A break in the case of the missing Macys

Thanks go out today to Sharon Wilson for forwarding this old deed record, dated 1906.

It reserved a half-acre piece of land in the Pine Castle area for my great great grandfather Paul Macy, part of a larger tract that Deacon J.W. Matchett (his brother-in-law) had acquired for the local Baptist church.

So, why is this so interesting?

Well, for many years, yours truly has been trying to figure out where the patriarch and matriarch of the extended Macy clan are buried.

William H. Macy purchased 8 spaces at Greenwood Cemetery in downtown Orlando in the late 1800s. But, the sexton records clearly show that neither he nor his wife were buried there.

On the other hand, I have the original receipt from undertaker E.A. Richards for the funeral of Mrs. Martha Dean Macy that proves at least she died locally and should have been buried near the funeral home in Orlando.

Said receipt was dated 1906, just like the deed.

I'm beginning to think that Mrs. Macy was buried on the land detailed in this 1/2 acre deed. Maybe, her husband was, too . . . .

Any thoughts or suggestions are, as always, appreciated.

Offbeat opportunity to get some exercise

Ye local socks who haven't done this before should definitely check it out next Friday.

Once again, venerable Greenwood Cemetery in downtown Orlando will be hosting a moonlight tour. So, mark your calendars:

December 12th - 9pm - 1603 Greenwood Street

A couple of suggestions from past personal experience:

1. Wear comfortable walking shoes. The tour is about 2 miles long.

2. Bring a flashlight.

For more info and tips, please feel free to call the sexton's office: 407-325-6269.

Armistice Day came too late for Ben Brown

As today is Veteran's Day, a trip to nearby Greenwod Cemetery was in order to pay my respects to my dad and the many other service men and women who rest there.

While Dad is buried in an old private family plot, the American Legion maintains an entire section for military personnel whose graves are marked by simple government-issued stones.

I'd like to introduce ye socks to one of those servicemen: Private Ben B. Brown (1896-1918), who gave his life for this country in the Aisne-Marne offensive in France during the First World War.

Brown's file tells us that he was a native of Spartanburg, South Carolina. He enlisted 8 August 1917 in Orlando to serve in Company C of the 2nd Infantry, Florida National Guard. That unit was sent for training at Camp Wheeler, then shipped to France on 20 June 1918.

Poor Ben was killed in action just one month, one week, and one day later.

More tragically, he fell less than four months before Armistice Day.

While I hope everyone out there in the blogosphere will take a moment today to honor all veterans of all our nation's wars, please remember the holiday was originally declared to commemorate the end of the First World War--the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918--an important moment that far too many young men like Ben Brown did not live to see.

And, find a veteran to thank.

Memorial Day observations

I had to interrupt my staycation to drive down to Orlando this morning to take care of some personal business anyway, so decided to use the opportunity to observe today's holiday at the old Greenwood Cemetery downtown.

The city was marking the occasion with a variety of events, including an address by Robert Stuart (who will be my city commissioner after I move, hopefully soon).

But, it was more important for me to pay my respects to the many veterans who are buried there.

They include my dad (Lt. Col. Skip Morgan, USAF) and my great-great-great grandfather (Pvt. Edson McClure Blakesley, Co. F, 145th Ohio Volunteers). Indeed, the cemetery is final resting place for many, many veterans of all the wars fought by our nation's armed forces since the Civil War. It is indeed hallowed ground.

It struck me as I was strolling beneath the moss-laden oak canopy at Greenwood, that it is really a very beautiful place.

The sexton, Don Price, informed me that he will be leading a moonlight walking tour of the grounds in just a few weeks. (June 20th, from 9 to 11pm to be precise.) He will be pointing out the graves of the famous, semi-famous, and infamous. (Including Francis Eppes, the favorite grandson of Thomas Jefferson; and baseball legend Joe Tinker.)

But, today was all about paying respect to the lesser known folks who humbly served in their country's uniform so that posterity might enjoy the many freedoms we have around here!

Take some time away from the BBQ to do a little of that yourselves, why don't ya?

Henry Oliver Burden (1933-2008)

Condolences go out to the Burden family following the loss of their patriarch early Thursday morning after a long bout with Alzheimer's Disease.

