Avenue of American Flags Created for Memorial Day Service at Calvary Cemetery

May 14th, 2013

American Flags to line entrance way at Calvary Cemetery Dayton

Visitors to Calvary Cemetery in Dayton, Ohio on Sunday, May 26 will be greeted by an avenue of American flags placed to honor the more than 25,000 military veterans interred here as well as all the living veterans of the armed services. Individual flags and stands are available in front of the cemetery office for placement on graves.

Memorial Day Mass will be celebrated Sunday, May 26 at noon in the plaza in front of St Henry Memorial Chapel at the center of the cemetery grounds. Father Scott Wright of Incarnation parish will preside.

For more information contact Rick Meade, Superintendent, at 937-293-1221.

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Flood Story: The Fenced Colony and the Barney-Smith Car Company

April 4th, 2013 
 

 

One of the least talked about stories of the Great 1913 Flood involves the small community in Old North Dayton called The Kossuth Colony. Organized by Jacob Moskowitz, a Pittsburgh based developer, the colony was the third he established to find, recruit, house and sustain a group of skilled workers for a specific company. Moskowitz had put together a similar project for Malleable Iron Works on the West side of Dayton in the late 1890′s. In 1906, in a four block area, he built 40 doubles with five rooms to a side to bring 200 Hungarian welders and steel workers to work at Barney and Smith Train Car Company. Surrounded by a 12 foot tall wooden fence, the all inclusive colony had its own bank, grocery and general store, travel agency for booking passges to and from the old country, and Dayton’s largest tavern for the men to enjoy after work. The colony had its own brass “script” coins and credit given by the company was how the men were paid for their work. Church services for the mostly Roman Catholic families were first held in one of the homes with visiting priests from Holy Name and Holy Rosary Church until the colony founded St Stephens Church. Doctors, lawyers and other professionals on Moskowitzs’ approved list would come into the colony as needed. There were rules against shopping outside the colony and those who violated them lost their jobs and their homes. The conditions within the colony were better than what the people had back in their homeland, so they were mostly content. When the Flood of 1913 came, the men on first shift for Tuesday morning had ,as usual, walked to work at the factory about a mile away. It soon became clear that the Barney and Smith would be completely devastated by the raging waters. Many of the men still in the colony tore down the wooden fence and quickly built rafts to rescue their fellow workers and many others stranded by the flood. The fence was never rebuilt and Barney and Smith Car Company never recovered from their losses.

BoundForGlory_Chap13

Old-North-Dayton-Dayton-Ohio

 

 

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Flood Story: Librarian Helps Save Books; Chronicles Flood Experience

March 30th, 2013

Minnie Althoff, Librarian who saved books in the 1913 Flood

Calvary Board of Trustees member Lynn Alejandrino knew her great aunt Minnie was a special person growing up. “She always read to us and gave us a love of books,” remembers Lynn. It wasn’t until Lynn was an adult that she realized Minnie had not only lived through The Great Flood of 1913, but that her aunt had written about her experience. “She was a very modest person and so her notes describe what happened in an understated way. But truly, she and several others worked heroically to save the children’s literature collection and the library card catalog from the flood waters.”

So here is a picture of Minnie Althoff and a copy of her notes, which were neatly typewritten and saved for reading on significant anniversaries of the flood. Mary McCarty featured Minnie’s first hand account in her special series about the flood in the Dayton Daily News.

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Flood Story: Women and Children First!

March 26th, 2013

In an E-mail from Gary Wilson:

“I thought I would share with you a few comments regarding, Ann (Grogan) Traynor, Patrick Traynor’s (Civil War veteran) wife and my Great-Grandmother. After Patrick passed away in 1895, Ann (Grogan) Traynor lived with family members in Dayton until she passed away in 1915. This included my mother, Mary Cecilia (Traynor) Wilson, her parents, my grandparents Mary Josephine (Fitzpatrick) and William Traynor, a brother and a sister. They lived in Dayton during the Flood and were rescued by boat.

I recall my mother sharing with us her recollection of the experience by saying:”

“So our dad (William) got everyone together and climbed the stairs to the second story. The water was rising and they were going to go up into the attic and try and break thru the roof. Grandmother, Ann (Grogan) Traynor, was too large and would not fit thru the opening, so dad decided that it would be better to drown than be burned to death. So he lined everyone up at the window. I looked at piano keys and furniture floating by. My dad was just about to throw my brother out the window when a boat came by. It took only women and children so we left my father behind. For a long time, we never knew what happened to him. It seemed like months and months before we found each other.”
As told by: Mary C. (Traynor) Wilson
(1908 – 1997)

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Flood Commemoration Service Full of Songs and Sentiment

March 26th, 2013

The Great 1913 Flood of Dayton was only “great” in the old time use of the word, meaning, “huge.” The stories shared at the Calvary Cemetery commemoration service on March 24 were witness to that fact.

