of the most exclusive weekly salons in the city. Welcome to the wonderful story of Aimee Ernesta Drinker Bullitt Beaux Barlow, aka "Commando Mary."

Coleman Sellers II: Inventing the Moving Pictures

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #033: Robert Cornelius, Frederick Gutekunst, Mathew Carey Lea, & Coleman Sellers II: Smile for the Birdie!  Photography Pioneers of Laurel Hill, part 4
Coleman Sellers II was a nationally renowned mechanical engineer for whom photography was a hobby, yet he managed to produce what is now acknowledged as the first motion picture.

Mathew Carey Lea: Inventing Mechanochemistry

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #033: Robert Cornelius, Frederick Gutekunst, Mathew Carey Lea, & Coleman Sellers II: Smile for the Birdie!  Photography Pioneers of Laurel Hill, part 3
Mathew Carey Lea was a bit of a recluse after an early laboratory accident, but he helped photography make giant strides forward through his knowledge of photochemistry and then invented an entirely new branch of chemistry almost through serendipity. 

Frederick Gutekunst: The Best Portraits in Town

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #033: Robert Cornelius, Frederick Gutekunst, Mathew Carey Lea, & Coleman Sellers II: Smile for the Birdie!  Photography Pioneers of Laurel Hill, part 2
Frederick Gutekunst opened a studio on Arch Stret and people flocked to have their picture taken; some of his shots are still considered the definitive representations of the subject.

Robert Cornelius and the First Selfie

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #033: Robert Cornelius, Frederick Gutekunst, Mathew Carey Lea, & Coleman Sellers II: Smile for the Birdie!  Photography Pioneers of Laurel Hill, part 1
Lamp maker Robert Cornelius was immediately curious about the new-fangled device called a Daguerreotype and took what is now recognized as the first “selfie” behind his father's lamp shop on Chestnut Street.

ABC #033: Robert Cornelius, Frderick Gutekunst, Mathew Cary Lea, & Coleman Sellers II - Smile for the Birdie! Philadelphia Photography Pioneers

Photography in its infancy made its way to Philadelphia in 1839, literally weeks after Louis Daguerre invented the technique that carries his name. 
Lampmaker Robert Cornelius was interested and took what is now recognized as the first “selfie.” 
Frederick Gutekunst opened a studio where people flocked to have their picture taken. 
Mathew Carey Lea helped photography make giant strides forward through his knowledge of photochemistry and then invented an entirely new branch of chemistry almost through serendipity. 
Coleman Sellers II was a nationally renowned mechanical engineer for whom photography was a hobby, yet he managed to produce what is now acknowledged as the first motion picture. 
All four of these photography pioneers are buried at Laurel Hill Cemetery or West Laurel Hill Cemetery.

Harold H. Knerr and ”The Katzenjammer Kids”

Biographical Bytes from Bala: Laurel Hill West Stories #002
Harold Hering Knerr came from a family of physicians and engineers, but rather than joining them he became an illustrator and cartoonist.  For 35 years he drew one of the most popular comic strips in the United States, The Katzenjammer Kids.   

Maude Rettew & The Merritt Sisters: The Horrific Sinking of the "Sarah Craig"

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #032: Annie Inglis, Joseph Jurciukonis, Jr., May Bibighaus, & Maud Rettew and the Merritt Sisters: Teen Angels, Part 1, Section 4
Maud Rettew went on a yacht trip to New York City for a few days on a supervised sail along with her fiancé and other members of their social club, including the Merritt sisters.  A sudden squall flipped the boat with the girls trapped below deck.  The results were horrifying.

May Bibighaus: An Unexpected 'Dope Fiend'

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #032: Annie Inglis, Joseph Jurciukonis, Jr., May Bibighaus, & Maud Rettew and the Merritt Sisters: Teen Angels, Part 1, Section 2
May Bibighaus was a good girl who taught Bible studies to Chinese immigrants in Chinatown.  Somehow, she picked up a heroin habit.  Her conclusion was predictable. 

Joseph Jurciukonis, Jr. - Death of a Cello Protégé

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #032: Annie Inglis, Joseph Jurciukonis, Jr., May Bibighaus, & Maud Rettew and the Merritt Sisters: Teen Angels, Part 1, Section 2
Joseph Jurciukonis, Jr., had just received the good news that he was accepted to the Curtis Institute on a full scholarship.  To celebrate, one of his friends showed Joseph his new gun.  It did not turn out well. 

