Skull of Civil War Soldier to be Auctioned

[L Verge]

I received my copy of Foods to Die For yesterday and would highly recommend it to those of you who are still young enough to be interested in cooking and new recipes.

The story of how the people of Lynchburg banded together to restore this old cemetery (dates to 1806) after taking it back from the gangs and the druggies is remarkable. Not only did they clean it up and repair tombstones, they have created a 26-acre park with four historic buildings imported to the setting to preserve history -- a Pest House, formerly a doctor's office on the plantation of Dr. John Jay Terrell who saved the lives of many wounded soldiers brought to Lynchburg during the Civil War; an 1898 railroad station that interprets the city's close ties to the transportation industry; a Hearse House and Caretaker's Museum complete with a wonderful, Victorian hearse; and a popular Billy Goat House designed for later volunteers - seven pet goats who help maintain the grounds by chomping away at vegetation that has covered old walls and early portions of the graveyard. There is a side benefit to the goats also; their manure is bagged and sold as fertilizer and is touted for its ability to repel deer!

In addition to that work, the cemetery committee has added ponds, an adjacent playground, an area on African-American burial customs (I want to know the significance of a "bottle tree..."), and the Southern Memorial Association has been instrumental in preserving and maintaining over 2200 Confederate graves. They also specialize in plantings of antique varieties of daffodils, shrubs, roses, and other plants of the Victorian period. Costumed interpreters present special events throughout the year also. If it weren't for those confounded hills in Lynchburg, it would be enough temptation to make me want to move there.

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I forgot to mention some history tied to the Pest House that I found interesting. Dr. Terrell was one of the first doctors to understand (or suspect) the need for cleanliness in medical treatments. One of the foremost displays in the Pest House is related to plain old soap!

The walls are painted black because it was thought that it contributed to the restful and curative atmosphere of the patients. There is sand on the floor to absorb the "little extras" and odors related to healing the sick. I found it interesting also that the doctor kept a barrel of sauerkraut on hand because he viewed it as good nutrition and healthful to the diet of the sick. Eva had just given some of us a lesson on the benefits of fresh sauerkraut in a series of emails.

If the history isn't enough to get you interested in this cookbook, then the recipe for Lazarus Applejack should do the trick. Guaranteed to raise the dead, but also called Old Gravediggers Comfort - I guess to revive the men who had to dig those graves by hand. It takes two years of fermentation in wooden casks to get it ready, so you better start now.