Bellefontaine Cemetery, Part Three

We were lucky enough to snag a private tour of Bellefontaine Cemetery with Jean Steck, vice president of customer relations. But first, let's start with our awesome mode of transportation, the electric car that is street legal and can go something like 40 mph. This sucker can really take some corners. Jean is a fantastic tour guide and her passion for Bellefontaine is infectious. I'm so excited to be able to give you more details about sites I wondered about in past posts, and hope that this series encourages you to utilize Bellefontaine as the park it was designed to be.



Remember Ko Kuei Chen and Amy Ling Chen, the famous Chinese doctors from my first post? Turns out they were buried at Bellefontaine because the husband wanted to be buried near Dr William Beaumont, who you may remember from my second post. I love it when it all comes together like that!



I never quite got around to my plan of covering the WHOLE walking tour, but here's one that would have been in the next installment. William Clark, of Lewis & Clark fame, has a huge marker (above) that faces the Mississippi River. Some thought it should face west, but then it wouldn't be facing the road so nicely.



Another point of interest from the walking tour is the plot of Brigadeier General Richard Mason and Major General Don Carlos Buell, buried side by side because they were both married to to the same lady, Margaret Hunter Mason Buell, who is buried between them.





A famous site I had not yet covered in the blog but had talked to several people about is that of Herman Lutyies. The Girl in the Shadow Box is a favorite of many, because there are all sorts of romantic stories about the model for the statue. The story on the Bellefontaine website is that she was an Italian model who turned down Lutyies proposal of marriage, and that he had the sculpture commissioned and placed in his home. It was later moved to the cemetery plot, and when the elements started to wear it down, he had it covered in glass. I've also heard that it's just a statue of no real significance that he loved and his wife hated, and that they eventually divorced, and the wife is buried elsewhere in Bellefontaine. Obviously one story is far more romantic than the other.



This next one is one I took note of on our first visit just because it looks cool. Turns out, that's an underground mausoleum. See from the rear view how the top slab would slide back?





Another intriguing underground mausoleum is that of the Black family. I would love to get a peek at the inside of this one. Apparently there's a big ol' staircase that goes down and around to a large room. If you look at those pyramid vents on the plot, you can imagine just how big that room is. Incredible!





One of my favorite plots in Bellefontaine is that of the Francis family (above). David Rowland Francis was Mayor of St Louis, Governor of Missouri, President of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition (1904 World's Fair), and later Ambassador to Imperial Russia. That statue is just everything I love about cemeteries. It seems like it should be as iconic as the Bird Girl statue.



We were able to see the inside of the recently renovated Hotchkiss Chapel, named after former cemetery superintendent Frank Hotchkiss. The stained glass windows are incredible.







Hotchkiss Chapel is a beautiful space for a small event, and yes, you can rent it our for weddings. Our friends Jesse and Jenni, who took the tour with us, decided to have their wedding there!





Now for the most exciting part, going inside two of the most famous mausoleums in the cemetery! These are the only two mausoleums where the families have given their permission for them to be opened to tours. The first, the Wainwright Tomb, is one of the most architecturally significant mausoleums in Bellefontaine.



Designed by Louis Sullivan, who also designed the Wainwright Building in downtown St Louis, for the wife of Ellis Wainwright, it is considered the "Taj Mahal of St Louis". Even the doors and keys to these mausoleums are incredible!





But the thing the Wainwright Tomb is most famous for is the mosaic work. It's absolutely stunning. You just don't see this kind of thing anymore.









Last but certainly not least, the mausoleum that St Louisans are dying to get into (it's Halloween in 30 minutes, give me a break), LEMP! I cannot believe that in all our excitement, no one stopped to take an exterior photo. This one is from when we went there last fall, when the Lemp Experience Tour was going inside and we were totally jealous.



The inside is marble, marble, and more marble, with some stained glass windows for good measure.









Even the light switches are marble:



It has heated at one point, too, but I think I recall that that turned out to be not such a great idea to heat a mausoleum. I'm already running long on this post, so I won't delve into the sad history of the Lemp family today. If you are unfamiliar and curious, I recommend this article from the Missouri History Museum website.

Boy, I feel like there is so much I left out, and there's still a whole section of the cemetery I haven't talked about in any of my posts, but it will have to be saved for another day. I hope that you get a chance to visit Bellefontaine soon to check out the fall color while the weather is still mild! Thank you to Jesse Hunt for arranging this tour for us, and to Jean Steck for being so awesome at her job!

Madame Tussauds Bangkok

I mentioned a couple weeks ago that LEGOLAND reminded me a little of Madame Tussauds, which reminded me that I never posted my visit to Madame Tussauds in Bangkok! If you've been reading the blog for awhile, you know I love wax museums, but this was the first time I'd ever been to a Madame Tussauds. I also learned in the course of research today that LEGOLAND and Madame Tussauds are both owned by Merlin Entertainments, which explains the similar layout.



Madame Marie Tussaud, born Anna Maria Grosholtz, learned the art of wax modeling from a physician named Dr. Philippe Curtius, and inherited his collection of wax figures when he died. She traveled around Europe in the early 1800s exhibiting her collection, finally settling in London and opening a museum in 1835. A few of her original wax figures still exist at the museum in London, including a "self portrait" from 1842. Most of the early figures were damaged either in the 1925 fire or the 1941 bombings, although the original casts survive. This is making me very itchy to visit London.



One thing I thought was pretty cool was that they had an area that described the whole process of making wax figures. All are made in London. The first step is a two hour sitting with the subject for measurements, hand casts, eye color matching, and hair sample. The subject poses on a revolving turntable for 180 photographs and up to 250 measurements! They also donate the costume for the wax figure.