Annie Inglis: "Build a Home for People Like Me"

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #032: Annie Inglis, Joseph Jurciukonis, Jr., May Bibighaus, & Maud Rettew and the Merritt Sisters: Teen Angels, Part 1, Section 1
Annie Inglis was confined to a wheelchair and knew she would die young.  She gave her mother her prized possession, a gold dollar coin, and said "Build a house for people like me".  That was the beginning of Inglis House

ABC #032: Annie Inglis, Joseph Jurciukonis, May Bibighaus, Maude Rettew - Teen Angels

Annie Inglis spent her brief life in a wheelchair, but her dying wish was to make her prized possession, a one-dollar gold piece, into something which would help others. 
Joseph Jurciukonis Jr. was a gifted young cellist whose life was cut short by a bullet. 
May Bibighaus was described as a good, church-going girl who developed a narcotic habit as a teenager; it would be her undoing. 
Several members of a Philadelphia social club chose the wrong time for a casual summer cruise and paid with their lives.

Alan Calvert and the Science of Weightlifting

Biographical Bytes from Bala: Laurel Hill West Stories #001
Alan Calvert was a Philadelphia bodybuilder who found that available equipment did not meet his needs, so he invented what we now recognize as the modern barbell and the science of progressive resistance.  His innovations have now become a standard around the world.  

George "Orator" Shafer: He Set a Record That Still Stands

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #031: Wes Fisler, Lon Knight, Harry Luff, & Orator Shafer – Play Ball!, Part 2, section 4
George "Orator" Shafer was a man confined to right field because of his constant chatter; he still holds the Major League Record for most outfield assists more than 140 years after setting it. 

Harry Luff: A Horrid Human

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #031: Wes Fisler, Lon Knight, Harry Luff, & Orator Shafer – Play Ball!, Part 2, section 3
Harry Luff was an awful human being who nonetheless played eight positions for six different teams in four major leagues before he finally did some jail time.

Alonzo "Lon" Knight: He Threw the First Pitch

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #031: Wes Fisler, Lon Knight, Harry Luff, & Orator Shafer – Play Ball!, Part 2, section 2
Lon Knight threw the first pitch in major league history, yet he still has an unmarked grave.

Wesley "The Icicle" Fisler: He Scored the First Run

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #031: Wes Fisler, Lon Knight, Harry Luff, & Orator Shafer – Play Ball!, Part 2, section 1
Wes “The Icicle” Fisler scored the first run in major league history but lay in an unmarked grave at Laurel Hill for more than 90 years.

ABC #031: Wes Fisler, Lon Knight, Harry Luff, Orator Shafer - Play Ball!, Part 2

Wes “The Icicle” Fisler scored the first run in major league history but lay in an unmarked grave at Laurel Hill for more than 90 years.
Alonzo "Lon" Knight threw the first pitch in major league history, yet still has an unmarked grave.
Harry Luff was an awful human being who nonetheless played eight positions for six different teams in four major leagues before finally doing jail time.
George "Orator" Shafer was confined to right field because of his constant chatter but he still holds the Major League Record for most outfield assists more than 140 years after setting it. 
All are interred at Laurel Hill East or Laurel Hill West.  Even if you're not a baseball fan, I think you will like these stories.  

Morton McMichael: Mayor, Sheriff, Magazine Editor

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #030: Joseph Clay Neal, Louis Antoine Godey, & Morton McMichael: The Saturday Courier, part 3
Morton McMichael was not only a writer, editor, and publisher, but Philadelphia County Sheriff and City Mayor.  His seated form greets you as a statue on Lemon Hill across from Boathouse Row.   

Louis Antoine Godey: The Lady's Book Man

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #030: Joseph Clay Neal, Louis Antoine Godey, & Morton McMichael: The Saturday Courier, part 2
Louis Antoine Godey had a magazine called the Lady’s Book which struggled until he had the good sense to hire an Episcopalian woman from Boston as his editor. Together they turned his magazine into one of the most widely circulated in the country. 

Joseph Clay Neil: The American Charles Dickens

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #030: Joseph Clay Neal, Louis Antoine Godey, & Morton McMichael: The Saturday Courier, part 1
Joseph Clay Neal, whom many called “the American Dickens,” started his writing career with an evening newspaper The Daily Courier and ended up fostering the career of a teenage girl who became one of the primary woman authors of the 19th century. 

ABC #030: Joseph Clay Neal, Louis Antoine Godey, & Morton McMichael - The Saturday Courier

Joseph Clay Neal, whom many called “the American Dickens,” started his writing career with an evening newspaper “The Daily Courier,” and ended up fostering the career of a teenage girl who became one of the primary woman authors of the 19th century. 
Louis Antoine Godey, whose “Lady’s Book” was struggling until he had the good sense to hire an Episcopalian woman from Boston as his editor and turned his magazine into one of the most widely circulated in the country. 
Morton McMichael, who was not only a writer, editor, and publisher, but Philadelphia County Sheriff and City Mayor, yet is little remembered today. 
The three of them came together for several years in the 1830s and 1840s to produce two moderately successful publications, and inspire another young author named Edgar Allan Poe.  All of this and more in the September 2021 edition of “All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories.”
 
