Myths, Memories and Music

On October 2, 1925, the Church Hill section of Richmond, Virginia suffered a great tragedy when a train tunnel caved in at the exact moment a train happened to be in the tunnel.  Several people lost their lives.  

It wasn’t long after the cave-in that a story began circulating describing a blood covered creature with jagged teeth.  Huge patches of decomposing skin were hanging off the creature’s legs and arms.  The tale went on to explain how at the time of the tragic cave-in the creature made his way towards the James River and then to Hollywood Cemetery where he was last seen entering the crypt that belonged to William Worthan Pool.

It only added to the story that Mr. Pool’s burial site did not share a birth date…only the year he died….1913. 

He never died?  Seriously?

Somehow the story morphed into a vampire story and the tale of the Richmond Vampire was widely told through the years.   Mr. Pool had lived a very ordinary life before passing away at the age of 80. He moved to Virginia in the 1860s and had clerked for many years in one of the tobacco factories in the area and had last been employed as bookkeeper.

So…..fact, or myth?

Researchers have determined that there was a creature of sorts that day at the cave-in, but he didn’t run off and hide in Mr. Pool’s crypt.   The creature’s name was Benjamin F. Mosby.  He worked for the railroad.   The day of the crash he was working as the fireman which meant he was shoveling coal into the steam tank of the train.   At the time of the accident Mosby was scalded and burned terribly….some sources state “beyond recognition”.   Mosby was taken to Grace Hospital in Richmond.  His burns were too severe though and he passed away the following day. 

So much for the Richmond Vampire, but the tale isn’t the only reason why Hollywood Cemetery is one of Richmond’s most popular tourist attractions.   There are many other reasons, too.

I attended a house concert last Saturday night.   A house concert is a musical performance presented in someone’s home or other private space.  The benefits of a house concert are many….including the fact that a certain intimacy exists between the performers and the audience during the performance.   Think about one of your favorite performers coming to your home and providing a concert for you and a few of your friends, and you get the idea.

I was fortunate enough to bask in the music of Jeff Pike, a personal friend of mine, and Hugo Duarte  as they brought their Frozen Gringo tour through Atlanta along with approximately 30 other people. 

There was lots of great music mixed in with great stories.  

The Frozen Gringos....Jeff Pike and Hugo Duarte....Marietta, Georgia

In fact, one of Hugo Duarte’s stories reminded me about the fascinating cemetery in Richmond, Virginia that overlooks the James River.  The place is so much more than the myth of the Richmond Vampire. It seems that Hugo was in the cemetery late one afternoon after closing time......and he ended up on the wrong side of the locked front gate.

Hollywood Cemetery was established in 1849 from land that had long been known as “Harvie’s Woods.”   The cemetery website states, “The land that is now Hollywood was inherited by  William Byrd, III and was part of his graceful estate, Belvidere, on what is  now Oregon Hill.  After Byrd wasted his fortune on foolish schemes [sounds like a good story there] his land passed through Bushrod Washington and Lighthorse Harry Lee to Colonel John Harvie.”

Hollywood Cemetery with the James River in the background

The name….”Hollywood”…came from the number of holly trees scattered about the property. 

There are so many people buried at Hollywood…important people…historical figures. such as President James Monroe and President John Tyler as well as the only President of the Confederate States of America….Jefferson Davis.

….and then there ARE the 25 Confederate generals resting at Hollywood along with 18,000 Confederate soldiers (see this link).

There are many stories regarding all sorts of sightings of spirts at the cemetery along with the eerie feeling many advise they get while on the property.    

Hollywood Cemetery....it does seem a little spooky.

Hugo Duarte is no different.  His song….Hollywood…recounts his own visit to the property....after regular hours.    In 2007, he sang the song for General Pickett’s birthday along with Eddie Pickett.

I love the words…..

Hey, boys this is Hollywood.  It ain’t home, but It’s home for good.  We’d walk away from here if we could…never come back again.

And later in the song…..

Then General Pickett strode right up to me and in a troubled voice he said, “Ya’ll ain’t learned a damn thing from history….”

