NPR’s summer road trip series “Dead Stop” continues to add to a great collection of interesting cemeteries and the stories they tell. The final resting places are strange, funny, historic and notable, as are the stories.
There’s the story of humorist writer Dorothy Parker and how her ashes came to rest in Baltimore, at the headquarters of the NAACP. My favorite quote from her is “Drink and dance and laugh and lie, love the reeling midnight through, for tomorrow we shall die (but alas we never do)!” Although most of her life was associated with New York City, it’s an interesting story about Parker, her take on civil rights, and the rescue of her remains from a file cabinet.
Today’s story is about Alaska’s Eklutna Cemetery that combines elements of Russian Orthodox and Native American funeral traditions. It’s a fascinating history of fur trappers, cremation, burial, spirit houses and church rites.
On June 11, the story was about the simple Vermont grave of Bill Wilson, the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous. People seek out Wilson’s grave in a small cemetery near his birthplace in East Dorset, Vermont all year long. Many have an impromptu AA meeting and say the Serenity Prayer when they visit.
Here’s the current map of stories. Check out all the interesting Dead Stop stories on NPR.
Leave a Comment so far
Leave a comment
