Crazy Cemetery Lady

09/02/2026

Come clean a headstone with me from start to finish.

There are no cuts, no edits, and no voice-over in this video. It is simply the full process of cleaning the front of a headstone using soft-bristled brushes, plenty of water, and D/2 Biological Solution that was sprayed on about 30 minutes beforehand to begin soaking.

You will also hear a little of me chatting away to myself while I work, because apparently I’m never truly quiet in a cemetery.

This is what careful headstone cleaning really looks like, one gentle section at a time.

09/02/2026

Come take a tour with me!!

Step back in time at Brookside Cemetery!

Join the Jefferson County Historical Society on Saturday, September 26th for our annual Brookside Cemetery Historical Tour.

Explore one of Watertown’s most historic cemeteries as we travel along a 2.2-mile route, sharing the stories of some of the people, families, and history found within Brookside Cemetery.

This year, you can experience the tour either by car or on foot, with both the driving and walking tours beginning at 10:00 AM.

Admission:
$15 JCHS Members
$18 Non-Members
Children 12 & under are FREE

FOLLOW THE EVENTBRITE LINK TO PREORDER YOUR TICKETS: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/brookside-cemetery-tour-tickets-1999539375097?aff=oddtdtcreator

Tickets may be purchased in advance at the Paddock Mansion or through Eventbrite. Tickets will also be available the day of the tour by cash or check only.

Please keep in mind that the terrain throughout Brookside Cemetery varies, so comfortable walking shoes are recommended for those joining us on foot. Refreshments will be available throughout the tour.

Come spend a fall Saturday with us discovering the people and stories that make up part of Jefferson County’s past!

Saturday, September 26th | 10:00 AM
Brookside Cemetery
19000 County Rd., Watertown, NY 13601

09/02/2026

On September 2, 1666, a fire began in a bakery on Pudding Lane in London. What followed became one of the most famous disasters in the city’s history: the Great Fire of London.

The fire started in the home and bakery of Thomas Farriner, baker to King Charles II. Fueled by strong winds and a city filled with closely packed timber buildings, the flames spread with terrifying speed. London’s firefighting methods were primitive, relying largely on buckets of water and creating firebreaks by demolishing buildings in the fire’s path.

By the time officials began aggressively creating those firebreaks, the blaze had become a firestorm. Over the following days it swept through the heart of London, destroying streets, businesses, churches, and even the medieval St. Paul’s Cathedral.

Eventually the winds weakened, and gunpowder was used to demolish buildings and create more effective firebreaks. By September 5, the Great Fire was finally brought under control.

The destruction was staggering. More than 13,000 houses and dozens of churches and public buildings were destroyed, leaving tens of thousands of Londoners homeless. The officially recorded death toll was remarkably small, although historians have long questioned whether the true number of victims was higher.

London rebuilt, and a permanent memorial eventually rose near the place where the disaster began. Designed by Sir Christopher Wren and Robert Hooke, the towering Monument to the Great Fire of London still stands near Pudding Lane today.

The fire lasted only a few days, but it permanently changed one of the world’s great cities.

Can you imagine watching nearly an entire city burn and knowing there was almost nothing you could do to stop it?

09/02/2026

📜 This Day in History – September 2

🏛️ Notable Events

• 1666 – The Great Fire of London begins
The Great Fire of London began in the early hours of September 2 in a bakery on Pudding Lane. Over the next several days, flames destroyed much of the medieval City of London, including Old St. Paul’s Cathedral, and left tens of thousands of people homeless.

• 1789 – Congress creates the U.S. Department of the Treasury
The First Congress established the Department of the Treasury to manage the new federal government’s finances. Alexander Hamilton became the department’s first secretary nine days later, on September 11.

• 1901 – Theodore Roosevelt delivers his famous “big stick” speech
Vice President Theodore Roosevelt addressed the Minnesota State Fair and used the proverb “Speak softly and carry a big stick.” The phrase became closely associated with his approach to foreign policy after he became president only days later.

