The Secret Life of Death Podcast

**Episode 8: Identity, Part 6** Jun 25, 2023
In the final installment of the “Identity” series, we move the story of the first LGBTQ+ bar in Vermont, Andrews Inn, into the present day. Though the bar closed its doors in 1984, its legacy was broad and deep for the community of Bellows Falls, affecting lives in the village today and in ways many of us may not even be aware of.
*Post production correction: the late Gary Smith was responsible for opening, developing and running Popolo Restaurant in the Hotel Windham building, not the Windham Development Group.

**Transcript**
View fullsize
Hotel Windham Today View fullsize
Wunderbar View fullsize
Memorial Park
**Acknowledgements**:
Segment Participants:
Michael Bruno
Kate Buckman
Adam Gearhart
Jon Midura
Interviewees:
Remy Walker
Alain Martinez
Jeremy Youst
Thom Herman
Special Thanks:
HB Lozito, Out In the Open: for giving us permission to use clips from their *audio
clips from their 2017 *Andrews Inn Oral History Project* and for acting as a sounding board for the
concept of this show and reading through the scripts for content and tone. For more information
about OITO, check out their website, *www.weareoutintheopen.org.*
Mike Smith and Marty Gallagher of Fact 8 TV: for the use of the audio clips from their
documentary, *“Call to Duty: Terry Brown and Dana Fuller”*.
*Remy Walker and Alain Martinez at* *Wunderbar,* *for hosting our interview.*
*Music and Sound Effects:* provided with permission by Epidemic Sound, LLC
George’s Sandbox- Magnus Ludvisson
In the Spirit of Cannes - The Flax
Some Autumn; His Old Lover - Leimoti
Something to Someone - Bireli Snow
Happy Minor Waltz - Franz Gordon
Bobby Swing - Bladverk Band
Morning Dew - Heath Cantu
PREL Dron 16; 57; 80
*Photos*:
Gail Golec
**Follow us on the social medias!**
*The Secret Life of Death Podcast*
Facebook and Instagram

**Episode 8: Identity, Part 6** Jun 25, 2023
In the final installment of the “Identity” series, we move the story of the first LGBTQ+ bar in Vermont, Andrews Inn, into the present day. Though the bar closed its doors in 1984, its legacy was broad and deep for the community of Bellows Falls, affecting lives in the village today and in ways many of us may not even be aware of.
*Post production correction: the late Gary Smith was responsible for opening, developing and running Popolo Restaurant in the Hotel Windham building, not the Windham Development Group.

**Transcript**
View fullsize
Hotel Windham Today View fullsize
Wunderbar View fullsize
Memorial Park
**Acknowledgements**:
Segment Participants:
Michael Bruno
Kate Buckman
Adam Gearhart
Jon Midura
Interviewees:
Remy Walker
Alain Martinez
Jeremy Youst
Thom Herman
Special Thanks:
HB Lozito, Out In the Open: for giving us permission to use clips from their *audio
clips from their 2017 *Andrews Inn Oral History Project* and for acting as a sounding board for the
concept of this show and reading through the scripts for content and tone. For more information
about OITO, check out their website, *www.weareoutintheopen.org.*
Mike Smith and Marty Gallagher of Fact 8 TV: for the use of the audio clips from their
documentary, *“Call to Duty: Terry Brown and Dana Fuller”*.
*Remy Walker and Alain Martinez at* *Wunderbar,* *for hosting our interview.*
*Music and Sound Effects:* provided with permission by Epidemic Sound, LLC
George’s Sandbox- Magnus Ludvisson
In the Spirit of Cannes - The Flax
Some Autumn; His Old Lover - Leimoti
Something to Someone - Bireli Snow
Happy Minor Waltz - Franz Gordon
Bobby Swing - Bladverk Band
Morning Dew - Heath Cantu
PREL Dron 16; 57; 80
*Photos*:
Gail Golec
**Follow us on the social medias!**
*The Secret Life of Death Podcast*
Facebook and Instagram

**Episode 8: Identity, Part 5** Jun 03, 2023
At the end of 1982, Andrews Inn had been sent reeling from the set-up and raid by authorities and their business struggled in its aftermath. But 1982 was also the year that AIDS broke into the public consciousness, also affecting business. Not much has been said about both topics in the last 40 years, which makes you think about what stories get told and what stories do not - and why that might be.

**Transcript**

**Called To Duty: Terry Brown and Dana Fuller - FACT 8 TV Documentary**
View fullsize
Island House c. 1855-1865 View fullsize
Fall Mountain Pavilion c. 1860 View fullsize
View from Fall Mnt c. 1900 View fullsize
Fall Mnt. Hike c. 1982 View fullsize
Fall Mtn Hike 2021 View fullsize
Table Rock View fullsize
Turkey Vulture View fullsize
Snake! View fullsize
Old Road View fullsize
Jerry Glover Portrait
**Acknowledgements**:
Segment Participants:
Kate Butt
Interviewees:
Florence Golec
Jeremy Youst
Thom Herman
Fletcher Proctor
Sheila Glover
Special Thanks:
HB Lozito, Out In the Open: for giving us permission to use clips from their *audio
clips from their 2017 *Andrews Inn Oral History Project* and for acting as a sounding board for the
concept of this show and reading through the scripts for content and tone. For more information
about OITO, check out their website, *www.weareoutintheopen.org.*
*Music and Sound Effects:* provided with permission by Epidemic Sound, LLC
George’s Sandbox- Magnus Ludvisson
In the Spirit of Cannes - The Flax
Some Autumn; His Old Lover - Leimoti
Something to Someone - Bireli Snow
Happy Minor Waltz - Franz Gordon
Bobby Swing - Bladverk Band
Morning Dew - Heath Cantu
PREL Dron 16; 57; 80
*Photos*:
Sheila Glover
UVM Historic Photo Archive
Library of Congress
Florence Golec
**Follow us on the social medias!**
*The Secret Life of Death Podcast*
Facebook and Instagram

**Episode 8: Identity, Part 5** Jun 03, 2023
At the end of 1982, Andrews Inn had been sent reeling from the set-up and raid by authorities and their business struggled in its aftermath. But 1982 was also the year that AIDS broke into the public consciousness, also affecting business. Not much has been said about both topics in the last 40 years, which makes you think about what stories get told and what stories do not - and why that might be.

**Transcript**

**Called To Duty: Terry Brown and Dana Fuller - FACT 8 TV Documentary**
View fullsize
Island House c. 1855-1865 View fullsize
Fall Mountain Pavilion c. 1860 View fullsize
View from Fall Mnt c. 1900 View fullsize
Fall Mnt. Hike c. 1982 View fullsize
Fall Mtn Hike 2021 View fullsize
Table Rock View fullsize
Turkey Vulture View fullsize
Snake! View fullsize
Old Road View fullsize
Jerry Glover Portrait
**Acknowledgements**:
Segment Participants:
Kate Butt
Interviewees:
Florence Golec
Jeremy Youst
Thom Herman
Fletcher Proctor
Sheila Glover
Special Thanks:
HB Lozito, Out In the Open: for giving us permission to use clips from their *audio
clips from their 2017 *Andrews Inn Oral History Project* and for acting as a sounding board for the
concept of this show and reading through the scripts for content and tone. For more information
about OITO, check out their website, *www.weareoutintheopen.org.*
*Music and Sound Effects:* provided with permission by Epidemic Sound, LLC
George’s Sandbox- Magnus Ludvisson
In the Spirit of Cannes - The Flax
Some Autumn; His Old Lover - Leimoti
Something to Someone - Bireli Snow
Happy Minor Waltz - Franz Gordon
Bobby Swing - Bladverk Band
Morning Dew - Heath Cantu
PREL Dron 16; 57; 80
*Photos*:
Sheila Glover
UVM Historic Photo Archive
Library of Congress
Florence Golec
**Follow us on the social medias!**
*The Secret Life of Death Podcast*
Facebook and Instagram

**Episode 8: Identity, Part 4** Jun 03, 2023
After the sale of Andrews Inn to gay couple, Thom Herman and Jeremy Youst (1979) went through and some of the fervor of the anti-gay protest march that took place in its wake had died down, life got on in Bellows Falls. The Inn, its owners, staff and patrons had forged a mostly civil and at times, fruitful and supportive relationship with the town. But in 1982 - things began to change.