Mr. Burden was born 7 March 1933 at Thomaston, Georgia, and lived in Atlanta until 1979, when he moved to Orlando.

Recently, he moved to Marietta, Georgia to be near his daughter.

He will be remembered as a humble man with a warm smile, as well as for his kindness and devotion to his family.

Preceded in death by his wife, the former Anita Nash, he is survived by his three children, Randy O. Burden (Alice), Angela B. Smith (Billy), and Gregory H. Burden (Beth Anne); sisters, Helen Singer and Barbara Ray (Jesse); grandchildren, Amy S. Thompson (Toby), Elizabeth B. Ariko (Griffin), John O. (Kristen), David W. (Jessica), Garrett O. and Sarah Beth Burden; and great grandchildren, Tanner and Ansley Thompson, and Jack and Anna Wells Burden.

For ye local socks, a visitation will be held at Carey Hand Funeral Home (Curry Ford Road, right around the corner from my office) on Tuesday, January 15 from 6-8PM.

A graveside funeral service will be held at Greenwood Cemetery on Wednesday, January 16 at 10:30AM.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to

Workforce Advantage Academy, Inc.

2113 E. South Street

Orlando, Florida 32803

In a cemetery after sundown

How creepy does that sound?

Actually, not creepy at all. Especially if the cemetery in question is historic Greenwood in downtown Orlando and you're in the company of fifty other people led by local history guru Steve Rajtar.

I had been on other "history hikes" with Steve before. But, this one was by far the best. Probably the ambiance. The last time I joined him was on a walk around the Lake Adair area, and we were constantly looking over our shoulders to dodge passing cars. Certainly didn't have to worry about them tonight!

The only down-side to the whole evening, and it wasn't much of a down-side, was that there was a film crew operating in Section H.

That's right. A film crew.

I Wonder Films had what we were informed was a "hot set" as they filmed an exhumation scene for their upcoming flick "Dusk." We couldn't get close enough to see anything but a blue truck, a bunch of lights, and a fog-making machine. But, it looked cool from a distance.

Oh, and the casting director came up to us to thank us for our cooperation (which added like a mile to our route as we had to go AROUND them). She invited anyone who wants to be an extra in tomorrow's funeral scene to come back to the cemetery tomorrow afternoon around 5:30. And, anyone over age 65 could also try out for a more "prestigious" role as a ghost. Hmmmm

Anyway, totally exhausted physically, but the little adventure has my mind going a thousand miles an hour. I'll probably be up all night.

At least I won't be spending the rest of it in a cemetery . . .

Barry is a joke . . . a sad one

And, no, I'm not talking about any local ambulance chasers you socks out there may know. Although, I suppose a case could be made . . .

No, what I'm referring to is this so-called "tropical storm" that blew in last night, the first night of Hurricane Season 2007.

It managed to ruin the Blue Moon Tour of Greenwood last night, which I'd been looking forward to for weeks. Blue moons don't come around that often, you know. The last one was 2-and-a-half years ago! Thanks a lot, Barry!

And, because it was so rainy, windy, and otherwise gross outside today, I couldn't venture beyond the Publix and Blockbuster on the corner without putting myself at the mercy of other idiot drivers. Cabin fever is setting-in. Thanks again, Barry!

Oh, well, at least Super Duper Doppler-man Tom Sorrels is assuring us that blow-hard Barry (no, again, not the trial lawyer) will be getting out of town later tonight. So, maybe we can actually enjoy our Sunday.

Actually, I guess our drought-ravaged lawns can use the rain the storm dumped on us. And, maybe, our water bills will be lower this month?!

I think this is what one would call looking for a silver lining . . .

Take a hike!

I want to get back into a regular walking routine, so am turning to Steve Rajtar for inspiration. He organizes groups to hike historic neighborhoods in and around Central Florida. And, I find I am much more apt to go walk if it's not the same boring route every time. I need a little more mental stimulation than the average hiker, I guess.

Anyway, Steve did not disappoint. Here's a list of his upcoming guided hikes:

5/11 (Fri) 6pm - Lake Lucerne area - meet at Moe's, 1621 S. Orange Ave in Orlando - distance 3.9 miles.

5/18 (Fri) 6pm - Lake Eola area - meet at Panera's, 227 N. Eola Dr downtown - distance 3.3 miles.

