Viewers: Greece, Gold Rush, Mikveh Israel, Bronx, and more!

Viewer responses are exceeding all expectations! It’s great to see folks engaging with World’s Greatest Cemeteries. We’re receiving recommendations for places near and dear to people’s hearts. Our first season was cut in half because of Covid travel restrictions. So now we’re planning Season 2.

About three years ago, I developed a list of world-famous cemeteries and burial facilities on all major continents. That list had about 13 places on it. But since the series debut last month, you viewers have already recommended about THREE times that number.

People are also sharing heartfelt stories about their family experiences with cemeteries. Here are two recent comments:

“My parents were older when I was born so I have always been deathly afraid of death and funerals and cemeteries. The first program on Highgate was just so soothing to watch. Since then I have watched a few more episodes as they are shown. Last week, I was driving by Oak Hill, a very large and old cemetery... Instead of just looking through the gates as I drove past I decided to check it out and do my daily walking there! I would never have thought in a million years…that I would feel such positive and pleasant feelings. So thank you from the bottom of my heart for your work on this series!!!”

“My favorite historic cemetery is in Auburn, CA (40 miles east of Sacramento) an old Mother Lode town settled in the 1850's… The stones date back to the Gold Rush era... One day, I found a nice large stone with (a familiar name) on it. I contacted my mother, a fine amateur genealogist, and she confirmed he was an ancestor on her side. What a fine coincidence to find an ancestor of note some l,500 miles from my home town in Nebraska.”

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We’re trying to put most of these viewer notes on our comments page. Please check it out when you get a chance, and please go to our contact page to send me YOUR comments about the show, your cemetery stories, and suggestions for places to visit.

‘til next time…

VIEWERS RECOMMEND: BERMUDA, ANTIETAM, BRONX, ETC!

Host/Producer Roberto Mighty at memorial to “Toto” at Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Photo by Art Freeman ©2021 Celestial Media LLC

Viewer response has been overwhelming! Thank you, thank you, thank you for the lovely, warm, thoughtful comments we’re getting every day. Please keep ‘em coming!

This week, viewers are recommending fascinating places, including a Pirate cemetery in Bermuda; a National Historic Landmark and a colonial Jewish cemetery in Philadelphia; a cemetery for enslaved Blacks in rural New York; and more.

This week, many USA stations are airing episode #3: Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn; and episode #4: Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles.

Welcome to KLRN/San Antonio, which has scheduled World’s Greatest Cemeteries for Mondays at 1pm and 1:30pm on their KLRN World channel, starting October 25th. See a list of updated stations on this page.

Ireland, Patagonia, Buenos Aires, Philadelphia

Please know how much it means when you send comments (heart emoji). This series has been 3 years in the making. Production during the pandemic was very, very challenging. We had no idea what the response would be. Your letters are our best reward, plus they really help with stations and underwriters. Thanks ever so much - Roberto

New Stations

Please join me in welcoming new stations since last week! Please check our Stations page for updated schedules:

Atlanta: GPB

Portland: OPB

Cincinnati: CET

Viewer Recommendations

More and more viewers are recommending their favorite cemeteries for Season 2. What’s YOUR favorite cemetery and why?

• A year ago, Sean B. recommended Spring Grove Cemetery & Arboretum in Cincinnati, OH. It turned out to be Episode #5 of our premier season. Thanks Sean!

• Dermot M. recommends Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin, Ireland

• Thomas K. recommends Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia, PA

• Wayne R. recommends La Recoleta Cemetery in Buenos Aires, Argentina

• Cheryl C. recommends Lexington Cemetery in Lexington, KY

• Gerardo J. recommends Punta Arenas Cemetery in Patagonia, SA

• Alex D. recommends Hope Cemetery in Barre, VT

• Ayanna S. recommends Randolph Cemetery in Columbia, SC

• Jeremy W. recommends Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis, IN

• Kat E. recommends Chapel of the Chimes in Oakland, CA

• Patrice R. recommends St. Bonaventure in Savannah, GA, Lakeside Cemetery in Cleveland, OH and Greenlawn Cemetery in Columbus, OH.

Educator’s Corner

Are you an educator who would like to use “World’s Greatest Cemeteries” in a classroom setting? If so, please reach out on our contact page to discuss. As a former Professor myself (Boston University, Emerson College, American Graphics Institute), it warms my heart to think of the series being used in this way. Here’s a note that brought this use to my attention:

Just wanted to congratulate you again on the “Great Cemeteries”. Just watched Mt. Auburn and Highgate and I am looking forward to the rest— I think Greenwood is up next. Anyway the series is fabulous. You should be very proud! p.s. the series is a natural for college classes on the 19th century city. Are people using it that way? - Philip Kasinitz, Presidential Professor of Sociology at the City University of New York, Graduate Center

Looking forward to hearing from you. Thanks again. Cheers, Roberto

Fan Mail - New Stations - Season 2!

New Stations

Thrilled to announce new stations since last week! Please check out our Stations page for available schedules:

Chicago: WTTW

Minneapolis: Pioneer PBS (KWCM)

Los Angeles: PBS SoCal

Fan Mail!

Thank you for your letters! What a pleasant surprise. Wonderful to hear that folks across the country are enjoying World’s Greatest Cemeteries. After three years in development, I love hearing from you. A few excerpts, edited for length.

Season 2 Filming Begun

Don’t forget to send me your cemetery recommendations (anywhere in the world), since we’ve already begun filming for Season 2!

This weekend we filmed in the glorious leaves of Autumn at historic Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord, MA, where American literary giants Louisa May Alcott (Little Women); Henry David Thoreau (Walden) and Ralph Waldo Emerson (a leader of the Transcendentalist movement) are interred, plus a visit to nearby Old Hill Cemetery, where early African-American formerly enslaved man/homeowner John Jack is interred. His stirring epitaph made us misty-eyed. Concord and Lexington are full of revolutionary war historic sites and new Native American and African-American tours. The area makes for a terrific day trip. Thanks to expert tour guide Amy Cole for a delightful day!

Season 1 Episode 2: Highgate Cemetery, London, UK

This week, many public tv stations around the country are broadcasting our London episode. Highgate is a spectacular example of England’s Victorian-era “Magnificent Seven” burial grounds. More here.

Thanks for watching and I really appreciate your leaving comments on this page or via our contact page. Your comments also help with the news media, stations and future underwriters. Cheers! Roberto

Welcome to the Show!

Welcome to World’s Greatest Cemeteries! This is blog post #001. The series has been my labor of love for three years, and it’s exciting to see it come to life (Fall, 2021) on nationwide public television. The best part is hearing comments from viewers like you, so please do me the honor of leaving a comment below. If you leave a note, kindly mention what public TV station you’re watching the show on.

As I write this, Season 1, Episode 1 is just starting to be seen across America. The responses so far are overwhelming! Seems like there are plenty of folks who want to know more about outstanding burial grounds around the world, and are keen to see a very inclusive take on history, as well.

By the way, due to Covid-19 (see next paragraph), several places and stories I’d planned on visiting were closed. This had a big effect on the diversity of our first season. But I’m excited about presenting more diverse stories of the dead for Season 2. By the way, if you have any suggestions for cemeteries and stories, please let me know.

Production for Season 1 faced many challenges because of the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic. Many destinations I’d planned on filming were closed to travel, including places in the USA, other parts of North America, Europe, South America, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, South Asia, Eurasia, the Pacific, etc. Plenty more places to visit as travel opens back up, so…stay tuned!

Looking forward to hearing from you. Thanks so much. Cheers, Roberto