Episodes

Send us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Love is in the air this week as Jennie and Dianne share the story of a woman who led, shall we say, an alternative life as madam Bessie Rivers, and despite her unconventional path, found love and respect among many in her community and her final resting place has not been forgotten in lovely Greenmount Cemetery in Durango, Colorado. Situated in the southwestern part of Colorado, Durango is surrou...

Send us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Jennie and Dianne relate a gripping yet heart-wrenching chapter of circus history that led to the first burials at Showmen's Rest in Chicago's beautiful Woodlawn Memorial Park. Listen in as they spotlight the Hagenbeck-Wallace circus train wreck of 1918 – a tragic event that claimed over 80 lives and left many injured. In the spirit of February and love-themed episodes, they explore the profound ...

Send us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Jennie and Dianne delve into the remarkable tale of James and Olivia Tate, enslaved in Georgia prior to the American civil war but united by love. This February, they kick off a month-long celebration of love and honor Black History with the Tate's inspiring story at Atlanta's historic Oakland Cemetery. True love knows no bounds, not even the challenges of the Civil War. Discover how James and Ol...

Send us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Join Jennie and Dianne as they unravel the remarkable life of Margaret Ann Harvey Neve in this episode of the Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery Podcast! This latest episode delves into the story of the first recorded female supercentenarian, the second person to reach 110 (after Geert Boomgaard), and the first to span three centuries (1792-1903). "Living to be over 100 is not just about time; it's ...

Send us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Jennie and Dianne ride into the Wild West in this latest podcast episode! 🤠 Together they cover the unique story of Cattle Annie and Little Britches, two adventurous young girls who defied the norms of their time by becoming outlaws in the vast Oklahoma territory of the 1890s. 🌵 Explore their journey, the challenges they faced, and the Ordinary Extraordinary legacy they left behind. 🐎 Whether you...

Send us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Jennie and Dianne uncover the remark ble legacy of Irene Lentz – a trailblazing fashion designer turned Hollywood costume innovator during the 1930s and 40s. Delve into the Ord nary Extraordinary story of how she not only took the reins as MGM's chief designer in 1942 but also managed an exclusive fashion line for over 20 department stores – a true pioneer working both in Tinseltown and for herse...

Send us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. As we bid farewell to 2023, the Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery Podcast team wishes you a Happy New Year! Don't miss this final episode of the year, weaving history, literature, and friendship into an Ordinary Extraordinary story. Jennie and Dianne are joined by author Pamela McColl as they explore the charming friendship between literary giant Mark Twain and the remarkable Helen Keller. Discove...

Send us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Embark on a heartfelt yuletide journey with Jennie and Dianne as they uncover the remarkable story of James J. Brady at Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Detroit, Michigan. Despite humble beginnings, Brady's life is etched in the unadorned markers beside his wife, a testament to a life lived in simplicity and generosity. From a runaway at the tender age of six to becoming a successful businessman, Brady's l...

Send us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Join Jennie and Dianne as they unravel a tale of light from darkness in Landsberg am Lech, Germany. From the city's historical significance to the Jüdischer Friedhof, a small Jewish cemetery containing about 600 victims of the Nazi terror that were killed in one of the nearby concentration camps, discover the poignant journey of Holocaust survivors and how the celebration of Hanukkah took place i...

Send us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Uncover the rich history of the second oldest rural cemetery in America on "The Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery" podcast! Join Jennie and Dianne alongside Laurel Hill Cemetery's President & CEO Nancy Goldenberg, Arboretum Manager Aaron Greenberg, and Volunteer & Tour Guide Sarah Hamill as they share Ordinary Extraordinary stories of those buried in the two burial grounds that make up Laurel Hill ...

Send us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. On this episode of "The Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery" join Jennie as she journeys to the picturesque Toledo Cemetery in Lincoln County, Oregon to discover the history of this charming seven-acre resting place, founded in the 1880s by the generous donation of a local citizen. Uncover tales of early settlers, relocated graves, and the enduring spirit of a town shaped by lumber mills and a now vi...

Send us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Dive into a remarkable journey through time on the latest episode of "The Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery" podcast with Jennie and Dianne. This Thanksgiving, we're especially thankful for the wit and humor of Will Rogers. Join us as we celebrate the laughter-filled legacy of this iconic figure, along with the high-flying adventures of Wiley Post. In a tragic turn of fate, they bid farewell to lif...