• 1935 – The Labor Day Hurricane devastates the Florida Keys
A Category 5 hurricane made landfall in the Florida Keys on the evening of September 2 with winds estimated around 185 mph. More than 400 people were killed, including many World War I veterans working on federal construction projects in the Keys.

• 1945 – Japan formally surrenders, ending World War II
Japanese representatives signed the Instrument of Surrender aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. The ceremony formally ended World War II after nearly six years of global conflict.

🎂 Notable Births

• 1853 – Wilhelm Ostwald, pioneering physical chemist
Wilhelm Ostwald was born in Riga, then part of the Russian Empire. His work on catalysis, chemical equilibria, and reaction rates helped establish physical chemistry as a major scientific field, and he received the 1909 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

• 1877 – Frederick Soddy, British radiochemist
Frederick Soddy was born in Eastbourne, England. His research helped explain radioactive decay and the existence of isotopes, work that earned him the 1921 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

• 1911 – Romare Bearden, American artist
Romare Bearden was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, and became one of the most influential Black American artists of the 20th century. He was especially celebrated for his innovative collages depicting African American life, history, family, and community.

• 1948 – Christa McAuliffe, teacher selected for NASA’s Teacher in Space Project
Sharon Christa McAuliffe was born in Boston and later became a social studies teacher in New Hampshire. NASA selected her from more than 11,000 applicants for the Teacher in Space Project, but she and six crewmates were killed when Challenger broke apart shortly after launch in 1986.

• 1966 – Salma Hayek, Mexican and American actress and producer
Salma Hayek was born in Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, Mexico. She built an international film career and earned an Academy Award nomination for her portrayal of artist Frida Kahlo in the 2002 film Frida.

🕯️ Notable Deaths

• 1964 – Alvin C. York, World War I Medal of Honor recipient, 76
Sergeant Alvin York died in Nashville after becoming one of the most famous American soldiers of World War I. He received the Medal of Honor for his actions in France in October 1918 and later devoted considerable effort to improving educational opportunities in rural Tennessee.

• 1969 – Ho Chi Minh, Vietnamese revolutionary leader, 79
Ho Chi Minh died in Hanoi while serving as president of North Vietnam. He had been a central figure in Vietnam’s anticolonial independence movement and remained the symbolic leader of North Vietnam during the war against the United States and South Vietnam.

• 1973 – J. R. R. Tolkien, English author and scholar, 81
J. R. R. Tolkien died while visiting Bournemouth, England. The Oxford scholar created the richly imagined world of Middle-earth and wrote works including The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, which became landmarks of modern fantasy literature.

• 1975 – Mabel Vernon, American suffragist and peace activist, 91
Mabel Vernon died in Washington, D.C., after decades of activism for women’s voting rights and international peace. She helped organize the Silent Sentinels who picketed the White House and became one of the prominent leaders of the National Woman’s Party.

• 1992 – Barbara McClintock, American geneticist and Nobel laureate, 90
Barbara McClintock died in Huntington, New York, after a groundbreaking career studying the genetics of corn. Her discovery that genetic elements can move within chromosomes transformed scientists’ understanding of genetics and earned her the 1983 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

09/01/2026

If we only looked at her headstone, Hattie Percy might be remembered simply as Addison Percy’s wife. But once I started digging through census records and old Watertown newspapers, a much bigger story emerged.

Hattie raised six sons, cared for her widowed mother in her home at 306 Gale Street, was deeply involved with Bethany Methodist Church, became president of a neighborhood embroidery club that raised money for people in need, and lived long enough to see the Percy family grow across generations.

When Hattie died in 1945, her son’s Watertown business even closed its doors during her funeral out of respect for her.

Sometimes the women who left behind the fewest words on their headstones have some of the biggest stories waiting to be found.

09/01/2026

Born on September 1, 1872, in Brooklyn, New York, Corrine “Cora” Crippen, who performed under the name Belle Elmore, became the victim at the center of one of the most sensational murder cases of the early 20th century.

Cora was a music hall singer married to Dr. Hawley Harvey Crippen, an American-born physician and patent medicine salesman living in London. Their marriage was troubled, and Crippen had begun an affair with his young secretary, Ethel Le Neve.

