On Friday April 17th I took a trip downtown to visit Elmwood Cemetery which is located off of Jefferson Ave just a few short miles from the heart of downtown Detroit. I spent roughly six hours there. Arriving around 9am and leaving a little after 3pm. I had a very successful day there. That cemetery is one of my personal favorites not only because of the various historical people buried there but also because of the landscape with the rolling hills, the pond, and creek make it an ideal place for artists to create paintings, or drawings, joggers to do laps around the cemetery, among other things. Some of the people I found or re-found in some cases were Bernard Stroh who I took the liberty and shared a beer with, Hiram Walker who was the creator of Canadian Club Whiskey, Emma S. Berry who was the secretary-treasurer of the Confederacy under Confederate President Jefferson Davis, a whole list of Civil War Generals, a few Civil War Medal of Honor recipients, etc.
Earlier in the week before going to Elmwood cemetery I went over to Woodlawn cemetery as well. I tracked down the grave sites of several Motown musicians, civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks, several business magnates who helped jump-start various industries in Michigan. Over all I think I had a more enjoyable time at Elmwood downtown. The history of that cemetery and the historical figures alone is the reason I enjoy going back.
In other news I’m in the process of editing and uploading the video footage I’ve shot to You Tube. I just got done with editing the Mt. Olivet Cemetery Detroit videos which I’ve uploaded to You Tube. Next I’ll be working on the Woodlawn Cemetery video series, and the Elmwood Cemetery video series. For those of you who are interested my You Tube page can be viewed by clicking here