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James Juvenal: Rowing for a Medal and Bicycling for a Wife on a Bet

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #029: Meredith Colket, Bascom Johnson, Edward Bushnell, John Cregan & James Juvenal – Olympiad II in Paris - The 1900 “Zany Games”, part 6
James Juvenal was a member of Vesper Boat Club of the Schuylkill Navy when they took they gold.  Four years later in St. Louis at Olympiad III, he took Silver in the single scull.  And yes, he and his girlfriend rode from Philadelphia to New York City Hall on a bet they could be married by sundown.  

John Francis Cregan: A Silver in the 800

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #029: Meredith Colket, Bascom Johnson, Edward Bushnell, John Cregan & James Juvenal – Olympiad II in Paris - The 1900 “Zany Games”, part 5
John Francis Cregan was a Princeton Tiger who specialized in the 800 metre run.  It earned him a Silver in Paris. 

Edward Bushnell: Long Distance Specialist

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #029: Meredith Colket, Bascom Johnson, Edward Bushnell, John Cregan & James Juvenal – Olympiad II in Paris - The 1900 “Zany Games”, part 4
Although Edward Bushnell competed in the 800-meter race, he did not finish high enough to qualify for the medal round. He went on toa successful life in business.

Bascom Johnson: A Life in Public Health

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #029: Meredith Colket, Bascom Johnson, Edward Bushnell, John Cregan & James Juvenal – Olympiad II in Paris - The 1900 “Zany Games”, part 3
Bascom Johnson was favored to win the pole vault but, as a Sabbatarian, refused to compete on Sunday.  He went on to a life in Public Health who specialized in limiting venereal disease and eliminating sex trafficking.  

Meredith Colket: A Medal in Pole Vaulting

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #029: Meredith Colket, Bascom Johnson, Edward Bushnell, John Cregan & James Juvenal – Olympiad II in Paris - The 1900 “Zany Games”, part 2
From an old Philadelphia family, Meredith Colket finished second in the pole vault

Introduction to "The Zany Games: Paris 1900 Olympiad II

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #029: Meredith Colket, Bascom Johnson, Edward Bushnell, John Cregan & James Juvenal – Olympiad II in Paris - The 1900 “Zany Games”, part 1
Olympiad II was in Paris in 1900.  It lasted several months and many participants did not even know they were in the Olympics until years later.  There was no official "Team USA" but a lot of Philly folks showed up.

ABC #029: Meredith Colket, Bascom Johnson, Edward Bushnell, John F. Cregan, & James Juvenal - Olympiad II - Paris 1900 - The Zany Games

Future Laurel Hill and West Laurel Hill residents went to Paris in 1900 to compete in Olympiad II.   
Meredith Colket was a Penn scholar who placed 2nd in the pole vault. 
Bascom Johnson was a Yale pole vaulter who failed to compete, but went on to an amazing career in public health. 
Edward Bushnell was a middle-distance runner whose name eventually became synonymous with sports at the University of Pennsylvania. 
John F. Cregan was another middle-distance man but from Princeton. 
Rower James Benner Juvenal won gold with the Vesper Boat Club three years after he eloped to New York City on a tandem bicycle. 
In perhaps the most disorganized Olympics ever, several of our residents excelled.  And find out why they were "The Zany Games," all in this episode of "All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories."
 
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John Worrell Keely & His Perpetual Motion Machine

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #028: Dr. Samuel George Morton, George Gliddon, & John Worrell Keely: Bad Science, part 3
James Ernst Worrell Keely was either a supergenius that science has not caught up with more than 120 years after his death, or more likely one of the great hucksters of the nineteenth century

George Gliddon: Robbing Graves & Unwrapping Mummies

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #028: Dr. Samuel George Morton, George Gliddon, & John Worrell Keely: Bad Science, part 2
George Robbins Gliddon probably taught Americans more about ancient Egypt than anyone up to his time, but he then got caught up in Morton’s scientific racism and the thrill of robbing graves for their heads and mummified remains.  Edgar Allen Poe even wrote a story about him. 

Samuel George Morton, MD, & Racial Hierarchy

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #028: Dr. Samuel George Morton, George Gliddon, & John Worrell Keely: Bad Science, part 1
Dr. Samuel George Morton, a pioneer of American anthropology and father of American invertebrate paleontology was also a pathologic skull collector whose measurements and conclusions were used to justify enslavement and eventually racial cleansing

ABC #028: Dr. Samuel G. Morton, George R. Gliddon, & John Worrell Keely - Bad Science

Dr. Samuel George Morton was a pioneer of American anthropology and the father of American invertebrate paleontology, but he was also a compulsive skull collector whose measurements and conclusions were used to justify enslavement and eventually racial cleansing. 
George Robbins Gliddon taught Americans more about ancient Egypt than anyone up to his time, but he got caught up in Morton’s scientific racism, as well as the thrill of robbing graves for their heads and mummified remains. 
James Ernst Worrell Keely was either a supergenius whom science has not caught up with more than 120 years after his death, or one of the great hucksters of the nineteenth century. 
Morton and Gliddon are interred at Laurel Hill Cemetery, while Keely is a permanent resident at West Laurel Hill.  All three have astonishing stories. 
 
