The Ordinary, Extraordinary Cemetery

Jennie Johnson & Dianne Hartshorn
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The Ordinary, Extraordinary Cemetery is a podcast for cemetery lovers, preservationists, and even those who've never walked among the graves. Join hosts Jennie and Dianne as they explore old cemeteries and learn the stories of those buried within their walls. After all, every death had a life, and every life had a story.

  1. 1d ago

    Episode 300 - The Beard that Sent a Man to Jail

    Send us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. 300 episodes of Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery! Thank you for listening from the beginning, or joining us at episode 145, or 299. Thank you for every message, cemetery tip, grave photo, and "you have to cover this one." We do this because you show up for these stories, and we are so grateful. For our 300th, Jennie and Dianne add another Evergreen to the list - Evergreen Cemetery in Leominster, Massachusetts, final rating place to two Ordinary Extraordinary residents who've not been forgotten: Hans Peter Jorgensen, a Danish soldier and piano maker who said "Freedom is the same everywhere and I cheerfully give my life in its defense" before being killed at Gettysburg, and Joseph Palmer, War of 1812 veteran, abolitionist, prison reformer, and wearer of New England's most famous beard and jailed in 1830 for defending it. Join us for Episode 300. And thank you, truly, for 300. Need an Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery Podcast tee, hoodie or mug? Find all our taphophile-fun merch here: https://oecemetery.etsy.com Family Tales: A free printable is now available! Gather 'round the table and dig into your roots! This interactive family history game is perfect for holidays, reunions, or just because. Ask, listen, and laugh your way through generations of stories and secrets. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UT_R56qEwNTIxIBrTy8KFyVmGnFOe7g8/view?usp=sharing Resources used to research this episode include: "Civil War." https://www.leominster-ma.gov/. www.leominster-ma.gov/224/Civil-War. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026. Cleveland, Ken. "Soldier's gravestone in Leominster restored ." https://www.telegram.com/. 5 July 2014. www.telegram.com/story/news/2014/07/05/soldier-s-gravestone-in-leominster/36893443007/. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026. Kerrigan, Mike. "A history of Leominster through Evergreen Cemetery." https://www.leominsterchamp.com/. 4 Nov. 2016. www.leominsterchamp.com/a-history-of-leominster-through-evergreen-cemetery/. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026. , KenSears37. "Grave of Joseph Palmer ." https://www.atlasobscura.com/. 14 Apr. 2015. www.atlasobscura.com/places/grave-of-joseph-palmer. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026. Support the show

  2. Oct 29

    Episode 299 - Beyond the Grave 2026: Tragic Tales of the Gilded Age

    Send us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Just in time for Halloween, the Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery Podcast invites listeners everywhere to experience Beyond the Grave: Gothic Tragedies of the Gilded Age. Recorded with the same actors who performed live at Evergreen Cemetery in Colorado Springs, this audio experience features five classic tales of the strange and supernatural: Edgar Allan Poe's haunting poem Annabel Lee, Edith Nesbit's John Charrington's Wedding, Charlotte Perkins Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper, Amelia B. Edwards' In the Confessional, and Edgar Allan Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart, plus a visit with Queen Palmer, a founding citizen of Colorado Springs and this year's ghostly mistress of ceremonies. Cast In Order of Appearance:   Annabel Lee’ by Edgar Allan Poe ... Performed by Charles Johnson Mary “Queen” Palmer ... Welcome to Evergreen Cemetery ... Performed by Jordan Kaplan  Warden Roy Best ... ‘In the Confessional’ by Amelia B. Edwards ... Performed by Bob Pemberton Cyril Bishop ... ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’ by Edgar Allan Poe ... Performed by Solomon Abell Fred Bishop ... ‘John Charrington’s Wedding’ by Edith Nesbit ... Performed by Joshua Raine Cora Rose ... ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ by Charlotte Perkins Gilman ... Performed by Casper Johnson Script Written & Arranged by: Jennie Johnson & Casper Johnson Photography By: Jeffery Heizer Produced by The Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery Podcast & Evergreen Heritage: ©MMXXVI Need an Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery Podcast tee, hoodie or mug? Find all our taphophile-fun merch here: https://oecemetery.etsy.com Family Tales: A free printable is now available! Gather 'round the table and dig into your roots! This interactive family history game is perfect for holidays, reunions, or just because. Ask, listen, and laugh your way through generations of stories and secrets. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UT_R56qEwNTIxIBrTy8KFyVmGnFOe7g8/view?usp=sharing Support the show

  3. Oct 22

    Episode 298 - The Witch's Curse and the Stone Foot

    Send us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Dominating the small Buck family cemetery in Bucksport, Maine is a tall granite obelisk honoring Colonel Jonathan Buck, founder of the town in 1762. On its pedestal is a strange, foot-shaped outline that has drawn the curious for over 130 years. Is it a supernatural curse, or simply a flaw in the granite that the legend was built to fit? In 1898, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that according to local legend, it was left there by a woman he condemned as a witch, who swore with her dying breath that her footprint would mark his stone forever. Of course, Jennie and Dianne dig into Colonel Buck's Ordinary Extraordinary story from his birth in 1719, his service as colonel in Maine's 5th militia during the American Revolution, and the 1852 erection of the obelisk by his great-grandchildren, 57 years after his death.  Need an Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery Podcast tee, hoodie or mug? Find all our taphophile-fun merch here: https://oecemetery.etsy.com Family Tales: A free printable is now available! Gather 'round the table and dig into your roots! This interactive family history game is perfect for holidays, reunions, or just because. Ask, listen, and laugh your way through generations of stories and secrets. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UT_R56qEwNTIxIBrTy8KFyVmGnFOe7g8/view?usp=sharing Resources used to research this episode include the following historical newspaper articles, as well as various additional articles from Newspapers.com and documents from Ancestry.com. "The Witch's Curse and the Stone Foot." Philadelphia Inquirer [Philadelphia ], p. 26. Burnham, Emily. "The real story of Bucksport namesake Jonathan Buck has nothing to do with a witch’s curse ." https://www.bangordailynews.com/. 16 July 2019. www.bangordailynews.com/2019/07/16/news/the-real-story-of-bucksport-namesake-jonathan-buck-has-nothing-to-do-with-a-witchs-curse/. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026. "The mystery of the Johnathan Buck monument: was it really cursed by a witch? ." https://enchantednewengland.com/. 25 Mar. 2023. enchantednewengland.com/stories-all/johnathan-buck-monument-cursed-by-witch. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026. Support the show