**Transcript**
**TSLOD Newspaper References**
View fullsize
Star Hotel Fire: Dec 1981 View fullsize
Charity and Sylvia Gravesite View fullsize
1982
**Acknowledgements**:
Interviewees:
Kate Buckman
Fletcher Proctor
Florence Golec
Jeremy Youst
Thom Herman
Kathy MacDonald
Sheila Glover
Special Thanks:
HB Lozito, Out In the Open: for giving us permission to use clips from their *audio
clips from their 2017 *Andrews Inn Oral History Project* and for acting as a sounding board for the
concept of this show and reading through the scripts for content and tone. For more information
about OITO, check out their website, *www.weareoutintheopen.org.*
*Music and Sound Effects:* provided with permission by Epidemic Sound, LLC
George’s Sandbox- Magnus Ludvisson
In the Spirit of Cannes - The Flax
Some Autumn; His Old Lover - Leimoti
Something to Someone - Bireli Snow
Happy Minor Waltz - Franz Gordon
Bobby Swing - Bladverk Band
Morning Dew - Heath Cantu
PREL Dron 16; 57; 80
*Photos*:
Brattleboro Reformer
**Follow us on the social medias!**
*The Secret Life of Death Podcast*
Facebook and Instagram

**Episode 8: Identity, Part 4** Jun 03, 2023
After the sale of Andrews Inn to gay couple, Thom Herman and Jeremy Youst (1979) went through and some of the fervor of the anti-gay protest march that took place in its wake had died down, life got on in Bellows Falls. The Inn, its owners, staff and patrons had forged a mostly civil and at times, fruitful and supportive relationship with the town. But in 1982 - things began to change.

**Transcript**
**TSLOD Newspaper References**
View fullsize
Star Hotel Fire: Dec 1981 View fullsize
Charity and Sylvia Gravesite View fullsize
1982
**Acknowledgements**:
Interviewees:
Kate Buckman
Fletcher Proctor
Florence Golec
Jeremy Youst
Thom Herman
Kathy MacDonald
Sheila Glover
Special Thanks:
HB Lozito, Out In the Open: for giving us permission to use clips from their *audio
clips from their 2017 *Andrews Inn Oral History Project* and for acting as a sounding board for the
concept of this show and reading through the scripts for content and tone. For more information
about OITO, check out their website, *www.weareoutintheopen.org.*
*Music and Sound Effects:* provided with permission by Epidemic Sound, LLC
George’s Sandbox- Magnus Ludvisson
In the Spirit of Cannes - The Flax
Some Autumn; His Old Lover - Leimoti
Something to Someone - Bireli Snow
Happy Minor Waltz - Franz Gordon
Bobby Swing - Bladverk Band
Morning Dew - Heath Cantu
PREL Dron 16; 57; 80
*Photos*:
Brattleboro Reformer
**Follow us on the social medias!**
*The Secret Life of Death Podcast*
Facebook and Instagram

**Episode 8: Identity, Part 3** Jun 03, 2023
By 1979, Andrews Inn, now operating as a “gay nightclub” as well as a sit down restaurant and bar was doing well and though locals didn’t always understand and weren’t always happy about the LGBTQ+ crowd it attracted, they were inclined to leave well enough alone. That year, the Moisis family were looking for buyers and found some: Thom Herman and Jeremy Youst, an openly gay couple. Openly gay business owners was a first for this town and it wasn’t clear how people would respond.
Radical social change doesn’t happen in places like Bellows Falls, VT, does it?….or does it?

**Transcript**
**TSLOD Newspaper References**
View fullsize
Blueboy April 1979 View fullsize
Blueboy April 1979 View fullsize
Hotel Windham View fullsize
Looking Into the Ballroom View fullsize
Ladies/Lesbian Bar View fullsize
Bathroom Grafitti View fullsize
Dramatic Hallway View fullsize
Overlooks The Square View fullsize
Overlook the Canal View fullsize
Quaker Meeting Support View fullsize
Thom Herman: New Owner
**Acknowledgements**:
Segment Participants:
Kate Buckman
Jon Midura
Myles Mickle
Michael Bruno
Adam Gearhart
Interviewees:
Ain Gordon
Jeremy Youst*
Thom Herman*
Special Thanks:
HB Lozito, Out In the Open: for giving us permission to use clips from their *audio
clips from their 2017 *Andrews Inn Oral History Project* and for acting as a sounding board for the
concept of this show and reading through the scripts for content and tone. For more information
about OITO, check out their website, *www.weareoutintheopen.org.*
*Alan and Pat Fowler, owners of the Hotel Windham*
*Music and Sound Effects:* provided with permission by Epidemic Sound, LLC
George’s Sandbox- Magnus Ludvisson
In the Spirit of Cannes - The Flax
Some Autumn; His Old Lover - Leimoti
Something to Someone - Bireli Snow
Happy Minor Waltz - Franz Gordon
Bobby Swing - Bladverk Band
Morning Dew - Heath Cantu
PREL Dron 16; 57; 80
*Photos*:
Kate Buckman
Blueboy
Brattleboro Reformer
**Follow us on the social medias!**
*The Secret Life of Death Podcast*
Facebook and Instagram

**Episode 8: Identity, Part 2** Jun 02, 2023
In 1973, the Moisis Family of Bellows Falls, VT bought the historic Hotel Windham building in the downtown, cleaned it up, refurbished it and opened a nice, sit down restaurant with the look and feel of the town’s former 19th century glory. But this fine dining experience didn’t seem to fly in this burned out, blue collar old mill town. So the family found a clientele that would be interested in the good food, dancing and socializing they were offering ...

**Transcript**
View fullsize
Bellows Falls Stage House c. 1855 View fullsize
Hotel Windham 1899 Fire View fullsize
Hotel Windham c.1900-1912 View fullsize
Hotel Windham 1912 Fire View fullsize
Dining Hall in Hotel Windham c. 1913 View fullsize
Hotel Windham Fire 1932 View fullsize
Mural for Grand Opening: 1974 View fullsize
Inn's Ad in Gay Community News 1977
**Acknowledgements**:
Segment Participants:
Kate Buckman
Jon Midura
Myles Mickle
Michael Bruno
Interviewee:
John Moisis*
Special Thanks:
HB Lozito, Out In the Open: for giving us permission to use clips from their *audio
clips from their 2017 *Andrews Inn Oral History Project* and for acting as a sounding board for the
concept of this show and reading through the scripts for content and tone. For more information
about OITO, check out their website, *www.weareoutintheopen.org.*
*Music and Sound Effects:* provided with permission by Epidemic Sound, LLC
George’s Sandbox- Magnus Ludvisson
In the Spirit of Cannes - The Flax
Some Autumn; His Old Lover - Leimoti
Something to Someone - Bireli Snow
Happy Minor Waltz - Franz Gordon
Bobby Swing - Bladverk Band
PREL Dron 16; 80
*Photos*:
Rockingham Free Public Library
Brattleboro Reformer
Gay Country News
**Follow us on the social medias!**
*The Secret Life of Death Podcast*
Facebook and Instagram

**Episode 8: Identity, Part 2** Jun 02, 2023
In 1973, the Moisis Family of Bellows Falls, VT bought the historic Hotel Windham building in the downtown, cleaned it up, refurbished it and opened a nice, sit down restaurant with the look and feel of the town’s former 19th century glory. But this fine dining experience didn’t seem to fly in this burned out, blue collar old mill town. So the family found a clientele that would be interested in the good food, dancing and socializing they were offering ...

**Transcript**
View fullsize
Bellows Falls Stage House c. 1855 View fullsize
Hotel Windham 1899 Fire View fullsize
Hotel Windham c.1900-1912 View fullsize
Hotel Windham 1912 Fire View fullsize
Dining Hall in Hotel Windham c. 1913 View fullsize
Hotel Windham Fire 1932 View fullsize
Mural for Grand Opening: 1974 View fullsize
Inn's Ad in Gay Community News 1977
**Acknowledgements**:
Segment Participants:
Kate Buckman
Jon Midura
Myles Mickle
Michael Bruno
Interviewee:
John Moisis*
Special Thanks:
HB Lozito, Out In the Open: for giving us permission to use clips from their *audio
clips from their 2017 *Andrews Inn Oral History Project* and for acting as a sounding board for the
concept of this show and reading through the scripts for content and tone. For more information
about OITO, check out their website, *www.weareoutintheopen.org.*
*Music and Sound Effects:* provided with permission by Epidemic Sound, LLC
George’s Sandbox- Magnus Ludvisson
In the Spirit of Cannes - The Flax
Some Autumn; His Old Lover - Leimoti
Something to Someone - Bireli Snow
Happy Minor Waltz - Franz Gordon
Bobby Swing - Bladverk Band
PREL Dron 16; 80
*Photos*:
Rockingham Free Public Library
Brattleboro Reformer
Gay Country News
**Follow us on the social medias!**
*The Secret Life of Death Podcast*
Facebook and Instagram

**Episode 8: Identity, Part 1** Jun 01, 2023
After how many years??? Finally!
Part 1 of 6, the "Identity" series explores the history of Andrews Inn, the first and at the time, the only gay bar in the state of Vermont (1973-1984). We begin with a discussion about why is knowing this little slice of LGBTQ+ history so important.