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Dr. Hilary Koproski & The Polio Vaccine / Dr. Irena Koprowska & The Pap Smear

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #027: Fathers – And Mothers – of American Medicine, Part 2, Section 3
Dr. Hilary Koprowski was a virologist who discovered an oral polio vaccine before Salk & Sabin, but whose work fell by the wayside.  Later, through his work with monoclonal antibodies, he developed a more convenient vaccine for rabies post-exposure prophylaxis.  
Dr. Irena Koprowska was essentially a self-taught cytopathologist who worked with Dr. Papanicolau on the screening test for cervical  cancer that bears his name. 

Dr. Chevalier Quixote Jackson: Inventing Endoscopy

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #027: Fathers – And Mothers – of American Medicine, Part 2, Section 2
If you have visited the Mütter Museum at the College of Physicians, you have probably marveled at the drawerfuls of small objects under the steps.  They are among hundreds of foreign bodies retrieved from the windpipes and gullets of hundreds of people by Dr. Chevalier Quixote Jackson, who invented endoscopy but never patented any of his tools. This is how he learned his trade.  

Dr. Charles Euchariste de Medici Sajous, MD: Father of American Endocrinology

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #027: Fathers – And Mothers – of American Medicine, Part 2, Section 1
Dr. Charles Euchariste de Medici Sajous was the last of the Belgian branch of the de Medici family.  He became an accomplished otolaryngologist, but switched gears in mid-career to master the up-and-coming science of "secretions", later called endocrinology.

ABC #027: Charles Euchariste de Medici Sajous, Chevalier Quixote Jackson, Hilary Koprowski, Irena Koprowska - Fathers (and Mothers) of American Medicine, Part 2

Charles Euchariste de Medici Sajous was a prolific author and editor who specialized in "glandular secretions;" he is remembered today as the Father of American Endocrinology ... and the last of the de Medicis.
Chevalier Quixote Jackson mastered the skill of retrieving foreign bodies from the lungs and esophagus; he is the Father of American Endoscopy.
Hilary Koprowski was a Polish-born virologist who beat Salk and Sabin to the development of an effective polio vaccine, but who is little remembered today.
His wife, cytopathologist Irena Koprowska, was a co-developer of the Pap smear.
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Wedgwood Nowell: Actor and Producer, Stage and Screen

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #026 Encore!  Some Popular Philadelphia Performers, part 4
Wedgwood Nowell was a Jack-of-all-trades in the early days of motion pictures, as he produced and starred in dozens of silent films, while maintaining a career on the stage.  

Frank Mayo: A Life with Davy Crockett

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #026 Encore!  Some Popular Philadelphia Performers, part 3
Frank Mayo made a living for many years by playing Davy Crockett on stage, until his friend Sam Clemens suggested he might try Puddinhead Wilson.

Mary Ann Lee: "Our Mary Ann," America's First Prima Ballerina

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #026 Encore!  Some Popular Philadelphia Performers, Part 2
Although Mary Ann Lee retired "for health reasons" at age 24, her dancing inspired many others to become dancers.  Many consider her to have been America's first prima ballerina.

William Wood: Actor, Manager, Entrepeneur

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #026 Encore!  Some Popular Philadelphia Performers, Part 1
William Wood was a jack-of-all-trades in early 19th century Philadelphia theater.  His Personal Recollections of the Stage is a classic of the genre.  

ABC #026: William Wood, Mary Ann Lee, Frank Mayo and Wedgwood Nowell - Encore!

William Wood started as an actor but soon moved to managing Philadelphia theaters. 
Many people consider Mary Ann Lee to be America’s first professional ballerina. 
Frank Mayo was an actor who became beloved through more than 3000 performances as Davy Crockett. 
Wedgwood Nowell produced or acted in more than 300 plays before moving to Hollywood and acting in more than 300 movies over his long career.  

John Caspar Wister: Second Only to Luther Burbank

Laurel Hill Stories #025: William Rotch, John, General Langhorne, Rodman, and John Caspar Wister: Five Wister Men You Should Know, part 5
John Caspar Wister, son of William Rotch, was considered the Dean of horticulturists in the United States, second only to California's Luther Burbank.  

Rodman Wister: The Little Drummer Boy PLUS Several Drum Tattoos

Laurel Hill Stories #025: William Rotch, John, General Langhorne, Rodman, and John Caspar Wister: Five Wister Men You Should Know, part 4
Rodman Wister ran away from home to become a drummer boy.  As a bonus, you can hear several drum tattoos at the end.

