Posts Tagged ‘Sue Hunter Weir’
Great Granddaughter ”˜Uprights” Legacy and Its Marker for Another Century
By Sue Hunter Weir Setting grave markers is a tough business. Wrestling blocks of stone that weigh several hundreds of pounds into place requires muscle and planning. Ensuring that the stones are level when the ground is uneven is tricky and tree roots don”'t make the job any easier. On Sunday, August 22nd, staff from Grave Groomers, a local restoration company, set about repairing the marker for Lina Quam. Mrs. Quam”'s marker is in the center island of the cemetery. Someone (it isn”'t clear who) planted a tree between her marker and the marker directly north of hers. It probably seemed like a good idea at the time. But over a hundred years later, the cottonwood is still there and still growing. As the tree has grew, its widening trunk caused the top of Mrs. Quam”'s obelisk-shaped marker to list, and within the last five years toppled it altogether. (more…)
Casper”'s Ghost says, “”˜People were dying to get into the cemetery.”' But were they really dead?”
by Sue Hunter Weir Casper Link was terrified of being buried alive, and he was not the only one. There is a word for this fear””taphophobia””meaning the fear of graves. Mr. Link died on Sunday, July 21, 1872, but not before his wife and friends promised that they would not bury him until three days after he had been declared dead. Mrs. Link arranged for a funeral service, though not a burial, to take place on the day after her husband died. During the service, Mr. Link”'s worst fears appeared to have been realized when one of the people in attendance noticed what he thought was perspiration on Mr. Link”'s forehead. The funeral service was brought to an abrupt halt and a doctor was summoned. The doctor examined Mr. Link one last time and concluded, yet again, that he was dead. The funeral service continued as planned, and Mr. Link”'s body was taken to the cemetery where it was stored in the vault until the promised three days had passed. Throughout, his [...]
Alice”'s murder exploited by vagaries of politicos and publishers
Roosevelt, Taft, politicos, prostitution, Titanic dominate headlines by Sue Hunter Weir Alice Mathews led a rather ordinary life except for one thing: she was murdered. On Saturday, March 23, 1912, the night that she was murdered, Alice was twenty years old. She worked as a packer at the Pillsbury C Mill and lived with her father, stepmother and four siblings in South Minneapolis. Alice had spent the evening downtown going to a movie and having a late supper with two of her girlfriends. At 11:06, Alice caught the Cedar Avenue streetcar. She got off on 34th Street and Cedar Avenue, the end of the line, and started to walk home, a distance of about seven blocks. When Alice was within a few houses of her own home, someone attempted to rape her. Failing that, her attacker strangled her. The story of Alice”'s murder was front-page news for the next three weeks. Except for those who were interested in the battle between Theodore Roosevelt and Howard Taft for the Republican [...]
