All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #084

Early release so you'll have something to listen to while you shovel snow.

Emily Elizabeth Holman was an accomplished architect who preferred using her initials so as not to disclose her gender.

Matilda “Tillie May” Forney followed in the steps of her newspaper publisher father John Forney. She made newspaper work her career at a time when women were barely tolerated in the newsroom.

Florence Cowanova was the ballet teacher all the little girls loved. Among her famed students: Zelda Fitzgerald, Imogene Coca, and Princess Grace.

Emmy Lou Lindgren married Harris Wofford in 1948 before going to live in India for 9 months. While Harris became one of JFK’s “Best and Brightest,” under her married name Clare Wofford became a lynchpin in the successful formation of the Peace Corps.

Biographical Bytes from Bala: Laurel Hill West Stories #053

Architecture expanded during the 19th century period of European colonialization, ignoring influences from Asia and Africa. Although not buried at Laurel Hill, African American architect Julian Abele is thought to have designed mausoleums at both properties. Walter R. Livingston, Jr., interred at Laurel Hill West, is considered Philadelphia's top Black post-War architect; his masterwork is the Zion Baptist Church on North Broad Street.

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #083, part 4

Mpozi Mshale Tolbert was a West Philadelphia native who became a beloved photojournalist and DJ in Indianapolis. Despite his 6'6" frame and waist-length dreadlocks, he was described by all who knew him as a gentle giant. Two murals of Mpozi exist in Indianapolis’s Broad Ripple and Fountain Square neighborhoods, celebrating his life and work.