GEN Langhorne Wister: A Leader of the Bucktails

Laurel Hill Stories #025: William Rotch, John, General Langhorne, Rodman, and John Caspar Wister: Five Wister Men You Should Know, part 3
Langhorne Wister was a colonel with the Bucktail Regiment during the Civil War when he was shot through the mouth at the Battle of Gettysburg.  He was later promoted to Brevet General. 

John Wister: Ironmaster

Laurel Hill Stories #025: William Rotch, John, General Langhorne, Rodman, and John Caspar Wister: Five Wister Men You Should Know, part 2
John Wister was founder and manager of a major iron works and a bank, as well as serving as a Civil War soldier. 

William Rotch Wister: Father of American Cricket

Laurel Hill Stories #025: William Rotch, John, General Langhorne, Rodman, and John Caspar Wister: Five Wister Men You Should Know, part 1
William Rotch Wister was lawyer, soldier, and founder of the Germantown Cricket club.  He is considered the "Father of American Cricket".  

ABC #025: Five Wister Men: William Rotch Wister, John Wister, BG Langhorne Wister, Rodman Wister, John Caspar Wister

It is very easy to get lost in the Wister family.  Anyone familiar with Philadelphia History probably knows about Caspar Wistar, who founded the Wistar Institute, and author Owen Wister, who wrote the first Western novel The Virginian and is buried at Laurel Hill Cemetery.  But this was a large family.  There are 40 Wisters and 30 Wistars buried at Laurel Hill Cemetery, along with 3 Wisters at West Laurel Hill.  
Today I am going to talk about four Wister brothers and one of their sons buried at Laurel Hill Cemetery. 
William Rotch Wister was lawyer and founder of the Germantown Cricket club. 
John Wister was founder and manager of a major iron works and a bank. 
GEN Langhorne Wister was a colonel with the Bucktail Regiment during the Civil War, shot through the mouth at the Battle of Gettysburg. 
Rodman Wister ran away from home to become a drummer boy. 
John Caspar Wister, son of William Rotch, was considered the dean of horticulturists in the United States.  

Ruth Dietz Eni: Becoming Momma Dietz

Laurel Hill Stories #024: Christine Stevenson, Katharine McBride, Bernice Wintersteen, & Momma Dietz: Four Remarkable Women, part 4
Ruth Dietz Eni went to work for her father at Dietz & Watson and rose to be CEO.  When the PR department went looking for someone to play Momma Dietz on TV commercials, they looked no further than the front office.

Bernice McIlhenny Wintersteen: An Extraordinary Collector

Laurel Hill Stories #024: Christine Stevenson, Katharine McBride, Bernice Wintersteen, & Momma Dietz: Four Remarkable Women, part 3
Bernice McIlhenny Wintersteen came from a family of collectors.  Most of her massive collection was left to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.

Katharine McBride, PhD: The Woman Who Helped Put Bryn Mawr College on the Map

Laurel Hill Stories #024: Christine Stevenson, Katharine McBride, Bernice Wintersteen, & Momma Dietz: Four Remarkable Women, part 2
Katharine McBride, PhD, did her graduate thesis on aphasia and was headed for a life of research and teaching until she was tapped to be the 4th President of Bryn Mawr College.  She stayed for 28 years.  She was a fierce advocate for her students and progressive causes.

Christine Wetherill Stevenson & The Hollywood Bowl

Laurel Hill Stories #024: Christine Stevenson, Katharine McBride, Bernice Wintersteen, & Momma Dietz: Four Remarkable Women, part 1
Christine Wetherill Stevenson came from the Wetherill Paint family.  Among other things, she helped to found The Hollywood Bowl, Plays & Players Theater on Delancey Street, and the Art Alliance on Rittenhouse Square. 

ABC #024: Christine Wetherill Stevenson, Katharine Elizabeth McBride, Bernice McIlhenny Wintersteen, Ruth Dietz Eni - Four Remarkable Women You Should Know

Christine Wetherill Stevenson came from a prominent family and made her mark in Philadelphia, where she founded the Philadelphia Art Alliance, as well as California, where she founded the Hollywood Bowl. 
Katharine Elizabeth McBride was a brilliant researcher in neuropsychology but is mostly remembered today for her 28 years as president of Bryn Mawr College; she brought it into recognition as one of the top institutions in the nation. 
Bernice McIlhenny Wintersteen came from a family of collectors and at one time had one of the finest private collections in the United States while serving many roles for the Philadelphia Museum of Art. 
And Ruth Dietz Eni joined the family business as a young woman, staying with it for more than 60 years and enjoying a late-life recognition as the company’s spokesperson, the beloved Momma Dietz of Dietz & Watson.   

