Savannah Stories

What is it?

Here are three hints attributed to this object in folklore:

     Saved by the bell

     Dead ringer

     Grave yard shift.

Note the bell to left of the monument in Bonaventure Cemetery

Give up? It is a grave bell. A string was tied to the supposedly deceased's finger down in the grave. If he/she was not really dead they could ring the bell and be saved by the bell. But, of course, someone had to be there to hear the bell. Hence, the graveyard shift. Then, if the recently deceased, but now resurrected, person was recognized walking down the street, well, what we have is a dead ringer. Great story even if it probably isn't true.

Up until the late Nineteenth Century it wasn't easy to know when a person was dead. They held a mirror under the nose to look for tell-tale vapors. Not the best indicator.  There were numerous documented cases of premature burial in the 18th and 19th Centuries.   And Edgar Allen Poe certainly didn't help things with his story, "The Cask of Amontillado." The fear of being buried alive was very real. Safety coffins were designed, patented and they sold. Back in "the day," lead piping, lead water cisterns, pewter cups and dishes with high lead contents were very common. The first "artificial sweetener" was lead powder mixed with vinegar and poured into sour wine. One of the symptoms of severe lead poisoning is deep coma not always ending in death.

One reason that wakes lasted three, four and even five days was to be as certain as possible that the dead person was, in fact, dead.  George Washington insisted that his servants observe him for two days before burying him to be sure he was dead.  And someone had to sit with the deceased in the parlor to observe if there was even a twitch -- and to keep the flies away.  In the 18th and 19th Century, houses of the affluent had two parlors and a removable door in between. When someone died he was layed out on the door in one of the parlors while the mourners gathered for the wake in the other. Embalming in America became prevalent during and after the Civil War and arsenic was the favored medium. Formaldehyde was first used in Germany in 1867.  The term "living room" was not coined until the late 19th early 20th century.  Make of that what you will.

Isn't it amazing what you can learn on a Cemetery Tour? Much more to come.

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A more or less typical Parkers

Parker's is a chain of gas stations/convenience stores in South Carolina and Georgia. They promise you "a premium shopping experience in a safe, friendly atmosphere." I suppose you could say they are like 7/11 with better lighting and a lower instance of armed robberies.  There is a Parker's on Drayton Street right in the middle of the Historic District of Savannah. Architecturally it has a little more character than your usual convenience store. And people still pull up to get gas. But once you open the door.......

The Drayton Street Parker's in Savannah

you are in one of, if not the best, gourmet markets in Savannah. Fresh, hot Southern food, salads, cheeses from everywhere. A person could easily live out of Parker's.  Our experience of the only Whole Foods in Savannah was most disappointing. Parker's puts them to shame.

Fran and I bought lunch: fried chicken, chicken tenders, fried okra, mac and cheese, seasoned greens and, of course, a Dr. Pepper. Then we walked over to Chippewa Square and had lunch under the Live Oaks. Save that if could have been hotter, it was pretty good and great value.

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Little Gracie Watson in Bonaventure Cemetery (note golf ball)

This is little Gracie Watson as depicted by John Walz, sculptor. She is wearing her new Easter dress and her new Easter boots. She died two days before Easter in 1889 at the age of six. You can read the memorial below. The Pulaski Hotel on Johnson Square across from City Hall and but a block away from the Cotton Exchange was both luxurious and very busy with business travelers.

She was a favorite of all Savannah. Her wake lasted five days and some 40,000 people attended her funeral. After her burial, her parents returned to New England leaving Gracie all alone in Bonaventure Cemetery. But not for long.

Note the teddy bear and the gray mound are the ashes of a family pet

Soon after Gracie's burial, people started leaving toys and trinkets at her grave. To this very day, 125 years later, entire Savannah families drive out to Bonaventure Cemetery, the kids get out of the car and place their toys through the fence of Gracie's grave. (There wasn't a fence until vandals....)

This is not litter. 

Gracie is reportedly one of the most seen ghosts in Savannah.

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You probably have used them. I know I have. They are cheap borders for flower beds, around trees, along walks.

Clay edgers from Home Depot

Edger with the Nine Square Mark

Look familiar?

These edgers go back to the Ante-Bellum South where they were manufactured by slaves on the plantations during slack time. The slaves dug the clay, stomped it into molds, imprinted an identifying mark and then fired the edgers. The plantation owners sold the edgers as grave borders to the multitude who could not afford granite or marble.

The nine square pattern on these edgers is particularly interesting as the nine square was the sign of a safe house for run-away slaves. Before the Civil War, quilters would make quilts with the nine square pattern and hang them on the clothes line.

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Hundreds of millions of people know this place

How about now?

Sorry, there never was a bench there. Hollywood brought one, a fiberglass one at that, and when the movie wrapped, they took it back to Holllywood. That really pissed the Savannahians off. The Mayor made Hollywood give it back. And now it is in the Savannah History Museum.

Forrest Gump's Bench

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As we so often say: "You can't make this s**t up!"