Take a listen for yourself…..

I’d have to agree with General Pickett.   We haven't learned anything...yet.

You can see future Frozen Gringo tour dates here.  If you are close by one of their shows I strong urge you to attend. :)

MLK: A U2 Connection...Yes, U2....the Band

Isn’t this a great portrait of Dr King?

My friend, Tina Steele Lindsey created it to honor Dr. King for his birthday. You can view her artwork at her blog found here and website here.

I had been pondering all day yesterday regarding what I might post today for Dr. King’s birthday, and then I came across Tina’s portrait on Facebook as it rolled across my wall last night and some of the comments left there inspired me a bit.

The U2 song, (Pride) in the Name of Love was mentioned. Here are the lyrics:

One man come in the name of love
One man come and go
One come he to justify
One man to overthrow
In the name of love
What more in the name of love
In the name of love
What more in the name of love

One man caught on a barbed wire fence
One man he resist
One man washed on an empty beach.
One man betrayed with a kiss

In the name of love
What more in the name of love
In the name of love
What more in the name of love
(nobody like you...)

Early morning, April 4
Shot rings out in the Memphis sky
Free at last, they took your life
They could not take your pride

In the name of love
What more in the name of love
In the name of love
What more in the name of love
In the name of love
What more in the name of love...

Notice the song discusses two men…..Dr. King is one of them.

Originally, the intention behind the song was to make a few points regarding President Ronald Reagan and his pride regarding the military might of the United States.

However, the lead singer for U2, Bono, changed the intended focus for the song after reading Let the Trumpet Sound: A Life of Martin Luther King, Jr. by Stephen B. Oates as well as a biography of Malcom X.

Bono became fascinated by the opposite methods of fighting for civil rights…..the non-violent and violent….which is very clear from the lyrics.

One little correction needs to made with the song lyrics, however. The line “Early morning, April 4” referring to Dr. King’s death is incorrect since he was assassinated in the evening. It would be interesting to allow students to review the accounts of Dr. King’s death and then have them peruse the song lyrics to discover the error. Bono often corrects the lyrics when he sings the song live.

Unfortunately, critics panned all of the lyrics. Kurt Loder of Rolling Stone said, “’Pride’ gets over on the strength of its resounding beat and big, droning bass line not on the nobility of its lyrics which are unremarkable.”

In fact, even Bono stated…..”It’s just a load of vowel sounds ganging up on a great man.”

Well, that’s their opinions. I think the song is worthy to include with any lesson or unit of study regarding Dr. King….especially when we remember his birthday.

Here is a great video I found online at YouTube which combines actually footage and images of Dr. King along with other Civil Rights Era images with the U2 song as the background music:



Happy Birthday, Dr. King!

And thanks again to my friend, Tina for her wonderful portrait.

Here are two past articles I’ve written concerning Dr. King you might be interested in:

Get Off the Beaten Path: MLK's India Connection

MLK: It Should Be About How He Lived

Now Is the Time for Your Tears

In a few days a man with African American roots will become the next president of the United States….a very historic event.

However, a few short (at least to me) forty-six years ago the life of a black woman in Charles County, Maryland was worth a fine of $500 and six months in jail.

That's it.

The woman was Hattie Carroll and her fate was sealed the night of February 9, 1963, when she reported for work at the Emerson Hotel in Baltimore, Maryland.

During her work shift a young white tobacco farmer was attending the white-tie Spinsters’ Ball at the hotel. Apparently Ms. Carroll didn’t deliver Mr. Zantzinger’s drink fast enough , and he ended up hitting her with his cane. The cane ended up being nothing but a 25-cent wooden toy, but others who were hit with the cane that evening testified the blows were severe. Ms. Carroll was hit on the head and shoulders as Mr. Zantzinger hurled racial epithets I won’t repeat here.

From a Time magazine article:

“I’d been smacking- tapping- waitresses on the tail, and they didn’t say anything. I was just playing,” Zantzinger told the jury in Hagerstown, where the case was tried.

“I had no other purpose than to have a good time,” Zantzinger testified. “The last thing I intended was to harm or injure anyone. I never even thought about it.”

