Cemetery Tours

In yesterday's post about the Lindbergh Baby, I mentioned the John Dillinger Museum. Another fond Hoosier memory was sparked in the hours that followed directly related to Dillinger, "Public Enemy No. 1."

In Indianapolis is Crown Hill Cemetery. It is a beautiful, green, and moderately hilly bit of earth where many of the most well-known Hoosiers of all ages are buried. I remember taking a number of bicycle tours as a child to the famous gravesites there. Ironically, one of the gravesites was John Dillinger. Also buried in Crown Hill are President Benjamin Harrison, and three Vice Presidents (Thomas A. Hendricks, 1885; Charles Fairbanks, 1905-1909; Thomas Marshall, 1913-1921). When I think of memorable statesmen, no one comes to mind like Thomas A. Hendricks. Maybe this is what Al Gore has to look forward to, a side note on some stooge's blog.

Crown Hill is also the final resting place of James Whitcomb Riley, the Hoosier Poet. The best known of Riley's characters is Little Orphant Annie, a name tucked away in the minds of many a person be they Hoosier or not. Surely all of my generation remembers the radio program that Ralphie listens to religiously in the classic Christmas movie, A Christmas Story. It's Little Orphan Annie! Here's a taste of the classic poem:

LITTLE ORPHANT ANNIE

Little Orphant Annie's come to our house to stay,
An' wash the cups an' saucers up, an' brush the crumbs away,
An' shoo the chickens off the porch, an' dust the hearth, an' sweep,
An' make the fire, an' bake the bread, an' earn her board-an'-keep;
An' all us other childern, when the supper-things is done,
We set around the kitchen fire an' has the mostest fun
A-list'nin' to the witch-tales 'at Annie tells about,
An' the Gobble-uns 'at gits you
Ef you
Don't
Watch
Out!

This is classic stuff. My grandmother used to tell me that when Riley died in 1916, all the school children of Indiana sent their pennies in to pay for his monument at Crown Hill. Again, I can't verify this, but it makes for a great story. Any one ever in Indianapolis should drop by the cemetery and pay their respects to Riley. Be sure to leave a penny.

Back to the bicycle tours at the cemetery. I remember that some guy was there on one of those giant wheeled bicycles you see in the turn of the century photos and at the circus. Something like this:

Evidently there are groups of folks with these big-ass bikes who tour with them today. It seems strange to me. But then again, most of those in my generation had those awesome plastic big-wheels. Mine was like the General Lee from the Dukes of Hazard. It was a sweet ride. I was the last in the neighborhood to learn to ride a real bike, but I was pretty damn cool.

If you're ever in Indy, check out the Hill. You won't regret it. Just don't ride a big-wheel.