  4. Oct 15

    Episode 297 - Death and Dying 101 With Ryan Seidemann: Episode 12

    Send us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Jennie and Dianne are once more joined by Ryan Seidemann to explore death and remembrance through a cross-cultural lens. Drawing from questions posed by students in Ryan's fall course at Arizona State University, "Death and Dying in Cross-Cultural Perspective," the three discuss whether burial archaeology reveals past beliefs or modern projections, whether respect for the dead is universal, and how public memorials and preserved bodies shape collective memory. They also examine the ethical line between honoring a historical leader and stripping them of personal rights after death, whether sites like the French Catacombs should remain tourist attractions, and whether equality in death is a new idea.  Need an Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery Podcast tee, hoodie or mug? Find all our taphophile-fun merch here: https://oecemetery.etsy.com Family Tales: A free printable is now available! Gather 'round the table and dig into your roots! This interactive family history game is perfect for holidays, reunions, or just because. Ask, listen, and laugh your way through generations of stories and secrets. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UT_R56qEwNTIxIBrTy8KFyVmGnFOe7g8/view?usp=sharing Support the show

  5. Oct 1

    Episode 296

    Send us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Support the show

  6. Sep 24

    Episode 295

    Send us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. Support the show

  7. Sep 17

    Episode 394 - An Ordinary Extraordinary Repatriation with Ryan Seidemann

    Send us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email. This week, our favorite forensic anthropologist Ryan Seidemann joins us to discuss his Ordinary Extraordinary role in one of the first repatriations of its kind in the United States. In 1871-1872, nineteen men and women of African descent died at New Orleans' Charity Hospital. What happened next should never have happened. Their remains were removed and sent to Germany, where they became part of a collection built for racially biased phrenology research. In 2023, Leipzig University contacted the City of New Orleans to initiate repatriation. On May 15, 2025, the ancestors were carefully packed and flown home, and on May 31, 2025, Dillard University, the City of New Orleans, and community partners held a memorial service and traditional jazz funeral to lay them to rest. Join Jennie, Dianne and Ryan for this especially moving episode. To see the full event "Honoring the Nineteen", click here: https://www.dillard.edu/about/history-traditions/honoring-the-nineteen/ Beyond the Grave 2026: Gothic Tragedies of the Gilded Age Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/beyond-the-grave-presents-gothic-tragedies-of-the-gilded-age-tickets-1997269261125?aff=oddtdtcreator Need an Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery Podcast tee, hoodie or mug? Find all our taphophile-fun merch here: https://oecemetery.etsy.com Family Tales: A free printable is now available! Gather 'round the table and dig into your roots! This interactive family history game is perfect for holidays, reunions, or just because. Ask, listen, and laugh your way through generations of stories and secrets. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UT_R56qEwNTIxIBrTy8KFyVmGnFOe7g8/view?usp=sharing Support the show

  8. Sep 3

    Episode 293 - Love Gone Wrong

    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 unearth a love story gone wrong in Southeastern Colorado that left more than one heart broken. Listen along as they learn about the Bishop brothers: one ended up six feet under, while the other began adulthood behind the walls of the Colorado State Penitentiary in Cañon City. What started as jealousy and a rumored affair led to a tragedy that shocked a small prairie town where everyone knew everyone else's business. Who was the woman in the middle? What led to that fateful August evening? And where do the brothers rest today? Join Dianne and Jennie as they piece together newspaper archives, prison records, and gravestones to uncover a century-old story of family, love, and loss. Beyond the Grave 2026: Gothic Tragedies of the Gilded Age Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/beyond-the-grave-presents-gothic-tragedies-of-the-gilded-age-tickets-1997269261125?aff=oddtdtcreator Need an Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery Podcast tee, hoodie or mug? Find all our taphophile-fun merch here: https://oecemetery.etsy.com Family Tales: A free printable is now available! Gather 'round the table and dig into your roots! This interactive family history game is perfect for holidays, reunions, or just because. Ask, listen, and laugh your way through generations of stories and secrets. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UT_R56qEwNTIxIBrTy8KFyVmGnFOe7g8/view?usp=sharing Resources used to research this episode include the following historical newspaper articles, as well as various additional articles from Newspapers.com and documents from Ancestry.com. "Brother Slays Brother Southwest of Campo Love for Latter's Wife." The Democrat-Herald [Springfield ], 31 Aug. 1923, p. 1. "Trinidad, Colo.." Fort Collins Coloradoan [Fort Collins], 24 Sep. 1923, p. 2. Support the show

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4.5
out of 5
58 Ratings

About

The Ordinary, Extraordinary Cemetery is a podcast for cemetery lovers, preservationists, and even those who've never walked among the graves. Join hosts Jennie and Dianne as they explore old cemeteries and learn the stories of those buried within their walls. After all, every death had a life, and every life had a story.

Information

  • Creator
    Jennie Johnson & Dianne Hartshorn
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    300
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Ordinary, Extraordinary Cemetery
  • Show Website
    The Ordinary, Extraordinary Cemetery

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