Teddy Pendergrass and the Soul of Philadelphia

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #022, The Philadelphia Sound, Part 4
Theodore "Teddy" Pendergrass started as a drummer and background singer with Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, but his distinctive voice soon earned him a solo contract and he became one of the biggest selling artists in history.  A car crash cut his career painfully short.

Grover Washington Jr.: Taking the Jazz World by Storm

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #022, The Philadelphia Sound, Part 3
Grover Washington Jr. was from Buffalo, New York, where he started playing local clubs as a teenager.  After going through his Coltrane phase, he settled back into a warmer, friendlier sound that developed into "smooth jazz".  His horn became the Sound of Philadelphia.  He died far too young.  

Billy Paul, Mrs. Jones, & The Philadelphia Sound

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #022, The Philadelphia Sound, Part 2
Paul Williams needed a new professional name, so he chose "Billy Paul."  He was a popular local performer and was one of the first acts signed to the new Philadelphia International label.  His biggest hit "Me and Mrs. Jones" was inescapable on the radio for months in 1972.  

Hy Lit and the Philadelphia Sound

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #022, The Philadelphia Sound, Part 1
Hyman "Hy" Lit was a voice known to every Philadelphian during his 50 years on the air, mostly during the 1950s and 60s as one of the WIBG "Good Guys", when he drew an otherworldly market share of '70'.  His style was unforgettable.  

ABC #023: Hy Lit, Billy Paul, Grover Washington Jr., Teddy Pendergrass - The Philadelphia Sound

One of the highwater marks of Philadelphia music was in the 1970s when Gamble and Huff started Philadelphia International Music and stole thunder from both Motown and Memphis.  Two of their biggest stars were Billy Paul and Teddy Pendergrass. 
Another Philadelphian, Grover Washington Jr., became one of the top-selling jazz artists in history and is credited with laying the groundwork for what became known as “smooth jazz.”
And where did you hear the latest sounds?  On the radio, of course, where Hy Lit was one of the top names on-the-air for five decades.   
All four of these music pioneers are buried at Laurel Hill West in Bala Cynwyd. 
 
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ABC #022: John Cassin, Titian Ramsay Peale, Sophonisba Angusciola (Peale) Sellers, Joseph Parker Norris Sr & Jr, Dr. John L. LaConte, & Dr. Thomas B. Wilson - The Birds and the Bees

East coast birdwatchers probably can tell you famed Philadelphians involved in birding. 
John Cassin described 194 new species of birds in his lifetime and has five species of North American birds named in his honor
Titian Ramsay Peale, son of Charles Willson Peale was a meticulous illustrator of wildlife whose artworks are as highly sought as those of John James Audubon
Titian’s older and less-well-known half-sister Sophonisba Angusciola (Peale) Sellers was America’s first woman ornithologist.
Witmer Stone worked for more than 50 years in the Ornithology Department at the Academy of Natural Sciences.
But even birdwatchers may not know about the father and son oölogists Joseph Parker Norris Sr. and Jr., who had the largest collection of bird eggs in the United States.
And since the show is called The Birds and the Bees, I’ll talk about Dr. John Lawrence LeConte, who was responsible for naming and describing approximately half of the insect taxa known in the United States during his lifetime, and his younger partner Dr. George Henry Horn.
And physician / naturalist and entomologist Thomas Bellerby Wilson, who spent his personal fortune buying collections from around the world for the Academy of Sciences.
Even if you’ve never lusted after a pair of Vortex Diamondback HD binoculars, you’ll enjoy this episode of “All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories – The Birds and the Bees.”
 
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Samuel Winpenny: Blankets for the Army

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #021: Me and My Machine: Some Textile Barons of Laurel Hill, part 4
Samuel Winpenny was one of many from the Winpenny family who had varying success in the textile mills.  There were plenty of misadventures among the 3rd and 4th generations.

Sevill Schofield: Cotton Wool on the Banks of the Schuylkill

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #021: Me and My Machine: Some Textile Barons of Laurel Hill, part 3
Sevill Schofield was a British immigrant who started small and ended up with a massive factory and warehouse which is maintained on the Schuylkill River Trail.

Joseph Ripka: A Hard Taskmaster

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #021: Me and My Machine: Some Textile Barons of Laurel Hill, part 2
Joseph Ripka was a Silesian immigrant who eventually became the largest employer in Manayunk.  But he barely treated his workers better than enslaved people.  

The Textile Barons and Their Kingdom

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #021: Me and My Machine: Some Textile Barons of Laurel Hill, part 1
By the mid-19th century, Philadelphia had taken over from Massachusetts as the Textile Capitol of the country.  Thousands Philadelphians made their salaries laboring at the mills.  

