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"For most of history, Anonymous was a woman." — Virginia Woolf

In this episode of the Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery, Dianne and Jennie follow a single name etched on a simple marble stone in the Pioneer section of Evergreen Cemetery in Colorado Springs - Lorenda Judd. She rests there alone. No husband, no children beside her. After Lorenda’s death, her family moved on, and the record of her life thinned to almost nothing. What we do know comes filtered through other people: a marriage certificate, a few lines mentioned through her youngest son, the bare facts of a woman who was born in New York in the early 1800s, migrated to Illinois, and later crossed into Colorado Territory as a wife and mother. We don’t have her letters, her opinions, or any account of how she felt about leaving home and building a life on the frontier.

This episode asks what’s lost when women’s stories are reduced to their relationships to the men in their lives, and why that loss matters. Lorenda’s missing narrative isn’t an anomaly; it’s the pattern. Throughout history, women’s lives slip out of the archive, and “ordinary” women become extraordinary precisely because we have to work to see them, and why preserving and amplifying their stories changes how we understand history itself.

Need an Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery Podcast tee, hoodie or mug? Find all our taphophile-fun much here: https://oecemetery.etsy.com

Family Tales: A free printable, is now available! Gather 'round the table and dig into your roots! This interactive family history game is perfect for holidays, reunions, or just because. Ask, listen, and laugh your way through generations of stories and secrets. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UT_R56qEwNTIxIBrTy8KFyVmGnFOe7g8/view?usp=sharing

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What dessert would you eat in a cemetery? This week, we're sharing some of your wild and wonderful social media responses to that very question, inspired by the authors of "To Die For A Cookbook of Gravestone Recipes" and "Haunted Virginia Cemeteries"! We're unwrapping a brand new episode that also features classic clips from our chats with Rosie Grant and Sharon Pajka about their fascinating journeys to writing these books. And as if that's not sweet enough, we're giving away copies of both books! Be sure to tune in for all the Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery fun!

To listen to the full episodes with Rosie and Sharon, follow these links: https://www.theordinaryextraordinarycemetery.com/episode-233-dishes-from-the-dearly-departed-with-rosie-grant/

https://www.theordinaryextraordinarycemetery.com/episode-243-haunted-history-exploring-virginias-cemeteries-with-sharon-pajka/

Need an Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery Podcast tee, hoodie or mug? Find all our taphophile-fun much here: https://oecemetery.etsy.com

Family Tales: A free printable, is now available! Gather 'round the table and dig into your roots! This interactive family history game is perfect for holidays, reunions, or just because. Ask, listen, and laugh your way through generations of stories and secrets. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UT_R56qEwNTIxIBrTy8KFyVmGnFOe7g8/view?usp=sharing

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Send us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email.

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All aboard! Join Jennie and Dianne this week as they "ride the rails" with the Pullman Porters, unsung heroes of American history! These men overcame unimaginable prejudice and racism; from being called "George" by passengers, regardless of their name, to working 400+ hours a month with little time off, their struggles were real. Yet, they persevered, forming the first all-Black labor union, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, and paving the way for the Civil Rights Movement. Their legacy extends far beyond the railroad, influencing leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. and shaping the course of American history.

Need an Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery Podcast tee, hoodie or mug? Find all our taphophile-fun much here: https://oecemetery.etsy.com

Family Tales: A free printable, is now available! Gather 'round the table and dig into your roots! This interactive family history game is perfect for holidays, reunions, or just because. Ask, listen, and laugh your way through generations of stories and secrets. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UT_R56qEwNTIxIBrTy8KFyVmGnFOe7g8/view?usp=sharing

*Images: Sleeping car, Pullman Porter portrait & Pullman Porter making the bed are in the public domain • Gates to The Haven of Rest Cemetery in Little Rock, Arkansas by Richard Theilig 3/2/2018 posted to findagrave.com • James William Warren Jr.grave by Mizzizzippy 10/24/2018 posted to findagrave.com • grave of Prince Albert Smith by Richard Theilig 4/23/2019 posted to findagrave.com

Resources used to research this episode include:

Dorsey-Burke, Ethelda. "Ordinary Men—Extraordinary History: A Proud Pullman Porter ." https://www.tacomaartmuseum.org/. 22 Dec. 2021. www.tacomaartmuseum.org/tamblog-proud-pullman-porter/ . Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.

Hutchinson , Brittany. "The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters ." https://www.chicagohistory.org/. 4 Sep. 2020. www.chicagohistory.org/brotherhood-sleeping-car-porters/. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.

Harris, Kathy Lynn. "Haven of Rest Cemetery ." https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/. 22 Oct. 2025. encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/haven-of-rest-cemetery-14603/. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.

"Cemetery Map." https://friendsofhavenofrestcemetery.com/. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.

Dover, Elicia. "Community Connections: Friends of Haven of Rest." https://katv.com/. 24 Feb. 2022. katv.com/community/community-connections/community-connections-friends-of-haven-of-rest. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.

, Museum Of The American Railroad . "The Pullman Porter ." https://www.historictrains.org/. 24 Apr. 2025. www.historictrains.org/collection/philippe-9z32w. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.

Demirel, Evin. "Cemetery holds 27 Pullman porter graves ." Editorial. Arkansas Democrat Gazette [Little Rock], 16 Aug. 2009, p. 17,22.

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Send us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email.

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This week on the Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery podcast Dianne and Jennie sit down with Ryan Seidemann for our first Death and Dying 101 episode of 2026. We discuss the Victorian morals of using ground up mummies for miracle cures, the burial practices of Neanderthals, the law regarding modern-day the grave robbing (specifically two very recent cases in the state of Pennsylvania), odor control in mausoleums and more. This is a conversation you don't want to miss!

Need an Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery Podcast tee, hoodie or mug? Find all our taphophile-fun much here: https://oecemetery.etsy.com

Family Tales: A free printable, is now available! Gather 'round the table and dig into your roots! This interactive family history game is perfect for holidays, reunions, or just because. Ask, listen, and laugh your way through generations of stories and secrets. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UT_R56qEwNTIxIBrTy8KFyVmGnFOe7g8/view?usp=sharing

Support the show