October 10, 2024 • 53 mins
This special edition reflects on our journey with Andrej Lah, Director of Cemeteries, and much more! Join us for this landmark celebration as we look back at the stories that have shaped our series.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Thank you so much for joining us.
(00:30):
Welcome back to CC Airwaves.
My name is Paige Mattillo, andtoday we're celebrating a major
milestone our 100th episode.
We've come a long way since ourfirst episode, which aired on
January 3rd 2020.
And over the past four years,we've had the pleasure of
hosting over 30 guests fromacross the United States.
A huge thank you goes out toour listeners for your
(00:52):
unwavering support.
From day one, our audience hasgrown to include listeners from
around the world, includingGermany, canada, singapore,
croatia, australia, ireland andmany more.
In today's episode, we havesome exciting segments lined up.
We'll be interviewing ourDirector of Cemeteries, andre
Law, sharing an inspiringmessage from heaven and telling
(01:13):
the story of a notable figureburied at one of our cemeteries.
Stay tuned for an episodefilled with reflections,
insights and celebrations of ourjourney together.
Insights and celebrations ofour journey together.
I'm excited to have Andre Law,our Director of Cemeteries.
Andre, welcome to the show.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
Thank you and congratulations on the 100th
episode.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
Thank you, what a milestone.
I know it's wonderful, so whydon't you kick things off and
just start by telling us how yougot here?
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Well, that's a very interesting and could be a long
story, but I'll shorten it up byjust telling you that you know,
in law school I thought I wasgoing to change the world.
I ended up working for a coupleof judges and I realized that
the world of the justice systemdoesn't really want to change.
So I was struggling with wheredo I go next, because I really
(02:14):
didn't know that my legal careerwas going to go the direction
that I had initially intended.
And I ended up finding out,through a very strange set of
circumstances, that the Dioceseof Cleveland was looking for an
attorney in their legal officeand I got an application in.
I was told that they were notaccepting anymore.
(02:35):
I, as you guys know me well,enough, I can be very persistent
and I pushed and the next thingI know I walked into the
Chancery Building of the Dioceseof Cleveland on December 4th
1991.
And I spent some time in thelegal office.
I was transferred to thefinance office where I got to
work very closely with thefinancial legal secretary at the
(02:57):
time, father Wright, who was anamazing mentor who eventually
also became my priest and myfriend.
And that relationship, reallyit was such a wonderful
friendship.
And when he was leaving thediocese finance office to take
(03:20):
over as director of cemeteries,he asked me if I'd want to come
with him and help him with ourcemeteries At that time.
You know our cemeteries neededa lot of help.
They were in, there were thingsthat needed fixing and we came
here to make those repairs.
And then in 2009, bishop Lennonasked me to be the CEO slash
(03:45):
director of cemeteries whenFather retired.
And here I am.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
And here you are All these years later.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
It's funny when I think of my time with the
Diocese of Cleveland, and Inever anticipated or expected
that I would have dedicated mycareer to the church, but the
church has a way of bringing youin and God has a way of
encouraging you to stay Anytime.
(04:14):
I thought about you know wheredo I go next?
Is this really where I want tobe?
Somehow or another?
You know, and, um, somehow oranother.
Uh, you know, and, and you know, I'll just leave it at.
Really, I put it all in God'shands and, um, it's amazing,
when you trust God with yourlife, how it can uh it, it
(04:34):
really can.
Your road can.
It's not easy.
It's uh, it, it.
It has a lot of uh there's.
There's a lot of potholes alongthe way and a lot of brick
walls you have to break down,but when you trust God to guide
you and it all just seems towork out in a way that you never
(04:58):
really would have anticipatedhad you thought it through, you
just kind of follow where hetakes you, and I guess that's
the best way to describe why I'mhere right now, today, sitting
here talking to you at our 100thepisode of the CCA podcast and
(05:18):
recognizing where my career hasbeen.
I mean, I'll be 62 years oldhere in November and I was 29
when I walked into the Dioceseof Cleveland Chance Rebuilding.
So it's amazing to reflect onthose years working with the
church.
