Send us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email.

Dominating the small Buck family cemetery in Bucksport, Maine is a tall granite obelisk honoring Colonel Jonathan Buck, founder of the town in 1762. On its pedestal is a strange, foot-shaped outline that has drawn the curious for over 130 years. Is it a supernatural curse, or simply a flaw in the granite that the legend was built to fit?

In 1898, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that according to local legend, it was left there by a woman he condemned as a witch, who swore with her dying breath that her footprint would mark his stone forever.

Of course, Jennie and Dianne dig into Colonel Buck's Ordinary Extraordinary story from his birth in 1719, his service as colonel in Maine's 5th militia during the American Revolution, and the 1852 erection of the obelisk by his great-grandchildren, 57 years after his death.

Need an Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery Podcast tee, hoodie or mug? Find all our taphophile-fun merch here: https://oecemetery.etsy.com

Family Tales: A free printable is now available! Gather 'round the table and dig into your roots! This interactive family history game is perfect for holidays, reunions, or just because. Ask, listen, and laugh your way through generations of stories and secrets. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UT_R56qEwNTIxIBrTy8KFyVmGnFOe7g8/view?usp=sharing

Resources used to research this episode include the following historical newspaper articles, as well as various additional articles from Newspapers.com and documents from Ancestry.com.

"The Witch's Curse and the Stone Foot." Philadelphia Inquirer [Philadelphia ], p. 26.

Burnham, Emily. "The real story of Bucksport namesake Jonathan Buck has nothing to do with a witch’s curse ." https://www.bangordailynews.com/. 16 July 2019. www.bangordailynews.com/2019/07/16/news/the-real-story-of-bucksport-namesake-jonathan-buck-has-nothing-to-do-with-a-witchs-curse/. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

"The mystery of the Johnathan Buck monument: was it really cursed by a witch? ." https://enchantednewengland.com/. 25 Mar. 2023. enchantednewengland.com/stories-all/johnathan-buck-monument-cursed-by-witch. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

Support the show

Send us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email.

Jennie and Dianne are once more joined by Ryan Seidemann to explore death and remembrance through a cross-cultural lens. Drawing from questions posed by students in Ryan's fall course at Arizona State University, "Death and Dying in Cross-Cultural Perspective," the three discuss whether burial archaeology reveals past beliefs or modern projections, whether respect for the dead is universal, and how public memorials and preserved bodies shape collective memory.

They also examine the ethical line between honoring a historical leader and stripping them of personal rights after death, whether sites like the French Catacombs should remain tourist attractions, and whether equality in death is a new idea.

Need an Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery Podcast tee, hoodie or mug? Find all our taphophile-fun merch here: https://oecemetery.etsy.com

Family Tales: A free printable is now available! Gather 'round the table and dig into your roots! This interactive family history game is perfect for holidays, reunions, or just because. Ask, listen, and laugh your way through generations of stories and secrets. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UT_R56qEwNTIxIBrTy8KFyVmGnFOe7g8/view?usp=sharing

Support the show

Send us a text! We love hearing from listeners. If you'd like a response, please include your email.

Support the show