Cora was last seen alive on January 31, 1910. Soon afterward, Crippen began pawning her jewelry while her friends received letters supposedly explaining that Cora had gone away. Her friends became suspicious, especially because the letters weren’t in her handwriting, and contacted police.

Scotland Yard Inspector Walter Dew questioned Crippen, who eventually fled England with Ethel. Disguised as a boy and pretending to be Crippen’s son, Ethel boarded the SS Montrose with him for Canada.

Back in London, investigators searched the Crippen home and discovered human remains buried beneath the cellar floor. The remains were believed to be Cora’s.

Then technology helped turn the case into history.

The captain of the Montrose recognized the fugitives and used the ship’s wireless telegraph to alert authorities. Inspector Dew raced across the Atlantic aboard a faster ship and was waiting when the Montrose reached Canada. Crippen and Ethel were arrested.

Crippen was returned to England, convicted of Cora’s murder, and hanged in November 1910. Ethel was tried separately and acquitted.

Cora was buried at Islington and St Pancras Cemetery in London, where her grave can still be found today.

Her murder became famous not only because of the sensational crime, but because the chase across the Atlantic demonstrated how new wireless technology could transform criminal investigations.

Had you ever heard of the Crippen murder case and the dramatic transatlantic chase that followed?

09/01/2026

📜 This Day in History – September 1

🏛️ Notable Events

• 1878 – Emma Nutt becomes the first woman telephone operator
Emma Nutt began work for the Edwin Holmes Telephone Dispatch Company in Boston, becoming the first woman known to work professionally as a telephone operator. Her success helped accelerate a major shift in the new telephone industry, where women soon became the dominant workforce at switchboards.

• 1923 – The Great Kantō earthquake devastates Japan
A massive earthquake struck Japan’s Kantō region shortly before noon, causing catastrophic destruction in Tokyo, Yokohama, and surrounding areas. Fires, collapsing buildings, landslides, and other effects killed or left missing well over 100,000 people, making it one of the deadliest disasters in Japanese history.

• 1939 – Germany invades Poland, beginning World War II in Europe
N**i Germany launched its invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939. Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later, turning the invasion into the opening conflict of World War II in Europe.

• 1979 – Pioneer 11 becomes the first spacecraft to fly past Saturn
NASA’s Pioneer 11 made its historic close encounter with Saturn, passing about 13,000 miles above the planet’s cloud tops. The spacecraft returned hundreds of images and new information about Saturn’s rings, moons, atmosphere, and magnetic field.

• 1985 – The wreck of the Titanic is discovered
A joint American-French expedition located the wreck of RMS Titanic deep in the North Atlantic, more than 73 years after the ship sank on its maiden voyage. Using the deep-towed imaging system Argo, the team first identified debris and one of the ship’s boilers before confirming the wreck site.

🎂 Notable Births

• 1875 – Edgar Rice Burroughs, American writer
Edgar Rice Burroughs was born in Chicago, Illinois. He became one of the most popular adventure writers of the early 20th century and created Tarzan, a character who would appear in novels, films, comics, radio programs, and countless other adaptations.

• 1877 – Francis William Aston, British physicist and chemist
Francis William Aston was born in Harborne, England. His development of the mass spectrograph allowed scientists to identify isotopes with far greater precision, work that earned him the 1922 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

• 1886 – Tarsila do Amaral, Brazilian artist
Tarsila do Amaral was born in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. She became one of the leading figures of Brazilian modernism, combining European modernist influences with imagery and themes rooted in Brazilian culture and identity.

• 1925 – Roy Glauber, American physicist
Roy Jay Glauber was born in New York City. His groundbreaking theoretical work helped establish the foundations of quantum optics, earning him a share of the 2005 Nobel Prize in Physics. As a young man, he had also worked on the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos.

• 1939 – Lily Tomlin, American actress and comedian
Mary Jean “Lily” Tomlin was born in Detroit, Michigan. She became nationally known through television comedy before building an acclaimed career across film, television, and the stage, earning numerous Emmy and Tony Awards along the way.