What I can say is I've alwaysfound the church to be this
(05:39):
perfect thing, this perfectentity created by Christ, this
perfect entity created by Christ.
And you know, as we worship God, unfortunately we as human
beings, you know, we muck it upevery now and again and the
perfect, flawless diamond getssome smudge on it, but you know,
you just wipe it away and theperfect diamond always remains.
(06:02):
And because you know, thisinstitution was created, the
church was created by Christ,the institution was created by
us.
So, and that's, and that'sreally.
Once you grasp thatunderstanding that the church
itself is, is, it was Christ andand the church is Christ and
(06:25):
the church is God, and youunderstand that the
institutional church is human,it becomes very easy to
differentiate between the flawsof the human and the perfection
of the divine.
So why am I here?
Speaker 1 (06:44):
That's why that makes sense.
I mean, I think it's funnybecause I remember I think it
was my first month and I youalways ask me this periodically.
You always go.
What do people think when youtell them you work in a cemetery
?
And I didn't think that I'd endup here either.
I mean, if you asked me incollege, I don't think I would
have said that I was working forthe Catholic cemeteries either.
(07:05):
But you know, you're right, youput things in God's hands and
he leads you where you'resupposed to go.
So I understand your journeycompletely.
Speaker 2 (07:13):
And it's funny when you it is, it is exactly right.
I mean when you do just trustthat, you just throw it in his
hands and you just allow yourlife to you know, I mean, it
still requires work.
There will be pitfalls, therewill be struggles.
There will be moments when youjust want to, you know, bury
(07:34):
your head in the sand or, justyou know, crawl up into a ball
and, just you know, just walkaway from everything.
But you know that your missionis to serve and to serve others,
and I think the most importantthing that this ministry has
offered me is an opportunity tobe there for people.
And it's not easy, becauseyou'll always have people that
(07:58):
criticize you.
You'll always have people thatthink that you're the worst
human being that ever lived,because you have to make hard
decisions and you know harddecisions that require sometimes
impacting someone's emotions.
And you know when you denysomething or you don't allow
somebody to do what they want ona memorial or a headstone, or
(08:23):
you know when they want to be ona memorial or a headstone, or
you know when they want to be,you know, have something
situated a certain way or thedecorations that we don't allow
or that.
You know why we allow this orwhy we don't allow that, and you
really do you are reallysubjected to a lot of criticism
because of those hard decisionsthat you have to make.
(08:44):
And again, and of course it'snever easy when you're talking
to a mom who's lost her son, ora father who you know who's lost
his child, or you know son,daughter, whatever it might be,
or you know a spouse I meanthere's so many.
I mean I I could sit here forhours just talking about the
(09:06):
situations that we've dealt with.
But you know, my, my goalalways is to make sure that when
we when I do deal with a familythat is in in struggling with
the death of a loved one and andthey're impacted by a decision
that was very hard to make,decision that was very hard to
(09:31):
make, it really, you know,ultimately we focus solely on
how do we somehow guide themthrough their grief and where
our rules and regulations arecomplied with, but in a way that
it doesn't make the situationworse.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
And it's not always.
We don't always succeed in that.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
But we certainly try.
We certainly never forget whowe are as a Catholic
organization, that we are aministry of our church, that our
bishop has expectations of us.
When we treat people, that wetreat them with the kindness
that Christ would want us, wetreat them with the uh, with the
kindness that Christ would wantus to to, to treat them with
(10:09):
and, uh, you know, justrecognizing that that everybody,
everybody is grieves in acertain way, and just try our
best to to be there for them asthey mourn the passing of
someone they cared about deeply.
And that's so, that's so, sothose are the hard times that
you know that, that when we'rewhen we're confronted by those
(10:29):
difficult situations and it'sgut-wrenching when you have to
tell a mom no, or a father no,or you know a spouse or whatever
it was it is.
It can be a real gut-wrenchingexperience.
But you know you have no choicebecause you're trying to,
you're trying to blend, you know, all those different requests
(10:50):
and requirements and with therules and to ensure that you
know you don't have chaos,because there's.
