The Connection - Winter 2024

A NOTE FROM
THE PRESIDENT
"What can Taylor Swift possibly have in
common with Laurel Hill," I shot back to
my friend, who gently hinted I just might
want to do a little reading about the world's
current phenomenon. Not one to indulge
in superstar chatter, my curiosity was now
piqued. I began to explore what the fuss was
all about and discovered that the parallels
were striking.
Taylor Swift is the first woman to appear
twice on Time Magazine's Person of the
Year cover (in 2017 and 2023). Her story
is one of clear vision, ambition, and selfconfidence.
An extraordinary storyteller,
she understands that diversification is key
to success. Whether singing country or pop,
Swift's crossover appeal and consistently
positive sound is relatable to audiences of all
types.
As an active cemetery, historic burial
site, and 265-acre arboretum, Laurel Hill
similarly appeals to multiple audiences for
many reasons, not the least of which is our
remarkable staff. From our hard working and
compassionate grounds crew, which you can
read about on page 9, to our caring funeral
directors, we have an irrepressible will, like
Taylor Swift, to serve our families - and our
families have come to depend on our quality
customer service.
Just like Swift, Laurel Hill is a raconteur of
sorts, a massive library where monuments
hold the surprising stories of thousands
of lives made relevant in year-round tours
conducted by our talented volunteer
guides. One of most poignant stories of the
cemetery is that of hockey great Hobey
Baker, whose natural showmanship and
qualities of courage and determination at a
young age remind me of Taylor Swift's (page
3). And if the story of Duffy's Cut, on page
11, were to be set to music, it's Swift who
would write and sing it. The back-breaking
anguish of Irish Catholic immigrant railroad
workers, believed to have been murdered
due to a fear of cholera contagion, would
certainly resonate with the woman who
was a founding signatory of the Time's Up
movement against sexual harassment and
whose own social activism has called for
passage of the Equality Act.
Taylor Swift is also well known and highly
praised for her philanthropy, performing
at charity events, donating to a myriad of
causes, employing local businesses while
on tour, and even helping fans with medical
or academic expenses. The importance
of giving back isn't lost on us. Donors like
East Falls resident Margaret Sadler and
Antemortem Society supporters Matt Kraft
and Rebecca Froggatt, featured in these
pages, are essential to our success and are
setting the standard for others to follow.
While Laurel Hill likely won't make it to the
cover of Time Magazine, 2023 was awardwinning
for us, and for good reason. Our
culture of sustainability and stewardship
earned us the Climate Hero award from
Green Philly, while our horticulturist, Jo
Cosgrove was recognized with the Maki San
Miguel Paulson Sustainability Award from
Lower Merion Township for her contributions
to the township's sustainability plan. Our
Funeral Home Supervisor and Funeral
Director, Patricia Quigley, was named
American Funeral Director Magazine's
Funeral Director of the Year, and I was
honored as a Person of the Year by Suburban
Life Magazine.
We are humbled by such recognition;
accomplishing such success is hard work.
But taking a page from Taylor Swift's script,
at Laurel Hill we're relentless in our drive and
our capacity for achieving the seemingly
impossible. And me? Well, you can now count
me among the Swifties.
Nancy A. Goldenberg, Hon. ASLA
PRESIDENT & CEO, LAUREL HILL

HONORING
IRISH IMMIGRANTS
When railroad contractor Philip Duffy hired 57 manual laborers in 1832 to build a track extension through heavily
wooded areas near Malvern, it's likely he thought of them not so much as fellow human beings (even though like
them he was an Irish Catholic immigrant) but as easily expendable labor. After all, "there was a lot of resentment
towards the presence of the Irish in the community," explains William Watson, a history professor at lmmaculata
University, which is located near the site. "People thought they were undermining the lowest levels of the economic
system by taking away jobs."
Further, the Irish migrants had arrived in the midst of a cholera epidemic, and many wrongly blamed them for
bringing the disease to America. "We know this particular outbreak started in Canada and made its way into the
Hudson Valley and New York City before hitting Philadelphia," Watson says. Sadly, when all 57 died shortly after their
work began, they were buried in an unmarked mass grave, and it was presumed that the immigrants had indeed
fallen prey to the disease.
And the thinking stayed that way for more than 150 years - until 1990 when Watson and his twin brother Frank, a
reverend and archivist, discovered some papers in a file. They had been left behind by their grandfather, Joseph
Tripican, who had served as secretary to Martin Clement, an assistant supervisor (and later president) of the
Pennsylvania Railroad.
It was Clement, says Watson, who first became obsessed with the story of a colony of workers who had died all
at once. He began pouring through every scrap of paper he could get his hands on in an attempt to find the mass
grave. In 1909, he found what he thought must be the spot and erected a stone monument. In the 1960s, Tripican
grabbed some of these materials before the railroad's archives were auctioned off.
Thanks to their research, along with that of several other instructors at lmmaculata, many now believe that some
of the migrants - including two women - may have been murdered. They dubbed their effort the Duffy's Cut
Project and began an excavation in 2004; five years later the first human bones were unearthed from the site. The
remains showed signs of blunt force trauma, according to bone expert and University of Pennsylvania Physical
Anthropologist, Janet Monge.
In March 2012, the skeletal remains of five people were reburied at Laurel Hill West with the Irish ambassador to the
United States in attendance. Every year since then, the Duffy's Cut Project has led a ceremony to honor and
explore this history. This year, the event will be held at 2 p.m. on March 3.

Laurel Hill West & Laurel Hill Funeral Home
215 Belmont Avenue • Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004
Laurel Hill East & Friends of Laurel Hill
3822 Ridge Avenue • Philadelphia, PA 19132