ABC #021: Joseph Ripka, Seville Schofield, and Samuel Winpenny - Textile Barons, Part 1

While the textile business in the United States started in New England, it did not take Philadelphia long to catch up and pass our northern neighbors.  Three people who immigrated to Manayunk helped build what had been a small village into one of the major manufacturing centers of the country. 
Joseph Ripka was a draft dodger from Silesia who at his peak employed 2000 men, women, and children in his mills, but went out of business at the start of the Civil War. 
Seville Schofield came from England and took advantage of the Civil War to manufacture 365,000 blankets for the Union Army.
Samuel Winpenny was also from England and declared bankruptcy before his 35th birthday.  Several of his sons and grandsons were far more successful, but others were not and still have interesting stories to tell.
Even if you know nothing about the textile business, I promise you will be informed and entertained.

SGT Richard Binder: From Medal of Honor to Neighborhood Barber

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #020 – Send the Marines, part 3
SGT Richard Binder was a German immigrant who joined the Marine Corps during the Civil War in order to become a citizen.  He was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Fort Fisher.  He returned to Philadelphia and opened several hair salons.  

GEN Jacob Zeilin: The Corps' First General Officer

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #020 – Send the Marines, part 2
GEN Jacob Zeilin was a lifelong Marine who rose to be the Corps' first general officer.  He is also credited with creating their symbol - the iconic globe, eagle, and anchor.

MAJ Levi Twiggs: From the Halls of Montezuma

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #020 – Send the Marines, part 1
MAJ Levi Twiggs spent his life in the Marine Corps. He died at the Battle of Chapultepec during the War with Mexico.  His monument is one of the most striking in the cemetery.

ABC #020: MAJ Levi Twiggs, BG Jacob Zeilin, and SGT Richard Binder - Send the Marines!

The United States Marine Corps was born in Philadelphia on November 10, 1775 and the city is the burial site for many famed members of the Corps. 
Major Levi Twiggs was born in Georgia in a military family; he joined the Marines when he was 19 and made the Marine Barracks at Philadelphia Naval Yards his home for many years before heading off to fight in the Mexican-American War. 
Brigadier General Jacob Zeilin was born in Philadelphia and spent 45 years as a Marine Corps officer, culminating in being their first General-level officer. 
Sergeant Richard Binder was a German immigrant who joined the Marines at the beginning of the Civil War and was awarded the Medal of Honor for bravery at the Battle of Fort Fisher; he returned to Philadelphia after the war and opened a series of very successful barber shops and hair parlors.  

Hobey Baker: All-American Boy

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #019 - Hobey Baker, Sigourney Fay & F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Other Side of Paradise, Part 2
Hobart Amory Hare "Hobey" Baker was an unparalleled athlete in the early 20th century.  He is the only person enshrined in both the International Hockey Hall of Fame and the College Football Hall of Fame.  His influence on Fitzgerald was enormous.  

Sigourney Fay: F. Scott Fitzgerald's Father Figure

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #019: Hobey Baker, Sigourney Fay & F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Other Side of Paradise, part 1
Monsignor Cyril Sigourney Webster Fay was an Episcopalian-turned-Catholic priest who befriended such historical figures as Theodore Roosevelt, Henry Adams, Sean Leslie, Pope Benedict XV, and specially F. Scott Fitzgerald when he was a schoolboy; he ended up as a character in one of Fitzgerald's classics.  

ABC #019: Monsignor Sigourney Fay, Hobey Baker, and the F. Scott Fitzgerald Connection

You might think that F. Scott Fitzgerald, a Midwesterner who made his name in New York City, would have no Philadelphia connections.  You would be wrong. 
Sigourney Webster Fay was born in Philadelphia to an old-line Episcopalian family, but left that religion to become a Catholic priest; he was the most important influence in the life of the schoolboy F. Scott Fitzgerald and the inspiration for one of his most widely-loved characters in This Side of Paradise.
While Fitzgerald matriculated at Princeton, he was three years behind the Golden Boy Hobart Amory Hare “Hobey” Baker, who not only showed up as a minor character in This Side of Paradise, but gave one of his family names to the character Fitzgerald identified as himself, Amory Blaine.  I interview Baker buff Paul Sookiasian for this segment.
Get ready for a literary exploration of two amazing Philadelphians in this October edition of All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories – The Other Side of Paradise.

Henry Charles Lea: He Expected the Spanish Inquisition

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #018: The Calder Connections, part 4
Henry Charles Lea came from a family of publishers, but he took up history and was very good at it.  His multi-volume set on the Spanish Inquisition is still considered the best thing ever written about that period.

Alexander Stirling Calder & The Swann Fountain

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #018: The Calder Connections, part 3
Alexander Stirling Calder took up sculpturing, the profession of his father and mother.  His most memorable contribution to the city is probably the magnificent Swann Fountain at Logan Circle.