The somber side of remembering the victims and survivors of the natural disaster in prayer was coupled with remarks by Father Scott Wright reflecting this happening during Easter 100 years ago and we are thinking of it now during Holy Week. “The metaphor to our Lord’s Passion and Resurrection is clear; the hope of the city’s resurrrection in the hearts of all who suffered, especially for lost loved ones, was truly an act of God.”

 

 

“As we prayed the Lord’s Prayer and heard the Chaminade Julienne Choir sing “Oh God Our Help in Ages Past”, it made me think of those who were trapped in buildings and attics for several days,” said Lynn Alejandrino, “I have read personal accounts of those who were in the Flood and they must have said the Our Father and sung hymns to keep their faith that they would live through it.”

The CJ Choir, directed by Joe Whatley, also sang a requiem called “Burial of the Dead”. He consulted with Emmanuel Music Director Gary Geisel to find a funeral hymn from the time period. Calvary’s St Henry Memorial Chapel was used for funeral services for at least ten flood victims in 1913. The song was a fitting tribute to their souls.

Thanks to Julie Walling Photography for the coverage of the event. Her photos are posted here. Separate stories from the Flood will be posted in individual entries.

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Why Catholics Pray for the Dead

March 5th, 2013

A frequently asked question. Here’s an interesting explanation by Father David Dwyer of Busted Halo Ministeries:

The practice of praying for the dead is rooted first in Christian belief in the
everlasting life promised in Jesus’ teachings and foreshadowed by his disciple’s
experience that God had raised him from the dead. After death, even though
separated from our earthly body, we yet continue a personal existence. It is as
living persons that God invites us into a relationship whose life transcends
death.

Praying for the dead has further origins in our belief in the communion of
saints. Members of this community who are living often assist each other in
faith by prayers and other forms of spiritual support. Christians who have died
continue to be members of the communion of saints. We believe that we can assist
them by our prayers, and they can assist us by theirs.

Our prayers for the dead begin at the moment of death. Often family members will
gather in prayer around the bedside of the person who has died. The Order of
Christian Funerals includes a Vigil Service for the deceased, which can be held
in the home, in the church, or in a funeral home chapel, the funeral Mass and
the Rite of Committal (which generally takes place at the burial site). The
prayers express hope that God will free the person who has died from any burden
of sin and prepare a place for him or her in heaven. Death remains a mystery for
us–a great unknown. Yet Christian language evokes a hopeful imagination in the
presence of death, an assurance that our love, linked to Christ’s love, can help
bridge whatever barriers might keep those whom we love from fully enjoying the
presence of a loving and life-giving God.

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Victims and Survivors: Calvary Families Remember the Great 1913 Flood

March 2nd, 2013

Calvary Cemetery will hold a commemorative service on Sunday, March 24 from 2 until 4 PM for all flood victims and survivors with special emphasis on those buried here; Prayers and readings, music and songs by Chaminade-Julienne High School award winning choir

The Great 1913 Flood strecthed a mile on either side of the Miami River

, Father Scott Wright presiding; presentations by descendants and others with first hand accounts of the perils and and perishings of the natural disaster; stories of the triumph of the human spirit as heroic efforts are made to rescue others and the community joins together to rebuild an even better Dayton. This event is free and open to the public.

Among the highlights will be:

*Dayton Newspaper writer Mary McCarty and family members telling the story of near death and struggle of her greatgradparents and grandparents who lived on Franklin Street
*Lynn Alejandrino sharing the first hand account written by her Great Aunt Minnie Althoff, who with fellow librarians worked to save the children’s literature collection at the Dayton Public Library from destruction
*Local author and historian Ed Breen relating the story of his father and Aunt Mary Louise as very young children trapped in the Philips Hotel and making a amazing escape to the rooftop of another building as fire and on rushing currents threatened them;
*Members of the Hollencamp family displaying a private photograph collection displaying the damage done to their tailoring business located at Second and Market Street; artifacts realting to martial law; their four story building
a spot where many citizens were sheltered and rescued from as the flood waters reached their peak;
*Photos and memories from the Barney Smith Car Company and the Hungarian Colony, both of which were changed forever by the natural disaster
*Personal photographs and family memories collected by Tom Finch of odd things the flood did to his family’s home

For additional information call Lynn Alejandrino at (937) 434-3489.