Only the head and hands are actually made of wax, a combination of beeswax and Japan wax. A clay model is made of the entire body, including the head, and then a plaster cast of the clay head is made, which is then filled with wax for the final head. The head and hands are made of wax, because it's more lifelike, but the rest of the body is hard plastic. It takes 170 hours to sculpt a figure. That's like a month of work at your 9-5 job.



And that's just the body! It takes 140 hours to put the hair on! Each real human hair is inserted individually with a forked needle. Once that is done, it is washed, cut, and styled.



The eyes are not just any ol' glass eyes. Each one is individually made from acrylic resin and each tiny detail is replicated, right down to veining in the whites of the eyes using silk threads. The teeth are also made individually from acrylic, using a plaster cast of the subject's teeth whenever possible. It takes 15 hours to make the eyes and 30 hours for the teeth.



Fun Fact: A wax head weighs about the same as a real head - 4.5kg. An average wax figure weighs about 25kg. Yao Ming probably weighs more than that.



There are twelve permanent Madame Tussauds museums around the world, plus one temporary exhibit in Tokyo that will become permanent if it is popular. I gathered from our Bangkok visit that each museum has wax figures for famous people from that country, covering politics and government, science and medicine, pop culture, and sport.



I'm waffling on posting this one. This is King Rama IX, the world's longest ruling head of state, and Queen Sirikit. I didn't know until after I took the picture that the ban on taking pictures of the King applies to wax figures. I'm sure there was a sign saying so, but as anyone who has been on a blogging trip with me can tell you, I'm usually too excited to read signs. In any case, if anyone is offended by this picture, leave a note and I will remove it without argument. If you want one of those 12 hour Wikipedia marathons, start with the entry for Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX). Let me just tell you, the Thai version of that wiki is very different.



Next up is Buddhadasa Bhikkhu, a famous Thai "ascetic-philospher" who "sought to be able to explain Buddhist's teachings through other doctrines such as Zen, Tao, Hinduism, Christianity, Islam and Natural Science. Through such a methodology he came to adopt a religious world-view that rejected exclusionary religious identification." I quote from Wikipedia because nothing makes me feel more derpy than Buddhism, particularly Thai Buddhism.



Here's one I can explain! This is Dr Porntip Rojanasunan, forensic pathologist and Director of the Central Institute of Forensic Science, Ministry of Justice, in Bangkok. She's very famous in Thailand, not only for her human rights work and clashes with police, but also for her fashionable wardrobe and punk rock hair. She says the first magazine she subscribed to was Glamour, and the second was National Geographic. National Geographic did a documentary on her called Crime Scene Bangkok, which you can watch on Youtube by clicking that link. Her autobiography is currently being translated for publication in English. I can't wait!



I can't leave these two out. This is Mitr Chaibancha and Petchara Chaowarat, who made many, many films in the 1960s. Mitr starred in up to 50 movies a year at one point, and Petchara made around 300 films in the 60s and 70s. They starred in many movies together and were wildly popular. Mitr died filming a helicopter stunt in 1970, and tens of thousands of people attempted to attend his cremation at the Buddhist temple.



Next, we have Khaosai Galaxy, a former Muay Thai boxer and the WBA Super Flyweight Champion from 1984 until his retirement in 1992. He defended his title 19 times, and won 16 of those by knockout.



And finally, one who I want to say is known to Western audiences, but is probably just known to fans of martial arts movies, Tony Jaa. He's a Thai stuntman turned actor who does all his own stunts, no CGI or wirework. You can see a scene from his movie Ong-Bak:The Thai Warrior at this link.

Should you find yourself in Bangkok, Madame Tussauds is located on the 6th floor of Siam Discovery, at the Siam Skytrain station. Siam Discovery is also home to the only Habitat store in Asia, the only Diesel store in Thailand, and an Outback Steakhouse.

Also, one more reminder, if you have Facebook and are reading this on Wednesday 10/12: Vote for me in the Funjet to a Fairy Tale contest! I promise to blog about it! We're down to the final hours!

Eckerts Fun Farm

So here's your new blog post! Francis, Keith, Courtney and I went to Eckerts Fun Farm in Millstadt, IL this past weekend. There are three Eckerts locations in Illinois, but Millstadt is the only one I've ever been to. I think Belleville has the biggest store, but Millstadt has the most activities.



Mainly, we fed animals. Those camels will sneak up on you when they see carrots. Also, they like dreadlocks.



AND you can ride a camel for $5!



They also have very friendly antelope.





... and goats





... a giant parakeet cage



...a happy cockatoo that likes to doze in the sun and get pets.



But the best of all is the pig races. It has been awhile since we've had some Action Cam!



The animals are just the beginning, though. There are rides, a corn maze, giant Jumping Pillow, and a 70' underground slide.







Over at Lookout from Apple Mountain, you can see the orchards and the campfire sites. I think the campfire sites go with the Haunted Hayrides, which are available in September and October.





The Lookout also has a great view of the Jack O'Lobber, aka PUMPKIN CANNON!



Eckerts is also full of food, food, and more food, from the Country Store to the funnel cakes, corn dogs, ice cream, brats, kettle corn, and more. Not to mention the whole reason you go to Eckerts, to pick your own apples, peaches, and pumpkins. This past weekend they were picking red and golden delcious apples, and pumpkin picking had just started. If, like us, you are too worn out from all the activity and food to go pick your own, you can buy apples and pumpkins at the Country Store, along with every kind of jarred preserve you can imagine (except green tomato chow chow, but they have the cabbage variety). All the details for the three Eckerts Farms can be found on their website! If four adults can wear themselves out playing, just imagine how much fun your kids will have!