🕯️ Notable Deaths

• 1557 – Jacques Cartier, French explorer
Jacques Cartier died at Saint-Malo, France, after making three major voyages to North America on behalf of the French crown. His explorations of the Gulf and St. Lawrence River helped establish French knowledge and claims in the region that would become Canada.

• 1715 – Louis XIV of France, 76
Louis XIV died at Versailles after more than 72 years on the French throne. Known as the “Sun King,” he strengthened the French monarchy and made Versailles the center of royal power and court life. His five-year-old great-grandson succeeded him as Louis XV.

• 1970 – François Mauriac, French novelist and Nobel laureate, 84
François Mauriac died in Paris after a distinguished career as a novelist, essayist, journalist, and public intellectual. He received the 1952 Nobel Prize in Literature and was also a member of the Académie française.

• 1981 – Albert Speer, N**i official and convicted war criminal, 76
Albert Speer died in London after collapsing while visiting Britain. Once Adolf Hitler’s architect and later Germany’s Minister of Armaments and War Production, Speer was convicted at the Nuremberg trials of war crimes and crimes against humanity and served 20 years in prison.

• 1988 – Luis Alvarez, American physicist and Nobel laureate, 77
Luis Walter Alvarez died in Berkeley, California. His experimental work in particle physics earned him the 1968 Nobel Prize in Physics, and his wide-ranging career also included important work during the Manhattan Project.

08/31/2026

It’s Mystery Monday. This week I’m at North Watertown Cemetery in Watertown, NY, looking at Harry William Jacoby and his wife Dorothy A. Jacoby.

Harry (1911 to 1963) served as a Staff Sergeant in the 1024th Engineer Dump Way Bridge Company during WWII. Dorothy (1913 to 1982) lived on nearly 20 years after him.

I’d love your help researching their story this week. Since these are newer stones, please stick to obituaries and public records and let’s leave any living family out of it. Share what you find in the comments, and check back later this week for the full cleaning video.

08/31/2026

Born on August 31, 1924, in Fall River, Massachusetts, Thomas Jerome Hudner Jr. became a Medal of Honor recipient after deliberately crashing his own airplane behind enemy lines in an extraordinary attempt to save a fellow pilot.

Hudner entered the U.S. Naval Academy in 1943 and became a naval aviator in 1949. Assigned to Fighter Squadron 32 aboard the USS Leyte, he served alongside Ensign Jesse L. Brown, the U.S. Navy’s first Black naval aviator.

On December 4, 1950, during the Korean War, their squadron was flying near the Chosin Reservoir when Brown’s aircraft was struck by enemy fire. Brown managed a crash landing, but he was seriously injured and trapped inside the wreckage.

Flying overhead, Hudner could see that his friend was still alive.

Knowing Brown might freeze or burn to death before rescuers arrived, Hudner made an extraordinary decision. He intentionally crash-landed his own aircraft in the snow and ran roughly 100 yards to Brown.

Hudner packed snow around the burning aircraft with his bare hands and tried desperately to free Brown, whose leg was pinned inside the wreckage. A rescue helicopter eventually arrived, but even with the pilot’s help, they couldn’t free him. As darkness approached and the helicopter could no longer safely remain, Hudner was forced to leave. Brown died from his injuries.

For risking his own life in the attempt, Hudner received the Medal of Honor from President Harry S. Truman on April 13, 1951.

Hudner remained in the Navy until 1973 and later worked in veterans’ services in Massachusetts. A U.S. Navy destroyer, the USS Thomas Hudner, was named in his honor.

Thomas Hudner died on November 13, 2017, at age 93 and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery, where his headstone identifies him simply and powerfully as a Medal of Honor recipient.

He couldn’t save Jesse Brown that frozen day in Korea, but he was willing to sacrifice his own life trying.

08/31/2026

📜 This Day in History – August 31

🏛️ Notable Events

• 1886 – A devastating earthquake strikes Charleston, South Carolina
A powerful earthquake struck the Charleston area late on August 31 and was felt across much of the eastern United States. The quake, estimated near magnitude 7, killed dozens of people and caused widespread destruction, making it one of the strongest historical earthquakes recorded east of the Appalachian Mountains.

