Episodes

Gravestones are more than just stones... They hold the stories of our past and are considered sacred objects by many including this week's guest, Rachel Meyer from Epoch Preservation. Join Jennie and Dianne as they learn of Rachel's mission to outlaw the selling of gravestones in Massachusetts that have been removed from cemeteries. She shares Ordinary Extraordinary stories of gravestones that have been recovered and returned over the years and how her bill aims to protect these precious monuments.

This week on the Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery Podcast, Dianne and Jennie welcome Kurt Jordan, a.k.a KC Cemetery Man, a champion of cemetery preservation. Kurt's chance discovery of his 2X Great Grandfather's marker sparked a passion for cemetery preservation. From surprising discoveries to heartwarming encounters, Kurt's Ordinary Extraordinary stories have helped to spark preservation fever across his home state of Missouri and beyond.

Don't miss the latest episode of the Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery Podcast, where Jennie and Dianne are joined by special guest Charles Johnson to chat about fictional cemeteries and ghost towns in the virtual world of video games and the real-life counterparts that inspired the game creators. Sometimes Ordinary Extraordinary history can be found in the most surprising places!

Join Dianne and Jennie for a trip down memory lane! This week's episode of The Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery Podcast is a Colorado-themed throwback, featuring snippets from their favorite homestate episodes, PLUS, an exciting announcement! You'll have to listen (or watch) to find out what's in store!

On this episode of The Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery, Jennie and Dianne attempt to piece together the life story of Dr. Marianna Smalley, a pioneering woman of her era. Celebrated for her research in tuberculosis treatment, Dr. Smalley was once a prominent figure at the University of Michigan and in the city of Ann Arbor, but her life and contributions have largely been forgotten. As they shine a light on her remarkable achievements, they also investigate the mysterious final years leading up to her untimely death Why has Dr. Smalley's Ordinary Extraordinary story remained obscured for so long?

We begin 2025 with the Ordinary Extraordinary, but nearly unknown story of Ellen Robena Field, a talented writer and educator whose contributions to children's literature have mostly been overlooked. Born in 1869 in Bangor, Maine, Ellen's writing talent emerged during her own school years. In 1894, she founded 'The West Side Kindergarten' and published her beloved book, 'Buttercup Gold and Other Stories'. Her gentle moral tales resonated with children and parents alike. Despite her literary gifts, Ellen's passing in 1957 made no mention of them or the impact they had on so many children. Jennie and Dianne end the episode with the reading of her story, ‘The Little New Year’, reminding us all that the best way to begin and continue the year is with love and kindness.

Send us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. This week on the Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery podcast Jennie and Dianne continue their fascinating discussion with author Pamela McColl about Elizabeth "Libbie" Custer, the resilient wife of General George Armstrong Custer. In part one, they explored her pioneering experiences living with Custer in the West. Now, they're diving deeper into the incredible changes she witnessed during her lifeti...

Send us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Get ready for Part One of a holiday treat! Join Jennie and Dianne on the Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery podcast as they welcome Christmas aficionado and author Pamela McColl back to experience the "spirit of Christmas" through the memories of Elizabeth "Libbie" Bacon Custer, wife of the legendary (and controversial) George Armstrong Custer. As Libbie so eloquently put it, "Sometimes I think our ...

Send us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Resting peacefully in graves across the United Kingdom are some of the 20th century's best mystery writers who set the standard for the detective stories we know and love today. Get ready for a whodunit of an episode! We're "investigating" the fascinating story of the 94 year old "Detection Club", formed by a group of renowned detective fiction authors including Agatha Christie, Anthony Berkeley ...

Send us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. What if you knew the exact date of your own death? For Samuel P. Golden, a series of prophetic dreams foretold his passing...or so he believed! Join Jennie and Dianne as they uncover the Ordinary Extraordinary life and death of Samuel P. Golden, a charismatic man whose obituary described him as one who "dressed nicely and was a fine specimen of physical manhood." His short life on earth was anyth...

Send us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Join Jennie on this week's Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery podcast as she explores the incredible story of William R. Harland, whose cremains were discovered 85 years after his death in an Oregon hospital's 'Room of Forgotten Souls.' Learn how Life Forest Whistle Ridge, a conservation cemetery in Maine, provided Harland's final resting place among the trees. Chelsea Eaton and Michelle Melaragno s...

Send us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Step into the enchanting world of Italian cemeteries with Jennie, Dianne, and special guest Tui Snider who shares her adventures as a tour guide in Italy's iconic Monumental Cemeteries, visiting Milan, Genoa, Bologna, and Florence. From 19th-century widow sculptures to groundbreaking Jewish burial grounds, Tui helps uncover the treasures hidden within Italy's Ordinary Extraordinary cemeteries. "T...