Send us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Jennie and Dianne share three captivating stories of headstones found in unusual places and how they were restored to the cemeteries where they belong. They begin with the story of a WWII veteran's headstone discovered in a backyard in St. Petersburg, Florida. Next they journey to Pennsylvania to visit the oldest narrow gauge railroad in the U.S.; East Broad Top Railroad's mission to return a Civ...

Send us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. In this episode Jennie and Dianne honor Veterans Day and celebrate National Native American Heritage Month along with guests Charlie Johnson and Connie Kellwood Pitt. Connie's father, Joe Hosteen Kellwood was one of the renowned Navajo Code Talkers of WWII. Connie has made it her mission to share not only her father's personal story, but the stories of the 420 Ordinary Extraordinary Navajo men wh...

Send us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Happy belated 3rd anniversary to the Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery podcast! In this episode Jennie and Dianne take a stroll down memory lane, celebrating three years of stories and inspiring discussions. They reminisce about how far the podcast has come, discuss some of their favorite episodes and guests from this past year, and share their hopes and ideas for the future of cemetery preservatio...

Send us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Join Jennie and Dianne for this very special Halloween edition of the Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery podcast. Grab your favorite warm beverage, turn the lights down low, and curl up with a cozy blanket as we delve into the enigmatic world of Bram Stoker, the genius behind the legendary novel "Dracula." Prepare to be transported into a chilling atmosphere, embracing the essence of Stoker's timele...

Send us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Just in time to help kick off the third annual Beyond the Grave: An Evening with Bram Stoker, Dianne and Jennie engage in a captivating conversation with Stanley Stepanic, an Assistant Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures at the University of Virginia who teaches a VERY popular course called "Dracula". With his vast knowledge of Slavic folklore and the origins and subsequent manifestatio...

Send us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. It's officially October which means many of us are feeling a bit spookier than usual! In this episode Jennie and Dianne unravel some of the secrets of omens and taboos lurking in the shadows of our minds. They delve into the Ordinary Extraordinary world of cemetery lore, uncovering eerie omens and ancient taboos that have stood the test of time. They also journey across diverse cultures, shedding...

Send us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. "Hang down your head, Tom Dooley Hang down your head and cry Hang down your head, Tom Dooley Poor boy, you're bound to die." The murder ballad, 'Tom Dooley', made famous by the Kingston Trio in 1958, is the tale of a twisted love triangle that culminated in two sensational trials that both captivated and disgusted the people of North Carolina in the years following the American civil war. Dianne...

Send us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. "Come all good people, I’d have you draw near, A sorrowful story you quickly shall hear; A story I’ll tell you about Omie Wise, How she was deluded by Lewis’s lies." From the ballad Omie Wise. This week Jennie and Dianne begin a two part series exploring three folk songs that originated out of North Carolina. Each song relates a tragic narrative that has been spun out of real life events. In this...

Send us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. In this episode Jennie and Dianne are joined by the delightful Kathleen Maca who shares the stories of the Broadway District cemeteries on the island of Galveston off the gulf coast of Texas. Kathleen is a member of the Association for Gravestone Studies, a cemetery historian, cemetery restorationist, Certified Tourism Ambassador, genealogist and just completed a two-year project for ancestry.com...

Send us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. In this episode, Jennie and Dianne are joined by Annalisa Heppner, Cemetery Director of North Burial Ground in Providence, Rhode Island. North Burial Ground was officially recognized as a burial ground in 1700 and is the largest municipal cemetery in the region at around 110 acres and with more than 40,000 gravestones. From its inception North Burial Ground has welcomed all people of the Providen...

Send us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Join Jennie and Dianne as they delve into the intriguing world of Fisk metallic burial cases, also known as Fisk coffins. Unearth the remarkable story of Almond Dunbar Fisk, the visionary behind the cast iron coffin, whose innovation forever changed the way we lay our loved ones to rest. From first lady Dolley Madison who made the cast iron coffin fashionable among the leaders in Washington D.C. ...

Send us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. A Google search for Martha's Chapel Cemetery will lead you down a reportedly haunted road where any number of ghostly spirits and demons are said to roam unsettling the living who pass through this desolate corner of Eastern Texas. But what happens when a cemetery’s main attraction is only about its ghosts and otherworldly atmosphere? We tend to lose sight of why the cemetery even exists, as a bu...