**Transcript**
View fullsize
BF Square: 1900-1912 View fullsize
VT State Historic Marker View fullsize
Hotel Windham View fullsize
Second Floor Hallway View fullsize
Charity and Sylvia's Grave
**Acknowledgements**:
Segment Participants:
Alan Fowler
Kate Buckman
Jon Midura
Myles Mickle
Michael Bruno
Interviewees:
Florence Golec
Kate Butt
Kelly Michaelson
Special Thanks:
Alan and Pat Fowler, owners of the Hotel Windham: for letting us look around the Hotel
HB Lozito and Eva Westheimer, Out In the Open: for giving us permission to use clips from their audio
clips from their 2017 *Andrews Inn Oral History Project* and for acting as a sounding board for the
concept of this show and reading through the scripts for content and tone. For more information
about OITO, check out their website, *www.weareoutintheopen.org.*
*Music and Sound Effects:* provided with permission by Epidemic Sound, LLC
*Photos*:
Gail Golec
Kate Buckman
Rockingham Free Public Library
**Follow us on the social medias!**
*The Secret Life of Death Podcast*
Facebook and Instagram

**Episode 8: Identity, Part 1** Jun 01, 2023
After how many years??? Finally!
Part 1 of 6, the "Identity" series explores the history of Andrews Inn, the first and at the time, the only gay bar in the state of Vermont (1973-1984). We begin with a discussion about why is knowing this little slice of LGBTQ+ history so important.

**Transcript**
View fullsize
BF Square: 1900-1912 View fullsize
VT State Historic Marker View fullsize
Hotel Windham View fullsize
Second Floor Hallway View fullsize
Charity and Sylvia's Grave
**Acknowledgements**:
Segment Participants:
Alan Fowler
Kate Buckman
Jon Midura
Myles Mickle
Michael Bruno
Interviewees:
Florence Golec
Kate Butt
Kelly Michaelson
Special Thanks:
Alan and Pat Fowler, owners of the Hotel Windham: for letting us look around the Hotel
HB Lozito and Eva Westheimer, Out In the Open: for giving us permission to use clips from their audio
clips from their 2017 *Andrews Inn Oral History Project* and for acting as a sounding board for the
concept of this show and reading through the scripts for content and tone. For more information
about OITO, check out their website, *www.weareoutintheopen.org.*
*Music and Sound Effects:* provided with permission by Epidemic Sound, LLC
*Photos*:
Gail Golec
Kate Buckman
Rockingham Free Public Library
**Follow us on the social medias!**
*The Secret Life of Death Podcast*
Facebook and Instagram

**True Crimes from Olden Times - Episode 1: The Farmhand's Awful Work** Jun 14, 2022
Here at TSLOD, we are excited to announce a new podcast collaboration with Caitlin Abrams (of TikTok cemetery fame with her fantastic gravestone cleaning/story telling videos as **Manicpixiemom**). I interviewed Caitlin last summer **(Episode 9: Taphosphere)** and frankly, we hit it off! Caitlin and I both cover cemeteries but in different ways, so we had the idea to join forces (like Superman and Batman in the Justice League) and do a little spin-off show of our own (like Joanie Loves Cha-chi spun off of Happy Days - except our show would be good …woof!)
Caitlin and I will be discussing some of the stories about historic crime and such that we’ve come across while doing our respective research projects in this new series we’re calling **TSLOD Presents: True Crimes from Olden Times.**
In this first episode, we’ll be talking about the 1913 double murder of Walter and Katherine Nichols in West Guilford, VT. We’ll get into the details about the crime, its effect on the local community and of course, we’ll be talking about cemeteries and the gravestones of the Nichols and that of the person who murdered them.

**Transcript**
View fullsize
Katherine and Walter Nichols View fullsize
Nichols Gravestone View fullsize
Walter and Katherine's Markers View fullsize
Erving L. Wrisley View fullsize
Wrisley's Gravesite View fullsize
Erving/Irving Wrisley
**Acknowledgements**:
*Music and Sound Effects:* provided with permission by Epidemic Sound, LLC
Park Avenue Stroll by The New Fools
When the Sun Shines by Golden Age Radio
*Photos*:
Gail Golec
Gail Lynde
Brattleboro Daily Reformer
**Follow us on the social medias!**
*The Secret Life of Death Podcast*
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter
*Caitlin Abrams*
TikTok, Instagram

**True Crimes from Olden Times - Episode 1: The Farmhand's Awful Work** Jun 14, 2022
Here at TSLOD, we are excited to announce a new podcast collaboration with Caitlin Abrams (of TikTok cemetery fame with her fantastic gravestone cleaning/story telling videos as **Manicpixiemom**). I interviewed Caitlin last summer **(Episode 9: Taphosphere)** and frankly, we hit it off! Caitlin and I both cover cemeteries but in different ways, so we had the idea to join forces (like Superman and Batman in the Justice League) and do a little spin-off show of our own (like Joanie Loves Cha-chi spun off of Happy Days - except our show would be good …woof!)
Caitlin and I will be discussing some of the stories about historic crime and such that we’ve come across while doing our respective research projects in this new series we’re calling **TSLOD Presents: True Crimes from Olden Times.**
In this first episode, we’ll be talking about the 1913 double murder of Walter and Katherine Nichols in West Guilford, VT. We’ll get into the details about the crime, its effect on the local community and of course, we’ll be talking about cemeteries and the gravestones of the Nichols and that of the person who murdered them.

**Transcript**
View fullsize
Katherine and Walter Nichols View fullsize
Nichols Gravestone View fullsize
Walter and Katherine's Markers View fullsize
Erving L. Wrisley View fullsize
Wrisley's Gravesite View fullsize
Erving/Irving Wrisley
**Acknowledgements**:
*Music and Sound Effects:* provided with permission by Epidemic Sound, LLC
Park Avenue Stroll by The New Fools
When the Sun Shines by Golden Age Radio
*Photos*:
Gail Golec
Gail Lynde
Brattleboro Daily Reformer
**Follow us on the social medias!**
*The Secret Life of Death Podcast*
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter
*Caitlin Abrams*
TikTok, Instagram

Episode 10: Neighborhood Apr 19, 2022

Taphophiles are a very niche group of enthusiasts. And so, it stands to reason that podcasts that cater to a niche market are even more nichey. That’s okay. The little gang of cemetery podcasters out there feels warm and homey, even if we’re generally dealing with dead people.

Normally, dealing with dead people all day would be a fine thing but at the end of the past two pandemic-stricken years, even I am looking to have more interactions with the live variety of human. And what better way to bridge these two lands of cemetery podcasting and wanting to talk to a real person than to talk to a cemetery podcaster? So neat and tidy.

Episode 10: Neighborhood is an interview I did with fellow cemetery podcaster, Liz Clappin from TOMB WITH A VIEW PODCAST. We had a great time talking together - Liz is an urban planner for the city of Altanta, GA and takes her knowledge about culture, history and cemetery issues into the streets, if you will. She has some really interesting ideas about how to incorporate cemeteries into a modern and growing city as well as how to utilize historic burying grounds to revililize existing communities.

This episode is about making connections in this world - between cemetery podcasters; between communities and their history; and between the modern world and the world yet to come. We don’t have to repeat the mistakes of the past - and Liz has some ideas that could save us all.

Transcript

Special Thanks for this Episode:
Interviewee: Liz Clappin of TOMB WITH A VIEW PODCAST
Follow Liz’s work on Instagram @tombwithaviewpodcast
Music: provided with permission by Epidemic Sound, LLC
Playful Mischief by Josef Falkenskold
A Touch of You by Oakwood Station
In the Spirit of Cannes by The Flax
Bobby Swing by Baldverk

Sound Effect: PREL Drone 16
Wind Chimes 16

**Episode 9: Taphosphere** Dec 20, 2021
Taking a break on the finishing touches on Episode 8: Identity to round out the year, with a new show, **Episode 9: Taphosphere**! This one is F.U.N!
When I met cemetery internet sensation, **Caitlin Abrams**, for the first time this fall, I felt like I had known her forever. We *“knew”* each other, as only two people who share and interest boarding on obsession can - our shared love of historic New England cemeteries unknowingly connected us through the ether - this world of like-minded cemetery weirdos that I call the “TAPHOSPHERE”.
Caitlin has taken the world by storm with her videos of cleaning historic gravestones throughout VT and eastern NY, while telling the stories of the people in those graves (her work can be found on TikTok @Manicpixiemom and Instagram @stonedinnewengland).
In September of 2021, she was kind enough to show me some of her cleaning work at the Old Pawlet Cemetery in Pawlet, VT and the two of us gabbed and jabbered away about all things cemetery! And we made some very interesting connections between some gravestones I had seen over in NH to what we saw in the Old Pawlet Cemetery — Caitlin is going to be making some TikTok videos describing what we discovered! **[CROSSOVER ALERT!!!]** You can find a teaser for Caitlin’s upcoming videos about **HERE** and more to come after the new year.
Just some notes about the episode:
—if you’ve ever wanted to be a fly on the wall while two weirdos nerd-out over something they both really like, this conversation
between two new/old friends about cemeteries, is for you!
—Caitlin often refers to “VOCA” doing work in the Old Pawlet cemetery: VOCA stands for the Vermont Old Cemetery Association, a
volunteer group that encourages the preservation and restoration of Vermont’s cemeteries. For more information about the group,
please check-out VOCA’s website.
—the cleaning chemical Caitlin refers to is called “D/2” and it is a “biological solution” this is, as Caitlin says in our conversation the
“gold standard for safe gravestone cleaning”.
For those of you who would like to know more about Caitlin Abrams work, she’s done a number of interviews with professional news outlets (I prefer to keep my “amature” status so that I may one day compete in the *News Outlet Olympics)* that you can listen to here:
**Vermont Public Radio (VPR)**
**Insider.com**
**WCAX TV**
**VICE Channel**