Send us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. In the stillness of a dense Newfoundland forest, a hidden cemetery whispers a tale both tragic and triumphant. This week on the Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery Podcast Jennie and Dianne explore the St. Martin-in-the-Woods Cemetery, a plane crash site turned burial ground in the autumn of 1946. Among the victims were refugees who had endured the Holocaust, seeking a new beginning, only to face ano...

Send us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Join Jennie and Dianne for the annual "Beyond the Grave" episode of the Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery, just in time to put you in a spooky mood for Halloween! Wrap yourself cozy, dim the lights and let Mary Shelley's haunting masterpiece envelop you as you venture into 'Frankenstein's eerie world. The tale begins with an introduction from Percy and Mary Shelley before transporting you to 19th-c...

Send us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Beyond the ornate 19th century headstones and crumbling mausoleums lies a world of custom and superstition that dictated death and mourning for more than eighty years. This week on the Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery Podcast Jennie and Dianne explore the complex social norms dictating grief, the rise of spiritualism, and the eerie practices that governed Victorian society. While some of these cus...

Send us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Step into history with Jennie and Dianne on the Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery podcast! This week, they uncover the fascinating story of Pauline Cushman, a Union spy and actress who risked it all during the American Civil War. Joining them is living historian MJ Henion, who brings Pauline's courage and determination to life. From stage to battlefield, Pauline's bravery and cunning will leave you...

Send us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. The story continues...Jennie, Dianne and Professor Jared Richman continue their discussion about the life and legacy of Mary Shelley. From the heartache of losing three of her four children in infancy, to the tragic drowning death of her husband Percy Bysshe Shelley, Mary was often forced to be resilient and rise above darkness and depression. Yet, amidst sorrow, Mary continued to impact the Ordi...

Send us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. This year's Beyond the Grave event honors Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, but who was the woman behind the iconic novel? Born to radical parents Mary Wollstonecraft and William Godwin, Mary Shelley navigated a life of intellectual fervor, passionate relationships – including her tumultuous marriage to Percy Bysshe Shelley – and literary friendship with none other than the bad boy of English literatu...

Send us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. This week on the Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery podcast; while Dianne is away, Jennie welcomes a new guest, JoEllen Hundeland, to share her passion project, "Hillside Cemetery: Middletown, New York: Beyond the Graves". From school bus curiosity to researching incredible local stories, JoEllen's journey is as fascinating as the book itself. JoEllen shares how the cemetery reveals the extraordinar...

Send us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Join The Ordinary, Extraordinary Cemetery podcast for a milestone episode - our 200th! For this special episode Dianne and Jennie welcome back returning guest Kristen Allen of Bloombridge, the cemetery flower delivery service, to share exciting updates on the organization's remarkable growth since its inception in 2021. Discover how Bloombridge has formed connections across the US, weaving power...

Send us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Jennie and Dianne are excited to share Part 2 of our discussion with author Joy Giguere on "Pleasure Grounds of Death: The Rural Cemetery in Nineteenth-century America". They explore how the rural cemetery movement transformed the funeral industry, especially following the civil war. The rise of funeral homes to handle the duties surrounding the deceased, hospitals as a place for the dying, and h...

Send us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. This week on The Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery, Jennie and Dianne welcome Joy Giguere back to discuss her new book "Pleasure Grounds of Death: The Rural Cemetery in Nineteenth-century America". They chat about the rise of rural cemeteries in the United States, including Mount Auburn Cemetery's pioneering design to the nationwide movement it inspired. Tune in for part one of a conversation about...

Send us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Saddle up, partners as Jennie and Dianne 'shoot' the breeze with Josh Taylor of the Wild West Extravaganza Podcast (and YouTube channel) while they pay their respects at the graveside of infamous outlaw Billy the Kid and his Ordinary Extraordinary life and legacy that ended before it had barely begun. Available on YouTube: https://youtu.be/DcdxHH7S8cc?si=unnJIo-w_DCJJKxm Ticket link to the 35th...

Send us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. In part 1 of "The Great Eiffel Tower Swindle" Jennie and Dianne share the humble beginnings of a man who became known as one of the world's greatest swindlers, Victor "The Count" Lustig; and left listeners hanging after recounting his notorious first sale of the Eiffel Tower in 1925. In part 2 the ladies follow Lustig's escape from authorities in Paris and his return to the US to continue his lif...