• 1935 – The United States adopts its first Neutrality Act
Congress passed the first Neutrality Act as tensions were rising in Europe and Asia. The law prohibited American arms exports to countries at war and reflected a powerful desire in the United States to avoid being drawn into another major overseas conflict.

• 1957 – The Federation of Malaya gains independence
The Federation of Malaya became an independent sovereign country on August 31 after decades of British colonial rule. Tunku Abdul Rahman proclaimed independence before a large crowd in Kuala Lumpur, beginning a new chapter that would eventually lead to the formation of Malaysia in 1963.

• 1980 – The Gdańsk Agreement helps give birth to Poland’s Solidarity movement
After weeks of strikes, representatives of Poland’s communist government and striking workers at the Gdańsk Shipyard signed an agreement recognizing key worker demands, including the right to organize independent trade unions. The agreement opened the way for the creation of Solidarity, which would become a major force in the eventual collapse of communist rule in Poland.

• 1991 – Uzbekistan declares independence from the Soviet Union
At an extraordinary session in Tashkent, Uzbekistan’s legislature adopted measures proclaiming the republic’s state independence and renaming the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic as the Republic of Uzbekistan. September 1 was subsequently designated as the country’s Independence Day.

🎂 Notable Births

• 1870 – Maria Montessori, Italian physician and educator
Maria Montessori was born in Chiaravalle, Italy. Trained as a physician, she developed an educational approach centered on children learning through independence, observation, and carefully prepared environments. The Montessori method eventually spread to schools around the world.

• 1880 – Wilhelmina, Queen of the Netherlands
Wilhelmina was born on August 31 and became Queen of the Netherlands in 1890 while still a child, with her mother Emma serving as regent until she came of age. Her long reign stretched through both world wars, and she became an important symbol of Dutch resistance while living in exile during World War II.

• 1908 – William Saroyan, American writer
William Saroyan was born in Fresno, California, to Armenian immigrant parents. He became known for novels, plays, and short stories that often focused on ordinary people, family, and immigrant life. His play The Time of Your Life won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1940.

• 1949 – Richard Gere, American actor
Richard Gere was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He rose to prominence during the late 1970s and 1980s and became widely known for films including American Gi**lo, An Officer and a Gentleman, and Pretty Woman. His career has spanned more than five decades.

• 1970 – Queen Rania of Jordan
Rania Al-Yassin was born in Kuwait and later moved to Jordan, where she married Prince Abdullah in 1993. When he became King Abdullah II in 1999, she became Queen of Jordan and has since been closely associated with education, children’s welfare, health, and other social initiatives.

🕯️ Notable Deaths

• 1688 – John Bunyan, English writer and preacher
John Bunyan died in London after becoming ill following a journey through heavy rain. A nonconformist preacher who had spent years imprisoned for preaching without official authorization, he became best known as the author of The Pilgrim’s Progress, one of the most influential works of Christian literature in English.

• 1867 – Charles Baudelaire, French poet and critic, 46
Charles Baudelaire died in Paris after suffering severe health problems and paralysis during the final years of his life. His collection Les Fleurs du mal helped transform modern poetry through its exploration of beauty, urban life, alienation, and darker human experiences.

• 1963 – Georges Braque, French artist, 81
Georges Braque died in Paris after a career that helped reshape modern art. Working closely with Pablo Picasso in the early 20th century, Braque played a central role in the development of Cubism and also worked extensively in painting, collage, printmaking, and sculpture.

• 1985 – Sir Macfarlane Burnet, Australian scientist, 85
Virologist and immunologist Frank Macfarlane Burnet died at Port Fairy, Victoria. His research transformed understanding of viruses and the immune system, and he shared the 1960 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for work involving acquired immunological tolerance.

• 1997 – Diana, Princess of Wales, 36
Diana died from injuries sustained in a car crash in Paris in the early hours of August 31. Following her divorce from Charles, Prince of Wales, she remained one of the world’s most recognizable public figures and continued extensive humanitarian work, including advocacy involving landmines, AIDS awareness, and vulnerable children. Her death prompted extraordinary public mourning around the world.