**Transcript**

The Old Pawlet Cemetery
Zerubabbel Collins
Daniel Branch
Experimental Soul Effigy
Caitlin Abrams
Jonathan Willard
Willard Stone, Close-up
Cleaning Kit
**Special Thanks for this Episode:**
Interviewee: Caitlin Abrams
Follow Caitlin’s work on TikTok @Manicpixiemom and Instagram @stonedinnewengland
Photos: Gail Golec
Music: provided with permission by Epidemic Sound
“Only the Wise Know” by Headlund
“Evening Song”
“In the Spirit of Cannes” by The Flax
“Bobby Swing” by Bladverk

**Episode 9: Taphosphere** Dec 20, 2021
Taking a break on the finishing touches on Episode 8: Identity to round out the year, with a new show, **Episode 9: Taphosphere**! This one is F.U.N!
When I met cemetery internet sensation, **Caitlin Abrams**, for the first time this fall, I felt like I had known her forever. We *“knew”* each other, as only two people who share and interest boarding on obsession can - our shared love of historic New England cemeteries unknowingly connected us through the ether - this world of like-minded cemetery weirdos that I call the “TAPHOSPHERE”.
Caitlin has taken the world by storm with her videos of cleaning historic gravestones throughout VT and eastern NY, while telling the stories of the people in those graves (her work can be found on TikTok @Manicpixiemom and Instagram @stonedinnewengland).
In September of 2021, she was kind enough to show me some of her cleaning work at the Old Pawlet Cemetery in Pawlet, VT and the two of us gabbed and jabbered away about all things cemetery! And we made some very interesting connections between some gravestones I had seen over in NH to what we saw in the Old Pawlet Cemetery — Caitlin is going to be making some TikTok videos describing what we discovered! **[CROSSOVER ALERT!!!]** You can find a teaser for Caitlin’s upcoming videos about **HERE** and more to come after the new year.
Just some notes about the episode:
—if you’ve ever wanted to be a fly on the wall while two weirdos nerd-out over something they both really like, this conversation
between two new/old friends about cemeteries, is for you!
—Caitlin often refers to “VOCA” doing work in the Old Pawlet cemetery: VOCA stands for the Vermont Old Cemetery Association, a
volunteer group that encourages the preservation and restoration of Vermont’s cemeteries. For more information about the group,
please check-out VOCA’s website.
—the cleaning chemical Caitlin refers to is called “D/2” and it is a “biological solution” this is, as Caitlin says in our conversation the
“gold standard for safe gravestone cleaning”.
For those of you who would like to know more about Caitlin Abrams work, she’s done a number of interviews with professional news outlets (I prefer to keep my “amature” status so that I may one day compete in the *News Outlet Olympics)* that you can listen to here:
**Vermont Public Radio (VPR)**
**Insider.com**
**WCAX TV**
**VICE Channel**

**Transcript**

The Old Pawlet Cemetery
Zerubabbel Collins
Daniel Branch
Experimental Soul Effigy
Caitlin Abrams
Jonathan Willard
Willard Stone, Close-up
Cleaning Kit
**Special Thanks for this Episode:**
Interviewee: Caitlin Abrams
Follow Caitlin’s work on TikTok @Manicpixiemom and Instagram @stonedinnewengland
Photos: Gail Golec
Music: provided with permission by Epidemic Sound
“Only the Wise Know” by Headlund
“Evening Song”
“In the Spirit of Cannes” by The Flax
“Bobby Swing” by Bladverk

**Episode 8: Identity, Charity and Sylvia Teaser** Sep 06, 2021
Turns out, in the process of podcastery, a lot of extra audio material gets left of the cutting room floor, so I’ve taken some of that extra stuff and cut together another “teaser”/”pre-show” show.
So come along and visit the Weybridge Hill Cemetery with me and TSLoD cemetery adventure team (**CAT**) as we explore the grave sites of Charity Bryant and Sylvia Drake. Charity and Sylvia were a same sex couple who lived together in Weybridge, VT between 1809-1851.
Side note: we’re in the final stages of production for the upcoming, long awaited and long suffering TSLoD Episode 8: Identity series - about *Andrews Inn*, the first gay hotel/bar in the state of Vermont (1974-1982). This series is slated to come out this fall, so please stay tuned.

**Transcript**
View fullsize
Drake Family Plot View fullsize
Gravestone of Charity and Sylvia View fullsize
Drake Family Monument View fullsize
Drake Monument, Close-up View fullsize
Drake Monument, Bryant/Drake Stone View fullsize
Stones and Flowers View fullsize
Scenery View fullsize
A Perfect Day View fullsize
Fields and Mountains View fullsize
River, Microphones and Graves View fullsize
Eternal View
**Special Thanks for this Teaser:**
Cemetery Adventure Team: Kate Butt, Kelly Michaelson, River the Dog
Photos: Gail Golec and Kelly Michaelson
Music: provided with permission by Epidemic Sound
“In the Spirit of Cannes” by The Flax
“Only the Wise Know” by Headlund
“Outward Bound”
“Evening Song”
“Brother’s Magic”
“Bobby Swing” by Bladverk
“A Touch of You” by Oakwood Station

**Episode 8: Identity, Charity and Sylvia Teaser** Sep 06, 2021
Turns out, in the process of podcastery, a lot of extra audio material gets left of the cutting room floor, so I’ve taken some of that extra stuff and cut together another “teaser”/”pre-show” show.
So come along and visit the Weybridge Hill Cemetery with me and TSLoD cemetery adventure team (**CAT**) as we explore the grave sites of Charity Bryant and Sylvia Drake. Charity and Sylvia were a same sex couple who lived together in Weybridge, VT between 1809-1851.
Side note: we’re in the final stages of production for the upcoming, long awaited and long suffering TSLoD Episode 8: Identity series - about *Andrews Inn*, the first gay hotel/bar in the state of Vermont (1974-1982). This series is slated to come out this fall, so please stay tuned.

**Transcript**
View fullsize
Drake Family Plot View fullsize
Gravestone of Charity and Sylvia View fullsize
Drake Family Monument View fullsize
Drake Monument, Close-up View fullsize
Drake Monument, Bryant/Drake Stone View fullsize
Stones and Flowers View fullsize
Scenery View fullsize
A Perfect Day View fullsize
Fields and Mountains View fullsize
River, Microphones and Graves View fullsize
Eternal View
**Special Thanks for this Teaser:**
Cemetery Adventure Team: Kate Butt, Kelly Michaelson, River the Dog
Photos: Gail Golec and Kelly Michaelson
Music: provided with permission by Epidemic Sound
“In the Spirit of Cannes” by The Flax
“Only the Wise Know” by Headlund
“Outward Bound”
“Evening Song”
“Brother’s Magic”
“Bobby Swing” by Bladverk
“A Touch of You” by Oakwood Station

**Episode 8: Identity, Fall Mountain Hike Teaser** May 17, 2021
Another quick teaser episode with extra material from the cutting room floor from the upcoming Episode 8: Identity series. I take a hike up local landmark, Fall Mountain, with my friend and frequent TSLoD guest, Kate Butt and we learn some local history while enjoying the views and being scoped out by turkey vultures. It's a lot of fun!
We’re still working away on the next installment of TSLoD, *I swear!* I know I keep saying that it’s coming soon, and it is, *I swear* - **Episode 8: Identity**, about the Andrews Inn, a 1970s and 80s LGBTQ+ bar and hotel in Bellows Falls, VT, just keeps getting bigger (and better) the more time I spend on it. It’s going to be well worth the wait, *I swear* (I keep saying that, don’t I?)

**Transcript**

Old Road Up Fall Mountain
Table Rock
View From Table Rock
Turkey Vultures
The Island House
Bellows Falls/North Walpole ca. 1870
Bellows Falls Mill Complex ca 1900
Gal Pals
**Special Thanks for this Teaser:**
Fall Mountain Hiking Buddy: Kate Butt
Photos: Gail Golec, Kate Butt and Rockingham Free Public Library
Music: “In the Spirit of Cannes” by The Flax and “Only the Wise Know” by Headlund, provided with permission by Epidemic Sound.