6/1 (Fri) 9pm - Greenwood Cemetery by moonlight! - distance 2 miles (if you can't make it this night, try alternate dates of 7/6, 8/31, or 9/28)

6/16 (Sat) 9am - Maitland - park at Lake Sybelia - distance 5.2 miles

6/23 (Sat) 6pm - Lake Helen - park at Cassadaga Hotel - distance 5.5 miles (mediums will meet hikers at trail's end to do discounted readings in honor of the summer solstice -- yikes!)

7/13 (Fri) 6pm - Lake Ivanhoe - park at O'Boy's BBQ, 924 W Colonial Dr in Orlando - distance 5.8 miles (I've joined Steve on this one before, and can highly recommend it.)

8/24 (Fri) 6pm - Lake Cherokee - park at Mills Market, 903 S Mills Ave in Orlando - distance 4.4 miles.

Join us at your own peril! You might actually learn something!

Thanks, Be!

I spoke to Be Bateman this afternoon. She wanted to let the family know that she and the UDC were thinking of us as they commemorated Confederate Memorial Day this past weekend.

In addition to marking the graves of all the Confederate veterans out at Greenwood, they also placed a small flag by Dad's marker.

He would have loved that!

Thanks to Cliff Curley

He took these photos of the military honors rendered to Dad this past weekend:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?mode=fromshare&Uc=ow3xb1l.83qkqi9p&Uy=1wurtf&Ux=1

And, he was kind enough to share them with us at breakfast this morning while we discussed the pioneer families project he's working on for our local PBS station (Channel 24).

Celebration of Life

That's what we decided to call the preparations we are making for Dad today. It's not a funeral. It's not a memorial. It's going to be a celebration of his life.

Special thanks to Vanessa Franco at Colonial Carey Hand who helped us lay the foundations for services, etc., which will include full military honors and several special requests to pay full tribute to Dad.

Services have now officially been scheduled for Saturday, March 31st, at 10am, at the Carey Hand chapel:

2811 Curry Ford Road
Orlando, FL 32806
phone 407-898-2561
fax 407-898-7661

Additional thanks to sexton Don Price for preparing the inurnment, which will immediately follow services at:

Greenwood Cemetery:
1603 Greenwood Street
Orlando, FL 32801
407-246-2616

Don prepared a good map of the cemetery at: http://www.greenwood-cemetery.net/GreenwoodPlotLayout.pdf

Dad will rest in the oldest part of the cemetery, in Section "A," beneath a beautiful moss-laden oak tree that monitors the comings and goings of all the jets at nearby Herndon Airport.

Lt. Col. Skip Morgan (1948-2007)

Lt. Col. W.S. "Skip" Morgan, age 58, of Orlando, passed away at his home early this morning. He was the 9th generation of a pioneer Central Florida family, and worked as a paper boy for the Orlando Sentinel during his early years. He was an Eagle Scout.

A 1966 graduate of Oak Ridge High School, he was a classmate of Orange County Mayor Richard Crotty.

He was also a 1970 graduate of The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina. He shared rides with author Pat Conroy from that military college to their common hometown in Florida. And, during his senior year, Skip was named to the elite Sumerall Guard drill team.

After college, Skip embarked on a career in the U.S. Air Force, interrupted only briefly by a stint as a pilot with the now-defunct Air Florida.

He received commendations for his efforts to retain highly-trained military pilots during the Cold War when commercial carriers were competing for their talents.

His last assignment was at The Pentagon, where he worked with Gen. Colin Powell on arms control agreements with the former Soviet Union.

He retired in 1992, and returned to Orlando.

Skip's great passions included big game hunting, Civil War history, genealogy, and his family.

Sadly, he was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's Disease in 2002, and succombed only after a 5-year long struggle with the illness.

Survivors include his wife of 36 years, Leigh Anne; son William of Apopka; daughter Mrs. Keith Simmons of Mt. Pleasant, SC; and 2 grandchildren.

Arrangements are being handled by Woodlawn Carey Hand Funeral Home, with interment to follow at Greenwood Cemetery in downtown Orlando.

The family suggests donations to the Alzheimer's Association of Central Florida, 988 Woodcock Road, Orlando, FL 32803. (http://www.alzflorida.org/)