You know we have 750,000 peopleburied in our cemeteries, you
know and every year we still,you know we're burying 5,000,.
You know people and you know sothat's 5,000, you know people
and you know so that's 5,000more families that every year
that are impacted by the deathof a loved one, that also have
(11:11):
to find themselves in asituation where our rules and
regulations sometimes can bedifficult to accept.
But the other side of the coinis chaos, and we can't have
chaos, we can't have justeverybody doing whatever they
want.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
Yeah, well, I mean, there's safety concerns with
certain decorations that can putthe field in harm's way.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
Absolutely Well, and you know it's funny that you
mentioned the safety concerns.
I remember when we prohibitedthe pins in the crosses.
Speaker 3 (11:44):
You remember those, Joel, when they had the Right,
right, I do so the the oldwooden crosses would have stakes
they'd have stakes and thenduring the winter the ground
freezes.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
You try to remove them and those stakes are stuck
in the ground because they breakoff right and so then you've
got, you know, three, fourinches of a, of a, almost like a
nail sticking out of the ground, and we did actually have an
employee who put one through hisfoot, and so you know.
Speaker 1 (12:11):
So then we started a rule that says no more.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
And well, everybody got upset because they had
bought these crosses.
And I'm like, well, you know,those would be, we grandfathered
the old ones in, but anythingnew, and so that.
And then people would always,you know, then you'd get people
saying, well, mine wasgrandfathered in because I
bought it and it's like it looksbrand new.
It's like, so you know,eventually we just got to that
point after a couple of yearswhere the rule was in place.
(12:36):
We knew that these crosses atsome point we're going to be
replaced anyway.
So it, we eventually got tothat point where we didn't allow
them at all.
But again, as you said, it'sthe requirement of maintaining
the safety of our employees andit's just like the metal stuff
and the chips and the differentrocks that people put around
(12:57):
their monuments.
It's the same thing.
I mean we don't sit around justtrying to figure.
Sometimes you get theimpression like they think that
there's this guy in that corneroffice wringing his hands,
wondering, you know how can Imake this more difficult?
Speaker 1 (13:08):
how can I make?
Speaker 2 (13:10):
life more difficult for this poor, grieving you know
mom or or dad, and I'm like youknow.
No, as a matter of fact, wereally, really do struggle with
a lot of the decisions we make,uh, and it doesn't matter what
it is, whether it's you know,what do we?
What kind of pricing do we do?
You know, and we do.
We spend an enormous amount oftime on pricing and one of the
(13:32):
part of that conversation is youknow, how do we cover our costs
without burdening our families?
Because we recognize that thisis a very, very expensive,
expensive thing.
And funerals, the funeral part,is extremely costly.
And then on our end I mean, andand you kind of get that you
(13:54):
know, well, I could dig thathole, for I could dig that hole
for that, you know, in 20minutes.
And I'm like, well, a lot ofpeople don't think about
everything, that that is all thework that has to be done to get
to that point where you'reactually digging that hole.
But also then you're thinking,you know they ignore all the
development costs that go intoputting together a section, and
(14:17):
then all the, you know all thetime that is spent to make sure
that when you dig that holeyou're digging the right hole
and that you know you're makingsure you're digging the right
hole, and and that you knowyou're making sure.
And then, after the, after theeverything's done, you know, to
the supplies, that you need tomake sure that the grass is
growing, cause you know and itis amazing how you know how hard
(14:38):
it is to get grass to grow in acemetery Once you start ripping
up all that stuff.
And I mean, you know, and wespend quite a bit of money on
the materials, we really do, wehave topsoil made at Holy Cross,
I mean.
So it's just people don't reallyunderstand all the behind the
(15:01):
scenes and what we do, and mygoal personally is to minimize
the behind-the-scenes impact sothat I want families, when they
come into the cemetery, to focuson one thing their relationship
with the person that is buriedhere, to allow themselves the
time to remember and not focuson why are there weeds on my
(15:26):
grave?
Why is the grass not growing?
We spend so much time onspraying and cleaning and doing
all these things, but you know,there's only one place where
perfection exists and it's nothere.