**Episode 8: Identity, Fall Mountain Hike Teaser** May 17, 2021
Another quick teaser episode with extra material from the cutting room floor from the upcoming Episode 8: Identity series. I take a hike up local landmark, Fall Mountain, with my friend and frequent TSLoD guest, Kate Butt and we learn some local history while enjoying the views and being scoped out by turkey vultures. It's a lot of fun!
We’re still working away on the next installment of TSLoD, *I swear!* I know I keep saying that it’s coming soon, and it is, *I swear* - **Episode 8: Identity**, about the Andrews Inn, a 1970s and 80s LGBTQ+ bar and hotel in Bellows Falls, VT, just keeps getting bigger (and better) the more time I spend on it. It’s going to be well worth the wait, *I swear* (I keep saying that, don’t I?)

**Transcript**

Old Road Up Fall Mountain
Table Rock
View From Table Rock
Turkey Vultures
The Island House
Bellows Falls/North Walpole ca. 1870
Bellows Falls Mill Complex ca 1900
Gal Pals
**Special Thanks for this Teaser:**
Fall Mountain Hiking Buddy: Kate Butt
Photos: Gail Golec, Kate Butt and Rockingham Free Public Library
Music: “In the Spirit of Cannes” by The Flax and “Only the Wise Know” by Headlund, provided with permission by Epidemic Sound.

**Episode 8: Identity, Toilet Teaser** Mar 06, 2021
The winter wears on and I am still working away on the next series, **Episode 8: Identity**, about Andrews Inn - the first LGBTQ+ bar and hotel in the state of Vermont. It was actually the *ONLY* such place in the state for its decade of existence (1973-1984).
The series isn’t done yet but close! And I thought you might enjoy some clip reels of the material that was funny or was good but wasn’t going to show up in any of the broadcast episodes. So, I put together this short, that I have classily called *“The Toilet Teaser”.*
If you’ve ever wondered just **HOW** excited a group of historic preservation nerds get about intact period bathrooms, this is your answer. You’re welcome.

**Transcript**
View fullsize
Look at the Bathroom! View fullsize
Shy Terlit View fullsize
1930s Luxury View fullsize
Cute Wall Sink
**Special Thanks for this Teaser:**
Andrews Inn Tour: Alan and Pat Fowler
Andrews Inn Tour Clips: Jon Midura, Myles Mickle, Kate Buckman and Michael Bruno
Photos: Kate Buckman
Music: “Bobby Swing” by Bladverk Band, provided with permission by Epidemic Sound.

**Episode 8: Identity, Toilet Teaser** Mar 06, 2021
The winter wears on and I am still working away on the next series, **Episode 8: Identity**, about Andrews Inn - the first LGBTQ+ bar and hotel in the state of Vermont. It was actually the *ONLY* such place in the state for its decade of existence (1973-1984).
The series isn’t done yet but close! And I thought you might enjoy some clip reels of the material that was funny or was good but wasn’t going to show up in any of the broadcast episodes. So, I put together this short, that I have classily called *“The Toilet Teaser”.*
If you’ve ever wondered just **HOW** excited a group of historic preservation nerds get about intact period bathrooms, this is your answer. You’re welcome.

**Transcript**
View fullsize
Look at the Bathroom! View fullsize
Shy Terlit View fullsize
1930s Luxury View fullsize
Cute Wall Sink
**Special Thanks for this Teaser:**
Andrews Inn Tour: Alan and Pat Fowler
Andrews Inn Tour Clips: Jon Midura, Myles Mickle, Kate Buckman and Michael Bruno
Photos: Kate Buckman
Music: “Bobby Swing” by Bladverk Band, provided with permission by Epidemic Sound.

Episode 8: Identity, Prologue Jan 13, 2021

We welcome you to Season 3 of TSLoD Podcast with the prologue to Episode 8: Identity~

We’re doing this prologue to help set up the Episode 8: Identity series because for this show, we’re going to be doing things a little differently. The Episode 8: Identity series is about a place called Andrews Inn, an LGBTQ+ hotel and bar that existed in Bellows Falls, VT during the 1970s and 80s. So, a more modern history, a more local history and a more personal history - for me - because Bellows Falls is where I grew up and where my family have lived for generations.

For a change, history wasn’t some abstract thing, happening to people I didn’t know in a place I had never been. It had happened in my backyard, within my lifetime and I knew very little about it.

In learning about the history of Andrews Inn and the LGBTQ+ movement in VT and NH, I began to wonder about history itself. How and why certain events and people get committed to the record while others don’t and the dangers of hanging our hats on an incomplete and inaccurate version of history.

Transcript

Credits:
Gail Golec: writer, researcher, producer, editor

Music: all music in this episode was provided, with permission by Epidemic Sound
“Barren” by Martin Klem; “PREL Drone 16” sound effect; “Dusty Box” by Wanda Shakes; “Delicate Transitions” by Gavin Luke

Photo: the podcast icon photo for this episode came from the publication “Gay Community News” Feb, 1977

**Episode 7: Degenerate, Part 2** Oct 28, 2020
Picking up where we left off in Episode 7: Degenerate, Part 1, Part 2 delves into the deep, complicated historic reasons why cemeteries in New England became abandoned. We talk to the experts: Robin Lacy, of Spade and the Grave, who shares her research into Puritan burial customs and culture; Brian Post, of Standing Stone Landscape Architecture, who takes us on a tour of some of his gravestone restoration work; and Tom Giffin, of VOCA, the Vermont Old Cemetery Association, who walks us through why cemeteries are not just an opportunity for remembrance but also, community investment.
And we continue to explore what influences the neglect in white Anglo-American versus Black and Indigenous Persons burying grounds in New England. By again discussing the historical and current situations with the Western Abenaki Burying Ground in Bellows Falls, VT and the African Burying Ground in Portsmouth, NH, we try to shed a light on how and why marginalized groups become more so, even in death. Covid has made organizing interviews much more difficult and so while I have been in conversations with representatives from the Elnu Abenaki in VT and the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire to get their comments and perspective on the treatment of *THEIR* ancestors, it just was not feasible at this time. I hope next year to follow up with both groups and include an addendum to this episode with their interviews.

**Transcript**
View fullsize
Kathan Cemetery, Putney VT View fullsize
Archibald Moore View fullsize
Unknown Moore View fullsize
William Divoll View fullsize
Western Abenaki Burial Ground, BF, VT View fullsize
The Falls and The Mountain View fullsize
Forest Hill Cemetery, Charlestown, NH View fullsize
Forest Hill Cemetery, Charlestown, NH View fullsize
West St. Cemetery, Rutland, VT View fullsize
Rutland War Vets
***Special Thanks:***
*Sponsor for this Episode!!!*
**Oh My Goth Jewelry Co**, by Lindsay Gilliland “Handmade Jewelry with an edge!” Find her fun, spooky and sweet skeletally inspired designs on her
Etsy shop: www.esty.com/shop/OhMyGothJewelryCo/ and follower her on Instagram @ohmygothjewelryco
*Interviewees:*
Robyn Lacy, archaeologist, death scholar, archaeological illustrator, burial ground conservator and heritage consultant
https://spadeandthegrave.com/
Brian Post, Dry Stone Walling Association certified, Advanced Level 3 DSWA certification, DSWA instructor, gravestone restoration
http://standingstonevt.com/
Tom Giffin, president Vermont Old Cemetery Association (VOCA), cemetery commissioner for the city of Rutland, VT
https://voca58.org/
*Musical Arrangement and Accompaniment:*
Jennifer Vannell and Badger Studios, Denver, CO

**Episode 7: Degenerate, Part 2** Oct 28, 2020
Picking up where we left off in Episode 7: Degenerate, Part 1, Part 2 delves into the deep, complicated historic reasons why cemeteries in New England became abandoned. We talk to the experts: Robin Lacy, of Spade and the Grave, who shares her research into Puritan burial customs and culture; Brian Post, of Standing Stone Landscape Architecture, who takes us on a tour of some of his gravestone restoration work; and Tom Giffin, of VOCA, the Vermont Old Cemetery Association, who walks us through why cemeteries are not just an opportunity for remembrance but also, community investment.
And we continue to explore what influences the neglect in white Anglo-American versus Black and Indigenous Persons burying grounds in New England. By again discussing the historical and current situations with the Western Abenaki Burying Ground in Bellows Falls, VT and the African Burying Ground in Portsmouth, NH, we try to shed a light on how and why marginalized groups become more so, even in death. Covid has made organizing interviews much more difficult and so while I have been in conversations with representatives from the Elnu Abenaki in VT and the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire to get their comments and perspective on the treatment of *THEIR* ancestors, it just was not feasible at this time. I hope next year to follow up with both groups and include an addendum to this episode with their interviews.