William Warner, Coal Magnate - Monument by Calder

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #018: The Calder Connections, part 2
William Warner made excellent money in the coal business.  He used some of it to hire Alexander Milne Calder away from City Hall long enough to create what is certainly the most photographed monument at Laure Hill East.

Alexander Milne Calder & Every Statue on City Hall

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #018: The Calder Connections
Alexander Milne Calder was a Scottish immigrant who received the plum commission of sculpting every statue in and on City Hall - more than 200 works of art, including William Penn who oversees the city from his pinnacle.

ABC #018: Alexander Milne Calder & Alexander Stirling Calder, The William Warner Plot, and Henry Charles Lea - The Calder Connections

Alexander Milne Calder was a Scottish-born sculptor who came to Philadelphia and was given the commission for statuary for the City Hall.  He managed to squeeze in a monument for the Warner Family at Laurel Hill Cemetery that is probably the most photographed grave site on the property.
His son Alexander Stirling Calder is best remembered for Swann Fountain on Logan Circle, but he was also commissioned to do the statue for the grave of famed historian Henry Charles Lea, also at Laurel Hill. 
The Calders are interred at Laurel Hill West under a large Celtic cross.

Oscar Allis: May the Forceps Be with You

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #017, Fathers of American Medicine, Part 4
Oscar Allis invented the tools that he needed. The one with staying power is the commonly used toothed clamp that bears his name. 

Malcolm MacFarlan: Founding Homeopathic Surgery

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #017, Fathers of American Medicine, Part 3
Malcolm Macfarlan was a Scottish immigrant who became intrigued with homeopathy while serving as a battlefield surgeon in the American Civil War.  He discovered that his methods had better outcomes.  

Constantine Hering: Bringing Homeopathy to the New World

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #017, Fathers of American Medicine, Part 2
Constantine Hering studied under Samuel Hahnemann, the Father of Homeopathic medicine.  He brought his knowledge to the United States and became an esteemed leader in this new type of medicine.  

Robley Dunglison: The First Professor

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #017, Fathers of American Medicine, Part 1
Dr. Robley Dunglison was the first professor recruited by Thomas Jefferson for his new University; Dunglison became his private physician.  Later, he was a founding faculty member at Thomas Jefferson University.  

ABC #017: Robley Dunglison, Constantine Hering, Malcolm MacFarlan, and Oscar Allis - Fathers of American Medicine, Part 1

Robley Dunglison was born and educated in England but recruited to be the first Professor of Medicine at Thomas Jefferson’s University of Virginia, where he also became Jefferson’s private physician.  Later he moved to Philadelphia and was recognized as the Father of American Physiology. 
Constantine Hering was born and educated in Germany and learned the homeopathic methods of fellow countryman Samuel Hahnemann; he brought these beliefs with him to Philadelphia and is considered the Father of Homeopathic Medicine in the United States. 
Malcolm Macfarlan was born in Scotland but educated in the United States where he served in the Civil War; upon returning to Philadelphia, he worked under Hering as Chief of Surgery and became the Father of Homeopathic Surgery. 
Oscar Allis was US born and educated; he became the Father of Orthopedic Surgery at Jefferson Medical College and invented a surgical instrument which is still used thousands of times daily around the world. 

ABC #016: Curtis Publishing Company and The Saturday Evening Post

Before the internet, before television, before radio, there were magazines.  Philadelphia was the place you wanted to be if you were in the magazine business.  It had the best presses, the best printers, and the railroads to get them where they needed to go.  Two of the best - Saturday Evening Post and Ladies' Home Journal - came out of Curtis Publishing Company.
Cyrus H.K. Curtis was the king of magazine publishing but could only do it with the help of two amazing editors – his wife, Louisa Knapp Curtis, and his hire from Boston, George Horace Lorimer.  Lorimer needed the help of another Philadelphian, Adelaide Walbaum Neall, to make the Post a success.  And while everyone thinks of Norman Rockwell as the painter of Saturday Evening Post covers, Katharine Richardson Wireman painted covers for the Post and the Journal long before Rockwell.  And when Curtis built his headquarters Building on 6th and Walnut, he hired a local architect Edgar Viguers Seeler.  All six of these people are buried at Laurel Hill Cemetery.

Princess Olga Demidoff Troubetzkoy Stoever: A Not-So-Charmed Life

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #015 She’s Not There, part 3
Princess Olga Demidoff Troubetzkoy Stoever has a stone saying that she wanted to be buried at Laurel Hill East.  Her colorful life took her in different directions.

Pancho Barnes: Taming the Air

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #015 She’s Not There, part 2
Florence Leontine Lowe is better known today as Pancho Barnes, fearless stunt pilot and proprietor of the legendary "Happy Bottom Riding Club" outside Edwards Air Force Base in California.  One of her grandfathers, Richard Dobbins, built Memorial Hall for the Centennial.  The other grandfather, Thaddeus Lowe, invented the Air Force.