All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories Biographical podcast highlighting the permanent residents of Laurel Hill Cemetery in Pennsylvania.
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06/04/2026

In this clip, Joe shares how the history of Laurel Hill East and Laurel Hill West captured his attention, from the rise of the rural cemetery movement to the ways burial practices shaped who was welcomed and remembered.

It's a fascinating look at the history behind one of Philadelphia's most important historic landscapes and the stories waiting to be discovered there.

đź“š Learn more in All Bones Considered: 52 Laurel Hill Women, available now on Amazon.

Today we're celebrating the birthday of George Gordon Meade Easby. He was an eccentric character who lived in a Chestnut...
06/03/2026

Today we're celebrating the birthday of George Gordon Meade Easby. He was an eccentric character who lived in a Chestnut Hill mansion and didn’t mind sharing the space with phantom apparitions!

Listen Here: https://www.podbean.com/pw/pbblog-kty8f-780f6a

06/02/2026

100,000 downloads! 🎉

Today, All Bones Considered has reached a major milestone: more than 100,000 downloads across nearly 400 episodes.

Thank you to everyone who has listened, shared an episode, attended a tour, or joined us on this journey through the past.

There are still plenty of stories left to tell.
https://jrlexjr.podbean.com/

Join Dr. Joe Lex at Laurel Hill West Cemetery for a baseball history tour unlike any other. Wander among the graves of l...
06/02/2026

Join Dr. Joe Lex at Laurel Hill West Cemetery for a baseball history tour unlike any other. Wander among the graves of legendary players, team owners, sportswriters, and game-changing pioneers who helped build America’s pastime right here in Philadelphia.

From Hall of Famers to forgotten icons, you’ll hear the wild, surprising, and sometimes unbelievable stories of figures like Harry Wright, Ben Shibe, Al Reach, and more, including the man known as THE FATHER OF BASEBALL.

Timed perfectly for All-Star Week, this two-hour walking tour is part sports history, part Philly history, and all Joe Lex storytelling magic.

đź“Ť July 12, 13 & 14
⏰ Tours at 10 AM + 1 PM
âšľ All-Star Game: Tuesday, July 14 at 8 PM in Philadelphia
https://laurelhillphl.com/event/baseball-0726-2/

06/01/2026

Some people spend eternity in one place. Others get moved... and moved again.

In this episode of All Bones Considered, Joe digs into the strange history of exhumation and relocation, from forgotten founders to celebrated sailors. Why do we move the dead? Prestige, politics, family wishes, cemetery marketing... the reasons might surprise you.

Featuring the posthumous journeys of Thomas Godfrey, Alexander Murray, Hilary Baker, and William Smith.

A little history, a little mystery, and more than a few relocated remains.
Available here or wherever you get your podcasts: https://jrlexjr.podbean.com/e/mobile-corpses-from-the-18th-century/

06/01/2026

How does someone end up becoming a guide at Laurel Hill Cemetery?
For Dr. Joe Lex, it started with curiosity and grew into a passion for uncovering the stories history left behind.This clip shares how Joe first got involved with Laurel Hill and why this work became so meaningful to him.

đź“š His book, All Bones Considered: 52 Laurel Hill Women, is available now on Amazon.

NEW EPISODE ALERT! George Gerbner was a Hungarian refugee and combat survivor who grew up during the rise of fascism in ...
05/30/2026

NEW EPISODE ALERT!
George Gerbner was a Hungarian refugee and combat survivor who grew up during the rise of fascism in Europe in the 1930s. He discovered that power lay with those who controlled the narrative and told the stories. Although he used violence as an example to spread his message, a deeper reading shows that his concern was that American media resembled the prefascist state he had known in his youth. He was a controversial figure for many years.

Listen to his story here or wherever you get your podcasts: https://jrlexjr.podbean.com/e/george-gerbner-the-man-who-counted-fear/

Take advantage of Laurel Hill's location as part of the Trails System that connect the Cynwyd Heritage Trail to the Wiss...
05/29/2026

Take advantage of Laurel Hill's location as part of the Trails System that connect the Cynwyd Heritage Trail to the Wissahickon trail system!

If you have walked or ridden your bike through West Laurel Hill Cemetery from the entrance just off the Cynwyd Trail all the way to the Pencoyd exit on Righter’s Ferry Road, you have probably passed dozens of mausoleums and gravesites that you had questions about. Now there’s an audio narration to help you quench your curiosity. It is done by Joe Lex, the same person who researches and narrates Laurel Hill’s twice-monthly podcasts “All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories” and “Biographical Bytes from Bala: West Laurel Hill Stories.” Find out about William Luden, inventor of the mentholated cough drop; Charles Harrah, who made his fortune in Brazil; Eldridge Reeves Johnson, inventor of the Victrola, and many more. And at long last, you can discover the mystery of “Cocktails at Six.” The tour covers only people interred on the right-hand side of the road and takes about 40 minutes. Look for its companion audio covering the other side from Pencoyd back to Barmouth in a few months.
https://jrlexjr.podbean.com/e/narration-for-walking-west-laurel-hill-from-barmouth-to-pencoyd/

Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game is in Philadelphia on Tuesday, July 14, at 8 PM. Come to Laurel Hill West in the d...
05/28/2026

Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game is in Philadelphia on Tuesday, July 14, at 8 PM. Come to Laurel Hill West in the days leading up to the game and hear about baseball pioneers like Al Reach, Ben Shibe, Slick Schlichter, and Harry Wright, a member of Baseball’s Hall of Fame. This two-hour tour highlights more than a dozen former major league players, a Hall of Fame sportswriter, and other notable figures, including THE FATHER OF BASEBALL.

This tour will be given by Joe Lex twice daily, at 10 AM and 1 PM, on the Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday before the game.

Generously sponsored by Carol R. Yaster and William J. Levant, Esq.

To register, visit https://laurelhillphl.com/event/baseball-0726-2/

With the warm weather here, you can take advantage of Laurel Hill's location as part of the Trails System that connect t...
05/27/2026

With the warm weather here, you can take advantage of Laurel Hill's location as part of the Trails System that connect the Cynwyd Heritage Trail to the Wissahickon trail system. Your walk or ride from the Righters Ferry entrance to the Barmouth entrance at the Cynwyd Heritage Trail is less than a mile, but you pass scores of grave markers and dozens of mausoleums, most with stained glass. This 47-minute narration gives you mini-biographies of more than 50 people who have resting places you pass along the route. They are captains of industry, philanthropists, teachers, physicians, artists, and others who helped shaped the history of Philadelphia.

This narrative is a complement to another recording that guides you from the Barmouth Entrance back to the Righters Ferry entrance, also available wherever you find your podcasts.
https://jrlexjr.podbean.com/e/narration-for-walking-laurel-hill-west-from-pencoyd-to-barmouth/

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Philadelphia, PA
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(215) 228-8200

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