**Transcript**
View fullsize
Kathan Cemetery, Putney VT View fullsize
Archibald Moore View fullsize
Unknown Moore View fullsize
William Divoll View fullsize
Western Abenaki Burial Ground, BF, VT View fullsize
The Falls and The Mountain View fullsize
Forest Hill Cemetery, Charlestown, NH View fullsize
Forest Hill Cemetery, Charlestown, NH View fullsize
West St. Cemetery, Rutland, VT View fullsize
Rutland War Vets
***Special Thanks:***
*Sponsor for this Episode!!!*
**Oh My Goth Jewelry Co**, by Lindsay Gilliland “Handmade Jewelry with an edge!” Find her fun, spooky and sweet skeletally inspired designs on her
Etsy shop: www.esty.com/shop/OhMyGothJewelryCo/ and follower her on Instagram @ohmygothjewelryco
*Interviewees:*
Robyn Lacy, archaeologist, death scholar, archaeological illustrator, burial ground conservator and heritage consultant
https://spadeandthegrave.com/
Brian Post, Dry Stone Walling Association certified, Advanced Level 3 DSWA certification, DSWA instructor, gravestone restoration
http://standingstonevt.com/
Tom Giffin, president Vermont Old Cemetery Association (VOCA), cemetery commissioner for the city of Rutland, VT
https://voca58.org/
*Musical Arrangement and Accompaniment:*
Jennifer Vannell and Badger Studios, Denver, CO

**Episode 6: Awe, Part 4** Jun 15, 2020
In this, the final installment of Episode 6, we discuss the various ways the new, emotionally expressive culture around grief and death that had developed in turn-of-the-19th-century New England began to play out. We see themes of transcendence and ascension (into heaven) get very popular between the 1790s-1810s. And its not just gravestone motif design but also in folk art and mourning jewelry that begin to reflect these social changes. We talk to licensed gemologist and historical jewelry specialist, Nicholle Mogavero, who shares her knowledge about mourning jewelry and the parallels in imagery used in jewelry design with what we see in gravestone motifs of the same time.
And finally, we tackle the two big questions about Relief Wilcox Town’s gravestone, with its unique broken willow, moon-soul effigy/spray of stars and the focal point of empty space: does this design reflect something specific about Relief and her life/death and who carved this amazing piece of art?
And we talk about spreadsheets. It gets real nerdy, real fast. (Hmm, that really seems like a buried lead, doesn’t it?)

**Transcript** Episode 6: Awe, Part 4
View fullsize
Urn Mourning Ring View fullsize
Shaw Mourning Ring Inscription View fullsize
Mourning Locket/Brooch Insert View fullsize
Hair Embellishment Close-up View fullsize
Stick Pin/Converted Brooch View fullsize
Weekes Cemetery View fullsize
Relief Wilcox Town View fullsize
Benjamin Weekes View fullsize
John Weekes View fullsize
Allen Weekes View fullsize
William Weeks
***Musical Arrangement and Performance:***
Jennifer Vannell: Badger Studios
***Special Thanks:***
*Interviewee:*
Nicholle Mogavero, graduate gemologist, professional jewelry appraiser and historian. Find Nicholle on Instagram at #jewelrynerd and Facebook at
https://www.facebook.com/JewelryNerd/
*Those who fielded my many questions:*
Laurel Gabel : The Association for Gravestone Studies
The Gravestone Girls
James Blachowicz (Department of Philosophy, Loyola University- Chicago)
Michael Laferriere, John Sterling : Rhode Island Historical Cemeteries Commission

Members of:
New Hampshire Old Gravestone Association (NHOGA)
Vermont Old Cemetery Association (VOCA)
Association for Gravestone Studies (AGS)
Rhode Island Genealogical Society (RIGS)

**Episode 6: Awe, Part 4** Jun 15, 2020
In this, the final installment of Episode 6, we discuss the various ways the new, emotionally expressive culture around grief and death that had developed in turn-of-the-19th-century New England began to play out. We see themes of transcendence and ascension (into heaven) get very popular between the 1790s-1810s. And its not just gravestone motif design but also in folk art and mourning jewelry that begin to reflect these social changes. We talk to licensed gemologist and historical jewelry specialist, Nicholle Mogavero, who shares her knowledge about mourning jewelry and the parallels in imagery used in jewelry design with what we see in gravestone motifs of the same time.
And finally, we tackle the two big questions about Relief Wilcox Town’s gravestone, with its unique broken willow, moon-soul effigy/spray of stars and the focal point of empty space: does this design reflect something specific about Relief and her life/death and who carved this amazing piece of art?
And we talk about spreadsheets. It gets real nerdy, real fast. (Hmm, that really seems like a buried lead, doesn’t it?)

**Transcript** Episode 6: Awe, Part 4
View fullsize
Urn Mourning Ring View fullsize
Shaw Mourning Ring Inscription View fullsize
Mourning Locket/Brooch Insert View fullsize
Hair Embellishment Close-up View fullsize
Stick Pin/Converted Brooch View fullsize
Weekes Cemetery View fullsize
Relief Wilcox Town View fullsize
Benjamin Weekes View fullsize
John Weekes View fullsize
Allen Weekes View fullsize
William Weeks
***Musical Arrangement and Performance:***
Jennifer Vannell: Badger Studios
***Special Thanks:***
*Interviewee:*
Nicholle Mogavero, graduate gemologist, professional jewelry appraiser and historian. Find Nicholle on Instagram at #jewelrynerd and Facebook at
https://www.facebook.com/JewelryNerd/
*Those who fielded my many questions:*
Laurel Gabel : The Association for Gravestone Studies
The Gravestone Girls
James Blachowicz (Department of Philosophy, Loyola University- Chicago)
Michael Laferriere, John Sterling : Rhode Island Historical Cemeteries Commission

Members of:
New Hampshire Old Gravestone Association (NHOGA)
Vermont Old Cemetery Association (VOCA)
Association for Gravestone Studies (AGS)
Rhode Island Genealogical Society (RIGS)

**Episode 6: Awe, Part 3** Jun 05, 2020
In the third part of this series, we are still trying to understand and interpret the meaning and origin of the incredible artistic design of the gravestone of Relief Wilcox Town (d. 1813) from Halifax, VT. To that end, we try to learn more about Relief herself, and start with dissecting the inscription on her epitaph. Turn-of-the-19th-century Epitaphs are a great place to find all sorts of cultural and social clues. They give us the basics like, name, date of and age at death but they can also tell you about social rank and even how a person died. We also talk to some real artists, from The Drawing Studio in Brattleboro VT, to get their impressions as to what the broken-willow, moon-soul effiigy and stars and the deliberate empty space in the center of the design, says to them.
There is one more episode to go to finish up this investigation (I know I said that last time but I really mean it). The show will drop early next week so don’t go anywhere! Or, at least take us with you where ever you do go so you don’t miss out!

**Transcript** Episode 6: Awe, Part 3
View fullsize
Benjamin Carpenter, Esq. View fullsize
Chester and Elisha Putnam View fullsize
Prudence Osgood View fullsize
Rebecca Park and children View fullsize
Rebecca Park View fullsize
Thirteen Infants
***Musical Arrangement and Performance:***
Jennifer Vannell: Badger Studios
***Special Thanks:***
*Interviewees:*
Jason Alden, Lauren Watrous and Paul Bowen, artists: *The Drawing Studio, Brattleboro, VT* vermontdrawingstudio.com

**Episode 6: Awe, Part 3** Jun 05, 2020
In the third part of this series, we are still trying to understand and interpret the meaning and origin of the incredible artistic design of the gravestone of Relief Wilcox Town (d. 1813) from Halifax, VT. To that end, we try to learn more about Relief herself, and start with dissecting the inscription on her epitaph. Turn-of-the-19th-century Epitaphs are a great place to find all sorts of cultural and social clues. They give us the basics like, name, date of and age at death but they can also tell you about social rank and even how a person died. We also talk to some real artists, from The Drawing Studio in Brattleboro VT, to get their impressions as to what the broken-willow, moon-soul effiigy and stars and the deliberate empty space in the center of the design, says to them.
There is one more episode to go to finish up this investigation (I know I said that last time but I really mean it). The show will drop early next week so don’t go anywhere! Or, at least take us with you where ever you do go so you don’t miss out!

**Transcript** Episode 6: Awe, Part 3
View fullsize
Benjamin Carpenter, Esq. View fullsize
Chester and Elisha Putnam View fullsize
Prudence Osgood View fullsize
Rebecca Park and children View fullsize
Rebecca Park View fullsize
Thirteen Infants
***Musical Arrangement and Performance:***
Jennifer Vannell: Badger Studios
***Special Thanks:***
*Interviewees:*
Jason Alden, Lauren Watrous and Paul Bowen, artists: *The Drawing Studio, Brattleboro, VT* vermontdrawingstudio.com

Rockingham Meeting House — **Episode 6: Awe, Part 2** Mar 04, 2020
In this, the second of three shows, we are still contemplating the fascinating gravestone art on the stone of Relief Wilcox Town of Halifax, VT, and the extravagant and symbolic nature of the moon/stars and willow motif. To understand what is could mean, we need a lesson is the history of gravestone art in the region.
New England was a culture dominated by the Puritans early on and their strict and dour beliefs are reflected in the predominance of mortality symbols, skulls, coffins, scythes, skeletons and devils in gravestone art up to the 1750s. Prior to and after the American Revolution, however, the population traded that heavy handed view of life on earth and after for a gentler, more compassionate attitude. This was reflected in a change in gravestone art motif designs to winged skulls, winged angels and soul effigies.
Places like Rockingham VT became populated enough to have their own gravestone carvers, those of the Wright School, and the burying ground behind the meeting house is full of examples of their notorious soul effigy figure. But by around 1820, gravestone began to be carved out of white marble instead of slate and people began opting for a more standardized motif of the now ubiquitous “willow and urn”.
So where does Relief’s gravestone motif design fit into all of this??? You’ll have to listen to find out!