CJ Music Group "Vega" and others will perform

Flood event flyer

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Calvary Cemetery Chapel GOES RED for Heart Month

February 8th, 2013

Calvary's Chapel GOES RED for Heart Month

Our chapel on the hill is dressed in red this month as Calvary Cemetery supports the American Heart Association’s observance of February as Heart Month. In special memory of all those who have passed away due to heart disease, as well as all the family members and other loved ones they have left behind, we offer this lighting as act of spiritual mercy. The chapel’s light also serves as a beacon of hope to the living that healthier living will lead to fewer deaths from these illnesses.

http://www.heart.org

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UD Sophomore Awarded 2013 God and Country Scholarship

February 7th, 2013

Rick Meade, Calvary Superintendent, Scholarship recipient Stephanie Greve and Board President Harry Finke at UD Flyer game presentation on February 9, 2013.

The Calvary Cemetery Association is pleased to announce Stephanie Greve as the recipient of the 2013 God and Country Scholarship. Greves is an Information Technology Specialist in her Ohio National Guard unit and plans to graduate from the University of Dayton with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with a major in Management Information Systems and Accounting in 2015.Greve maintains a grade point average of 3.47.

Greve has served in Ohio Army National Guard since February 2010. She is a Specialist(E-4).
She completed Basic Combat Training in August 2010 at Ft. Jackson, SC. Greve achieved an Honor Graduate Diploma at Advanced Individual Training Jun-Nov 2011 Ft. Gordon, GA. Greve has upheld leadership positions as
assistant Platoon Guide, Squad Leader, and called cadence for the formation as well as led the PT formation in exercise.She was elected out of 50 soldiers with top fitness level to race on a team of 5(4males/1female) in Warrior Challenge 2011.

As a Cultural Ambassador for the University of Dayton, Greve helps to familiarize international students with the US via email, video conferences, and in-person discussions recommending plans and helping them learn American traits as well as the English language.

Greve’s additional student activities include: Webmaster(IT Personal) for UDMKT (The Marketing Club);
Member of the Student Advisory Committee for honors students and was an Interviewer/Writer for HonorsLINK newsletter;Chancellor of Delta Sigma Pi(Co-Ed Professional Business Fraternity); Member on a team of 5 to represent UD for Deloitte FanTAXtic Regional Case Study Competition;

Ohio National Guard Information Technology Specialist Stephanie Greve is the 2013 God and Country Scholarship Recipient

UD Sophomore Stephanie Greve is the 2013 Recipient of the God and Country Scholarship Award

Volunteer at R.I.S.E. XII Forum (Redefining Investment Strategy Education)- the world’s largest student investment conference co-sponsored by the University of Dayton and the United Nations Global Compact

The Calvary Cemetery Association presents an annual God and Country scholarship to a University of Dayton undergraduate student who is or has served in the military or whose immediate family is or has served in the armed forces. Greves is the fourth student and the first female cadet to be honored.

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HomeWorld Show Continues February 8-10

January 30th, 2013

Denise Williams and Rick Meade greeted hundreds of HomwWorld Show goers. Copies of the Saying Goodbye documentary and Personal Reference File Planners were distributed.

Whio Radio Host Tommie Collins interviews Rick Meade at HomeWorld

Pick up your copy of the Saying Goodbye DVD and a personal reference file

Calvary Cemetery Association has a booth in the HomeWorld Show the first two weekends in February! Come visit us and pick up a free copy of the award winning documentary “Saying Goodbye” as well as a personal reference file and planner.

“We want to make the documentary available to as many people as possible,” says Board of Trustees Marketing Chair Lynn Alejandrino. “It shows important historical facts about Dayton and the landmark that Calvary Cemetery is for the area. It also explains why it is important to remember our family members when they are no longer with us.”

“We are also offering this easy to use personal reference file as a way for families to organize their documents and make their plans known to those who need to know when the time comes.” Lynn continues, “So often we help families who have no idea what their loved one would have wanted in their final arrangements. It is heartbreaking to see them struggle with these kind of decisions at the most difficult of times. Just taking the time to get things organized and stored all in one place is a tremendous gift to those who love you.”

Isn’t it odd for a cemetery to be participating in a home show,you might ask. “We are supporting our community,” says Cemetery Superintendent Rick Meade. “It is a good place to reach families who are taking care of their homes. These are the people we serve everyday in taking care of their deceased loved ones.”

The HomeWorld Show is held at the Airport Expo Center. Show hours are Friday, February 1 and 8, from 4 pm to 8 pm.;
Saturday, February 2 and 9, 10 am to 6 pm; and Sunday, February 3 and 10, 10 am to 6 pm.

For more information and/or a free copy of the “Saying Goodbye” dvd or the personal reference file planner, call 937-293-1221 or e-mail info@calvarycemeterydayton.org.

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