That's heaven.
But we certainly do strive tobring as much of that perfection
to our cemeteries as we can,because we recognize that this
(15:46):
is where people come toreconnect with their loved ones,
to immerse themselves in thosememories, and I want them to
only be focused on their memoryof the loved one, not on some
other issues.
You know, whether it's in amausoleum or whether it's out
there in the field.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
So, Andre, how has the Catholic cemeteries changed
since you started here?
I'm sure there's so manychanges.
I mean we just heard about onewith decoration policy.
Speaker 3 (16:15):
Besides all the gray hair.
Speaker 2 (16:19):
Yeah, I did have dark hair when I started.
Well, I think the mostimportant thing is that we have
focused on just making sure thatour cemeteries are amongst the
best kept properties of anyother cemetery.
You know, like I said I guessyou know just to kind of follow
(16:40):
up with what I just said I wantpeople to come here and have a
little bit of that you know, Iwant a little bit of that wow
factor Like wow, what abeautiful place, you know, and I
think for the most part we'vesucceeded.
You know, unfortunately, onceyou go through the entrance and
you see all the things we'vedone and the plantings and the
landscape and everything, andthen you go to your grave and
(17:03):
there's crabgrass on the grave,well, that kind of takes away
from that.
But in that light, we'vesprayed a lot and we do a lot of
those things.
But I think how things havechanged.
You know, there was a period oftime where Catholic cemeteries,
they had lost the vision of theministry and I don't know when
(17:30):
specifically that happened,because for all that time, in
our Cleveland cemeteries anyway,I mean, there was a lot of that
very, very ministry-drivenfocus and at some point, whether
it was maybe the, maybe in the80s or the into the 90s, it
(17:52):
almost just seemed like, well,things were just moving along
the way they always this is well, this is how it's always been
and there was less of a focus onproviding our families with,
you know, beautiful pieces ofprop, you know beautiful places
where they could go and remembertheir loved ones.
So I think one of the thingsthat I focused on, and Father
(18:13):
Wright, when we got here, wasbeautification, that we had to
take these wonderful propertiesand bring them back to the
beauty that existed around thetime many of them were
established and in through the,you know, those early decades,
and kind of bringing them allback to a place of beauty.
(18:37):
You know, I think one of thethings that I am most proud of
is what happened at Holy CrossAkron, for example.
Holy Cross Akron, for example,where what was a big, swampy
kind of it just really wasn'tattractive at all, I mean, and
now, my gosh, when I go downthere, it's absolutely beautiful
(18:58):
.
Speaker 3 (18:58):
It was like a giant puddle.
Yeah, oh, wow.
Speaker 2 (19:02):
It really was.
It was brown and Brown and ugly.
Speaker 3 (19:05):
Yeah, almost like.
It just was like the end pointof wherever the water was coming
from.
It just ended up there like inthis just big puddle.
Speaker 2 (19:19):
Oh and junk.
Speaker 3 (19:20):
Remember all the junk that used to come in there.
Speaker 2 (19:22):
All the tires, tires, yeah.
Speaker 3 (19:23):
Tires.
Oh my gosh, what was this.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
It was weird, it was likeires.
Oh my gosh, it's like people,would you?
Speaker 2 (19:27):
know what was this?
It was weird.
It was like we there was justso much junk and it's like, oh
my God, and there was really.
There wasn't much landscape,there weren't any trees.
Speaker 3 (19:37):
No, not at all.
And now you?
Speaker 2 (19:38):
go down there, my gosh.
You can't even.
You can barely see other sidebecause of the, the trees that
have grown in and what we didwith planting of those um.
I know that when, at one pointI think, we planted uh, about 15
000 trees in our cemeteries um,yeah, I do remember the the
tree initiative.
(19:59):
Oh, my gosh, we went crazy onplanting trees, which, but we
needed to because it, you know.
I mean, what do people want?
And when they come to acemetery, they want it to be
beautiful, they wanted they itto be forested and park-like and
and to be a place where they,they can reconnect.
This place Calvary Cemeteryhere in Cleveland, it was it.