**Transcript** Episode 6: Awe, Part 2

***Musical Arrangement and Performance:***
Jennifer Vannell: Badger Studios
***Special Thanks:*** *Cemetery Warriors:*
Kate Butt and Theresa Janiszyn
*Interviewees:*
Brian Post, stone mason and gravestone preservationist: *Standing Stone Landscape Architecture, Springfield, VT*
Jason Alden, Lauren Watrous and Paul Bowen, artists: *The Drawing Studio, Brattleboro, VT*

Wright School Soul Effigy — **Episode 6: Awe, Part 2** Mar 04, 2020
In this, the second of three shows, we are still contemplating the fascinating gravestone art on the stone of Relief Wilcox Town of Halifax, VT, and the extravagant and symbolic nature of the moon/stars and willow motif. To understand what is could mean, we need a lesson is the history of gravestone art in the region.
New England was a culture dominated by the Puritans early on and their strict and dour beliefs are reflected in the predominance of mortality symbols, skulls, coffins, scythes, skeletons and devils in gravestone art up to the 1750s. Prior to and after the American Revolution, however, the population traded that heavy handed view of life on earth and after for a gentler, more compassionate attitude. This was reflected in a change in gravestone art motif designs to winged skulls, winged angels and soul effigies.
Places like Rockingham VT became populated enough to have their own gravestone carvers, those of the Wright School, and the burying ground behind the meeting house is full of examples of their notorious soul effigy figure. But by around 1820, gravestone began to be carved out of white marble instead of slate and people began opting for a more standardized motif of the now ubiquitous “willow and urn”.
So where does Relief’s gravestone motif design fit into all of this??? You’ll have to listen to find out!

**Transcript** Episode 6: Awe, Part 2

***Musical Arrangement and Performance:***
Jennifer Vannell: Badger Studios
***Special Thanks:*** *Cemetery Warriors:*
Kate Butt and Theresa Janiszyn
*Interviewees:*
Brian Post, stone mason and gravestone preservationist: *Standing Stone Landscape Architecture, Springfield, VT*
Jason Alden, Lauren Watrous and Paul Bowen, artists: *The Drawing Studio, Brattleboro, VT*

**Episode 6: Awe, Part 1** Feb 22, 2020
The gravestone inscriptions of late 18th/early 19th century New England can tell us more than just the deceased name and date of death. Symbolic and literal representations of life and death flourish during this time period, creating gravestone art in a wide and dazzling array of styles. Knowing what those symbols mean can help us interpret the life of the individual as well as their time and culture.
In this three part series, we visit an old friend: Relief Wilcox Town, from TSLoD Episode 3: Relief. Her gravestone is one of the most beautiful and unique designs I’ve ever seen and it made me wonder what all of that said about her. These show will look into the origin and meaning of gravestone art found in the Middle Connecticut River Valley of New Hampshire and Vermont, as well as some information about specific gravestone carvers. We’ll take some trips to local cemeteries, visit with an historic gravestone restorationist and since we’re talking about art, go visit some artists to see what they think. Should be fun…..

**Transcript** Episode 6: Awe, Part 1

***Musical Arrangement and Performance:***
Jennifer Vannell: Badger Studios
***Special Thanks:***
*Cemetery Warriors:*
Kate Butt and Theresa Janiszyn
*Interviewees:*
Brian Post, stone mason and gravestone preservationist: *Standing Stone Landscape Architecture, Springfield, VT*
Jason Alden, Lauren Watrous and Paul Bowen, artists: *The Drawing Studio, Brattleboro, VT*

Meeting House Burying Ground — **Episode 6: Awe, Part 1** Feb 22, 2020
The gravestone inscriptions of late 18th/early 19th century New England can tell us more than just the deceased name and date of death. Symbolic and literal representations of life and death flourish during this time period, creating gravestone art in a wide and dazzling array of styles. Knowing what those symbols mean can help us interpret the life of the individual as well as their time and culture.
In this three part series, we visit an old friend: Relief Wilcox Town, from TSLoD Episode 3: Relief. Her gravestone is one of the most beautiful and unique designs I’ve ever seen and it made me wonder what all of that said about her. These show will look into the origin and meaning of gravestone art found in the Middle Connecticut River Valley of New Hampshire and Vermont, as well as some information about specific gravestone carvers. We’ll take some trips to local cemeteries, visit with an historic gravestone restorationist and since we’re talking about art, go visit some artists to see what they think. Should be fun…..

**Transcript** Episode 6: Awe, Part 1

***Musical Arrangement and Performance:***
Jennifer Vannell: Badger Studios
***Special Thanks:***
*Cemetery Warriors:*
Kate Butt and Theresa Janiszyn
*Interviewees:*
Brian Post, stone mason and gravestone preservationist: *Standing Stone Landscape Architecture, Springfield, VT*
Jason Alden, Lauren Watrous and Paul Bowen, artists: *The Drawing Studio, Brattleboro, VT*

(Bonus) Episode 1: Epidemic, The Follow-up Dec 20, 2019

This show is a follow-up to my very first TSLoD episode, (http://www.thesecretlifeofdeath.com/tslod-episodes/2017/3/26/episode-1) about a devastating epidemic disease outbreak in the town of Acworth, NH in the year 1812. This epidemic was terrifying. It killed people within hours of the first symptoms and had incredibly high mortality rates. In the day, doctors were calling the disease "Spotted Fever", which usually referred to typhus, a flea/louse borne bacterial infection, and that is what I reported in my story. I was contacted by a listener, Grant Myers, of Austin, Quebec, who was also doing research into the events surrounding this epidemic in Southern Quebec, and his research showed that the culprit was not typhus but something else...he agreed to an interview with me and share his research on the topic to help me right the wrongs of my first show and provide a more accurate, detailed picture of this fascinating and yet horrifying event in the history of the Northeast.

Transcript Episode 5: Bonus

For photos pertaining to this episode, follow the link to Episode 1.

www.thesecretlifeofdeath.com/tslod-episodes/2017/3/26/episode-1

Featured in this Episode:
Grant Myers, president of QAHN , The Quebec Anglophone Heritage Network http://qahn.org/

**Episode 4: Langmaid, Part 4** Nov 22, 2019
At the end of Part 3, we learned that the Langmaids were a family who knew loss and tragedy well. Just months after daughter Josie was murdered, their teenaged son, Waldo died of pneumonia. We found out that by 1880, while Sarah and the Langmaid children still lived in Pembroke, NH, James was then living in the middle of Minnesota! Why?*
With all of the twists and turns in their live up to this point, what else could have happened to split this family up? And how would the rest of their lives play out?
Part 4 is the final installment of the Langmaid story. Come and see how it all ends….
11/10/20 *It has since been brought to my attention that in this episode, I say that James Langmaid was living “430 miles away in Yellow Medicine County, MN”. Of course, Yellow Medicine County is more like 1430+ miles west of Pembroke, NH, so I think I dropped a “1” somewhere along the way. Thank you to Corey Nasman for showing me the goof and paying such close attention!

**Transcript** Episode 4: Langmaid, Part 4
View fullsize
Minnesota Falls Twp Map 1900 View fullsize
The Farm Between Two Rivers View fullsize
James Langmaid, ca 1900
**Special Thanks:**
*Jennifer Vannell and Badger Studios:* musical arrangement and performance
*Jennifer Disbrow, Yellow Medicine County Historical Society, Yellow Medicine County, MN*: document research
**Thanks:**
Pembroke Historical Society: Pembroke, NH
Denver Percussion: Denver, CO

**Episode 4: Langmaid, Part 4** Nov 22, 2019
At the end of Part 3, we learned that the Langmaids were a family who knew loss and tragedy well. Just months after daughter Josie was murdered, their teenaged son, Waldo died of pneumonia. We found out that by 1880, while Sarah and the Langmaid children still lived in Pembroke, NH, James was then living in the middle of Minnesota! Why?*
With all of the twists and turns in their live up to this point, what else could have happened to split this family up? And how would the rest of their lives play out?
Part 4 is the final installment of the Langmaid story. Come and see how it all ends….
11/10/20 *It has since been brought to my attention that in this episode, I say that James Langmaid was living “430 miles away in Yellow Medicine County, MN”. Of course, Yellow Medicine County is more like 1430+ miles west of Pembroke, NH, so I think I dropped a “1” somewhere along the way. Thank you to Corey Nasman for showing me the goof and paying such close attention!

