Over the Lake and Through the Woods to Magnolia Cemetery We Go!

My adventure to Magnolia began with a 2.5 mile run to the cemetery. One foot after the other I made it to the miraculous burial ground. It was quite an adventure, running there, which in my opinion made the trip even better! Despite running into a snake on my way, I still enjoyed it as I love running.

Magnolia has their own blog, http://www.magnoliacemetery.net/ where they proudly state Magnolia as "One of America's most beautiful and historic cemeteries." Not only is it beautiful and historic, it's also interactive too! Magnolia hosts an anual Confederate Ghost Walk in the middle of October, with more than 200 re-enactors!

When I first entered Magnolia the lake and bridge caught my eye. All the water reflecting the perfect blue sky was truly breathtaking. Magnolia Cemetery is very old, being that it was built in 1850, but it has been very well kept up since then. Props to the grounds crew, who were so kind as to give me bug spray after getting eaten alive the first couple minutes of wandering around the cemetery.

the sun dazzling off the lake

The overall landscape of the cemetery was breathtaking. I especially liked the bridge and the lake. The covering of big, beautiful trees, and dynamic layout of grave markers made for a very unique feel. The palm trees added a very nice touch to graves surrounding them. The walkability of the course was good, and paths were wide enough for cars.

palm tree next to grave sight

big, beautiful tree casting shade over path

open landscape and large path

bridge across lake

Palm trees lining lake

The extravagant grave markers added to the uniqueness that makes Magnolia Cemetery one of the greatest in the country. The Victorian Era captured such art in the stone that makes up this cemetery. My favorites include the infant grave of Rosalie Raymond. She was born in January 1882 and died in September 1882, not even reaching her first birthday. This was one of my favorites because of the design. It is made to look like a baby cradle, and there is an infant face in the cradle. This makes it very apparent that the particular grave is one of a baby.

My next favorite grave sight of Magnolia is the monument dedicated to Elbert P. Jones. Born in Kentucky on September 23, 1814, and died in Charleston on April 1, 1852. This grave sight is truly a sight to see. The thing is so massive in size, it is truly amazing. It includes an extremely tall, pointed top and a lady holding a bible sculpted out of the stone. There are several tiers leading up to the main part of the monument. So miraculous in size, this is one of my favorites.

Last but not least is the memorial for the Confederate soldiers in Magnolia Cemetery. This was one of my favorite sights to see because of its beauty and history, both things that Magnolia Cemetery is known for. the organization, and sculpting of this memorial is very visually appealing, making it another one of my favorites sights of the trip. The simplicity of the lines of small headstones paired with the lavish statue of a soldier made for the perfect memorial recipe.  

Overall, I was very pleased with my experience on this trip! It was nice to explore on my own the many places this cemetery had to offer. It was such wonderful weather, making for a wonderful day, in a wonderful place! Here's a picture of me jumping for joy after my walk through the magnificent Magnolia Cemetery.

Until I LEAP into my next blog post, bye bye for now!

What Lies Beneath Bethel UMC?

Bethel United Methodist Church harbors great history in its existence. This church is nearly 220 years old and holds the title of the oldest standing methodist church in Charleston. It has been established since 1797 and is distinguished as an National Historic Landmark.

Bethel served both black and white members in its early years, during the 1800's. This fits Bethel's welcoming personality to this day. As described on the website, Bethel UMC is overwhelmingly open to participants of diversities, and embrace these differences in the community as a gift from God.

We went to Bethel UMC together as a class on October 17. The graveyard itself was smaller in size, but what it lacked in acres, it gained in graveyard symbols!

This first symbol, picture above, is that of a wreath. I researched this symbol online, using the website http://msghn.org/usghn/symbols.html to find its meaning. The United States Genealogy and History Network stated that the wreath symbolized victory in death. This dates back to ancient Greeks and was adopted by Christians as a symbol of victory and redemption, I read in the book, Stories Told in Stone by Gaylord Cooper.

The next symbol depicted is more of an illustration. In this illustration, an angel is seen to be possibly weeping in front of an urn with a wreath in her hand. As we found out prior, the wreath symbolizes victory in death. The angel represents spirituality and the mourning of an untimely death (because this one has her hand over her heart.) The urn represents immortality and is the greek symbol of mourning.

The weeping willow is the most common of all Victorian symbols. It is popular throughout 19th century gravestones. This tree symbolizes perpetual mourning and grief for the deceased. 