An article in the same Time magazine from February 22, 1963 states that not long after Ms. Carroll was hit she told co-workers, “I feel deathly ill, that man has upset me so.” She collapsed and was hospitalized. Eight hours after the assault the mother of eleven was dead. Though the autopsy did indicate she had hardened arteries, an enlarged heart, and high blood pressure, the report gave brain hemorrhage as the cause of death.

Mr. Zantzinger testified he remembered nothing, but admitted he had been extremely drunk. Initially he was charged with murder, but the charges were reduced to manslaughter and assault. The Time article goes on to state that the reason for the reduction in the charges were based on the idea that it was Ms. Carroll’s stress reaction to Mr. Zantzinger’s verbal and physical abuse that led to the intracranial bleeding, rather than the blunt-force trauma from the blow ….a blow that did not leave a mark.

In a second Time magazine article, titled Deferred Sentence, it was reported Mr. Zantzinger received a sentence of six months, a fine of $125 for the assault on the other hotel employees and and a $500 fine for the death of Ms. Carroll. The article goes on to state that the start of Mr. Zantzinger’s prison sentence was deferred giving him time to harvest his tobacco crop.

During the 1960s it was articles like the Time articles I’ve referred to here as well as the film clips shown on the nightly news that got the word out regarding the continued inequality that existed in the South.

Popular music also had bearing on getting the word out.

A young 20-something Bob Dylan was greatly moved by the death of Hattie Carroll. So much so that sitting in a New York City coffee shop he penned the following words:

William Zantzinger killed poor Hattie Carroll
With a cane that he twirled around his diamond ring finger
At a Baltimore hotel society gath'rin'.
And the cops were called in and his weapon took from him
As they rode him in custody down to the station
And booked William Zanzinger for first-degree murder.
But you who philosophize disgrace and criticize all fears,T
ake the rag away from your face.
Now ain't the time for your tears.

William Zanzinger, who at twenty-four years
Owns a tobacco farm of six hundred acres
With rich wealthy parents who provide and protect him
And high office relations in the politics of Maryland,
Reacted to his deed with a shrug of his shoulders
And swear words and sneering, and his tongue it was snarling,
In a matter of minutes on bail was out walking.
But you who philosophize disgrace and criticize all fears,
Take the rag away from your face.
Now ain't the time for your tears.

Hattie Carroll was a maid of the kitchen.
She was fifty-one years old and gave birth to ten children
Who carried the dishes and took out the garbage
And never sat once at the head of the table
And didn't even talk to the people at the table
Who just cleaned up all the food from the table
And emptied the ashtrays on a whole other level,
Got killed by a blow, lay slain by a cane
That sailed through the air and came down through the room,
Doomed and determined to destroy all the gentle.
And she never done nothing to William Zanzinger.
But you who philosophize disgrace and criticize all fears,
Take the rag away from your face.
Now ain't the time for your tears.

In the courtroom of honor, the judge pounded his gavel
To show that all's equal and that the courts are on the level
And that the strings in the books ain't pulled and persuaded
And that even the nobles get properly handled
Once that the cops have chased after and caught 'em
And that the ladder of law has no top and no bottom,
Stared at the person who killed for no reason
Who just happened to be feelin' that way without warnin'.
And he spoke through his cloak, most deep and distinguished,
And handed out strongly, for penalty and repentance,
William Zanzinger with a six-month sentence.
Oh, but you who philosophize disgrace and criticize all fears,
Bury the rag deep in your face
For now's the time for your tears.

Copyright © 1964; renewed 1992 Special Rider Music

The song was released on Dylan’s These Times They Are A-Changin’, and soon after he wrote the song he sang it live on the Steve Allen Show. Here is a clip of the Steve Allen appearance:



I became aware of this story from the era of Civil Rights due to this article I caught over the weekend.

Seems Mr. Zantzinger passed away on January 3rd.

I think it would interesting to provide the lyrics for students and allow them to go on their own fact-finding mission regarding unraveling the story Bob Dylan presents and then arguing the merits of Mr. Zantzinger’s case.