**Transcript** Episode 4: Langmaid, Part 4
View fullsize
Minnesota Falls Twp Map 1900 View fullsize
The Farm Between Two Rivers View fullsize
James Langmaid, ca 1900
**Special Thanks:**
*Jennifer Vannell and Badger Studios:* musical arrangement and performance
*Jennifer Disbrow, Yellow Medicine County Historical Society, Yellow Medicine County, MN*: document research
**Thanks:**
Pembroke Historical Society: Pembroke, NH
Denver Percussion: Denver, CO

**Episode 4: Langmaid, Part 3** Nov 14, 2019
The 1875 murder of 17 year-old Josie Langmaid broke the hearts of everyone in her hometown, Pembroke, NH. And since the manner of her death was heretofore unheard of, so was the community’s response to it. A “murder ballad” was composed, telling the story of her abduction and death in grim detail; her town erected a large, marble obelisk on the site of her abduction; a local minister wrote a poem and printed a book to her memory; and a constant stream of sight-seers from all over made the pilgrimage to the site of her murder, her home and her grave. And at the center of this outpouring of grief, were the remaining members of Josie’s family; father, James; step-mother, Sarah; brother, Waldo, and sisters Grace, Elizabeth and Abbie. How would they cope? What would become of the Langmaid’s of Pembroke?

**Transcript** Episode 4: Langmaid, Part 3
View fullsize
The Murdered Maiden Student View fullsize
Josie A. Langmaid View fullsize
The Langmaid Home ca. 1875 View fullsize
The Langmaid Monument View fullsize
The Langmaid Family Grave View fullsize
Ella and Clarence Langmaid View fullsize
MaryAnn Marden Langmaid View fullsize
Waldo Langmaid
**Acknowledgements for this Episode:**
***Musical Performance and Arrangement***: Jennifer Vannell and Badger Studios, Denver, CO
***Voice Actor:*** Tom Durnford
***Historic Folk Recordings***: Flanders Ballad Collection, Special Collections, Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT
**Special Thanks:**
Denver Percussion, Denver, CO

**Episode 4: Langmaid, Part 3** Nov 14, 2019
The 1875 murder of 17 year-old Josie Langmaid broke the hearts of everyone in her hometown, Pembroke, NH. And since the manner of her death was heretofore unheard of, so was the community’s response to it. A “murder ballad” was composed, telling the story of her abduction and death in grim detail; her town erected a large, marble obelisk on the site of her abduction; a local minister wrote a poem and printed a book to her memory; and a constant stream of sight-seers from all over made the pilgrimage to the site of her murder, her home and her grave. And at the center of this outpouring of grief, were the remaining members of Josie’s family; father, James; step-mother, Sarah; brother, Waldo, and sisters Grace, Elizabeth and Abbie. How would they cope? What would become of the Langmaid’s of Pembroke?

**Transcript** Episode 4: Langmaid, Part 3
View fullsize
The Murdered Maiden Student View fullsize
Josie A. Langmaid View fullsize
The Langmaid Home ca. 1875 View fullsize
The Langmaid Monument View fullsize
The Langmaid Family Grave View fullsize
Ella and Clarence Langmaid View fullsize
MaryAnn Marden Langmaid View fullsize
Waldo Langmaid
**Acknowledgements for this Episode:**
***Musical Performance and Arrangement***: Jennifer Vannell and Badger Studios, Denver, CO
***Voice Actor:*** Tom Durnford
***Historic Folk Recordings***: Flanders Ballad Collection, Special Collections, Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT
**Special Thanks:**
Denver Percussion, Denver, CO

**Episode 4: Langmaid, Part 2** Nov 07, 2019
Pembroke, NH 1875*: Authorities working the murder of 17 year-old Josie Langmaid had reached an impasse in their investigation when the alibis of all of their local suspects checked out. They were wondering where to look next when they received a telegram from officials in St. Albans, VT, a town near the Canadian border. St. Albans reported that a little over a year before, there was a similar murder in their town, of a school teacher, Marietta Ball, and the man they felt was responsible, Joseph LaPage, was now living in Suncook/Pembroke, NH. Police found LaPage, arrested him, and took items from his house and had them tested against evidence gathered from the crime scene. The State of NH assembled quite a case against LaPage but we are left to wonder, 140 years later, how accurate were their scientific findings?
*A reminder: just as in Part 1 of Episode 4, Part 2 contains descriptions of assault, sexual violence and murder and may not be suitable for all listeners. Parts 3 and 4 of Episode 4 put us past those topics, so please, come back for the rest of the story.

**Transcript** Episode 4: Langmaid, Part 2
View fullsize
Only Correct Likeness of LaPage View fullsize
That is the man! View fullsize
Condemned to Death
**Acknowledgements for this Episode:**
***Jennifer Vannell and Badger Studios***: musical performance and arrangement
***Adam Gerhardt***: lab protocol consultant
**Special Thanks:**
Denver Percussion, Denver , CO

**Episode 4: Langmaid, Part 2** Nov 07, 2019
Pembroke, NH 1875*: Authorities working the murder of 17 year-old Josie Langmaid had reached an impasse in their investigation when the alibis of all of their local suspects checked out. They were wondering where to look next when they received a telegram from officials in St. Albans, VT, a town near the Canadian border. St. Albans reported that a little over a year before, there was a similar murder in their town, of a school teacher, Marietta Ball, and the man they felt was responsible, Joseph LaPage, was now living in Suncook/Pembroke, NH. Police found LaPage, arrested him, and took items from his house and had them tested against evidence gathered from the crime scene. The State of NH assembled quite a case against LaPage but we are left to wonder, 140 years later, how accurate were their scientific findings?
*A reminder: just as in Part 1 of Episode 4, Part 2 contains descriptions of assault, sexual violence and murder and may not be suitable for all listeners. Parts 3 and 4 of Episode 4 put us past those topics, so please, come back for the rest of the story.

**Transcript** Episode 4: Langmaid, Part 2
View fullsize
Only Correct Likeness of LaPage View fullsize
That is the man! View fullsize
Condemned to Death
**Acknowledgements for this Episode:**
***Jennifer Vannell and Badger Studios***: musical performance and arrangement
***Adam Gerhardt***: lab protocol consultant
**Special Thanks:**
Denver Percussion, Denver , CO

Episode 4: Langmaid, Part 1 Oct 31, 2019

The morning of October 4, 1875, was like many others in home of the Langmaid’s of Pembroke, NH. Seventeen year old, Josie, was late for school and rushing out the door to make the 1.5 mile walk to her school, Pembroke Academy before the bell. But Josie would never make it to school that day. Her body* was found that evening by a group of search volunteers, horribly assaulted and mutilated. A crime of this magnitude was unheard of in Pembroke and big-city professionals were brought in from Boston to conduct the search for her killer.

This is a four-part series that will be released weekly, so be sure to come back for Parts 2-4!

*Just a warning, Parts 1 and 2 of Episode 4 contain detailed descriptions of Josie’s murder and what happened to her body. While not gratuitous, it is a frank presentation of the facts. If you are at all squeamish about such things or could be triggered by discussions of stalking, sexual assault or murder, you may be better off waiting picking up the story with Part 3, which will be coming out in a few weeks.

Episode 3: Relief Aug 26, 2019

Old New England cemeteries showcase history, art and let’s face it, some really weird names. Deliverance, Jazaniaah, Mindwell and Relief. Why? What do they mean? Where do they come from? Come with me and my friend Kate to Halifax, VT, where explore the answers to those questions and more, through the analysis of a very unique gravestone belonging to Mrs. Relief Clews Wilcox Towne. Local historian and archaeologist, Gail Golec, writes, hosts, researches and produces this show.

Episode 2: Graffiti, Part 2 May 02, 2018

The Old Dodge Tavern was built around 1800 in Walpole, NH. It served as a stop of the early stage coach routes through southwest NH, connecting Boston to Montreal. Many people have come and gone over the past 200 plus years, leaving many things behind in the house, including a gravestone! Who did it belong to? How did it get there? And how does it fit into the history of The Tavern?Local historian and archaeologist, Gail Golec, writes, hosts, researches and produces this show.

Episode 2: Graffiti, Part 1 May 01, 2018

The Old Dodge Tavern was built around 1800 in Walpole, NH. It served as a stop of the early stage coach routes through southwest NH, connecting Boston to Montreal. Many people have come and gone over the past 200 plus years, leaving many things behind in the house, including a gravestone! Who did it belong to? How did it get there? And how does it fit into the history of The Tavern? Local historian and archaeologist, Gail Golec, writes, hosts, researches and produces this show.

Episode 1: Epidemic Mar 26, 2017

At the turn of the 19th century, the town of Acworth, NH was a microcosm of the rapid social, economic and environmental changes that were barreling though interior New England. In early 1812 Acworth endured a devastating "Spotted Fever" epidemic, an unintended consequence of the increased population density and mobility. This episode walks you through the impact of the epidemic via the the lives of two Acworth families, the Grears and the McCollums...and so, let us begin...at the end... Local historian and archaeologist Gail Golec researches, writes, hosts and produces this podcast.

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