The next symbols depicted are more light hearted than the previous. In the above picture, a dove is descending with a twig in its mouth upon flowers. The dove is an important symbol in Christianity, representing the holy spirit. The descending bird symbolizes the Spirit from heaven upon the deceased.  

The next symbol is a broken flower which symbolizes a life terminated, or mortality. Flowers in general represent the frailty of life as they are dainty and delicate in nature. 

This symbol is simply a cross inside a circle. The circle signifies perfection or eternity in the afterlife. The cross represents, in general, Christianity. The man buried here was a graduate of the College of Charleston in 1839. He became a Citadel mathematics professor in 1843. nearly 20 years later during the Civil War he was Brigadier General of the division of Georgia troops. 

This headstone depicts a crown over a cross. This symbolizes sovereignty or extreme power of authority of the Lord.

The flowers as previously stated represent the frailty of life. Draped cloth over the top of a grave represents mourning and the separation of the living and the dead. This I read on a website describing gravestone symbolism, http://www.graveaddiction.com/symbol.html

This particular grave has four symbols. The first three are symbols which I have already described, those being the flowers representing the frailty of life, the wreaths representing victory in death, and the drapery representing mourning. The bible on top of the cloth represents a religious layperson or a cleric. 

The final symbols I am going to share come from my favorite illustration in Bethel's graveyard. This headstone depicts a weeping woman under a weeping willow in front of an urn. The weeping woman and the weeping willow both represent mourning of the deceased. The weeping and sorrow meant to be shown in this particular headstone is immense. 

The Pizza King

Victor "Vic" Cassano Senior was born on June 4, 1922 and passed away January 1, 2002. Vic Cassano is my great great uncle, being that he is my grandma's uncle. Vic was originally a grocer, from Kettering, Ohio in Dayton who established the "Cassano's Pizza King" restaurants on June 4, 1953 along with his mother in-law Caroline "Mom" Donisi. The restaurant Cassano's currently is operating in 34 locations in Dayton, Ohio.

I spoke to my grandma about my great great uncle and she shared with me the following, "Mom Donisi was Vic's mother-in law and she had the recipe. Vic owned a small grocery store and opened the pizza house in the front. I am the only living one who was there opening night. I was 14 and sat on a stool and answered the phone and took orders as they came in. It was the first pizza in the Dayton area and it was an instant success. Adding a second store within a year where I worked summers and weekends."

Photos from the early days of the restaurant 

Harry Cassano (my great grandpa on the left) along side his brother Vic

The business was booming, so expansion was inevitable. In the mid 1970's Cassano's was ranked by The National Restaurant Association as one of the top 4 pizza chains in the United States. I used ancestry.com as a resource to find some of my great great uncle's advertising mechanisms, a lot of which were put in the ad section of local yearbooks. Below are a few examples of yearbook ads made by my great great uncle. 

Chaminade-Julienne High School 1958

University of Dayton, 1962

He reached great success with his restaurant, but my great great uncle didn't always have it so easy. From his obituary of March 20, 2002 in the Dayton Daily News:

".... A son of Italian immigrants, Cassano faced a life of challenges from very early on. When he was only 2, his father died, and his mother, who neither spoke nor read English, was forced to place her three boys in a Cincinnati orphanage. Years later, the mother reunited the family. Cassano went on to become a well-known humanitarian in throughout Ohio, knowing well the struggles of others and eager to give them a hand. According to a Dayton Daily News story printed in 1981, Cassano attributed his kindness to knowing he'd be held accountable after death. "When you get to those pearly gates, you're going to be judged by what you do for your fellow man," he said. He also attributed his success to growing up in the U.S., and to going the extra step for the customer. "The fun of the free enterprise system is that you can go as far as you want if you are willing to offer a little more than the average person," he told the Daily News. He is survived by two brothers, his wife, Anne, two sons, two daughters, three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren." Vic Cassano is buried in Calvary Cemetery in Dayton, Ohio. He is buried with his wife Anne Marie. Underneath their last name says "Together Forever" which is a display of how much he loved his wife. The plaques are decorated with dainty flowers represent the frailty of life, according to the Stories Told In Stone Cemetery Iconology by Gaylord Cooper.  Vic Cassano left a legacy behind in Dayton. In the magazine article "A Slice of Dayton" Vic "Chip" Cassano III says about the hometown pizza brand, “It’s kind of what Dayton grew up on...Everybody knew my grandfather" I am very proud of my great great uncle for his entrepreneurship and success. I am happy to call "The Pizza King" an ancestor of mine and have enjoyed so much learning about the history of the business.