It really was in such bad shapeand and now people come here
(20:23):
they go.
Oh my gosh, this place isbeautiful.
And you know, but many of them,I mean Holy Cross, that whole
entrance, what we did there.
I mean, we took what was just aplain old big pile of just a
flat grassy area and wereestablished this creek.
I don't know why, I don't knowwhat was so popular putting
(20:43):
creeks in pipes but we reopenedit and daylighted it and now
there's.
You know.
So now you have, you know, Imean, if you drive down Brook
Park Road, if you drove downBrook Park Road 20 years ago and
looked over into Holy Cross, itwas just a flat nothing.
Speaker 3 (20:59):
It was just flat blah .
Speaker 2 (21:01):
Yeah, there was nothing.
Speaker 3 (21:03):
And then they daylighted the stream.
Almost 1,500 feet of streamGave it some landscaping around
it and some vegetation.
Now it looks beautiful.
Speaker 2 (21:16):
I know, and it continues to grow.
The other day I was there and Iwas walking toward that area
where it's kind of we left a lotof it to kind of go natural and
there was about three or fourdeer that were just kind of
lying there and they jumped upbecause I was approaching.
And so that's what's nice, is, Imean.
(21:36):
And so I know, at All Souls, Igot a little bit of pushback on
the area up front where we usedto cut it all the time, and so
it was nice and cut andeverything, and I'm like, well,
why are we cutting this hugearea of grass when it's, you
know, this should be?
If we had let it go 20 yearsago, it would be a forest today.
(21:58):
So, and I guess we, you know,it's just one of those things
where I finally came to therealization that you know, what
we've done at other properties,we should do that here as well.
So, trying to really make it so, when you drive into a Catholic
cemetery, you should be able toreconnect with, you know, god's
(22:19):
gift of nature to us all, andwhen you pull into a Catholic
cemetery, it should take youaway from the hustle and bustle
of daily life and so that you'reonly focused on one thing you
know remembering the person thatyou, that you, you know you
left here, that you buried here,you know, and there's always
that well, they're really notthere.
I know that their physical,their physical remains, are
(22:43):
buried in a dignified, beautifulplace.
Their soul, we pray, is inheaven and we believe.
But Catholic cemeteries are allpart of that belief, the belief
in the resurrection, the beliefin our relationship with God,
the significance that thisperson played in our lives.
That's why we treat their bodywith the dignity and respect of
(23:04):
placing them in sacred ground.
And that sacred ground shouldlook amazing.
It should really look beautiful.
And so, as a result, here weare.
You know, if you would have toldme 25 years ago that we would
be amongst the top cemeteries inthe country, I would have
(23:25):
probably looked at you and saidI don't see how that'll ever
happen.
But now I get calls fromcemeteries all across the
country asking hey, what are youdoing with this or what are you
doing with that?
And I'm like how did you hearabout us?
Well, maybe a supplier orsomeone else said hey, if you
want to go see a cemetery and awell-run cemetery, go to
(23:47):
Cleveland.
And again, I mean, there'salways things we could do.
And you know, one of the thingsthat probably frustrates me the
most is when I go out.
I see all the things that stillneed to be done and you could
still only tackle one thing at atime.
So you know, but I've never lostsight of where we were, where
(24:09):
we are and where we need to be,to ensure that our families will
always have these beautifulproperties, that they can trust
that the Catholic cemeterieswill always be there for them,
because we do this for our thisis for our families, this is our
(24:29):
church's way of telling ourfamilies that we love them and
we care about them and that werecognize this beautiful
ministry of the church and itreally is a relationship that we
have with our dead.
One of the corporal work ofmercy corporal works of mercy is
, you know, the burial of thedead, and it's, you know, these
(24:50):
are things that were given to us, these are gifts that were
given to us by Christ.
And look at, you know, in theJewish tradition, the importance
of burial.
I mean, it was so important, asChrist died on that cross, to
retrieve his body, anointed asmuch as they could to get him
(25:11):
into the tomb before sundown,and that tradition continues on
in what we do and it wascritical that he be properly
buried.
Now we know it was onlytemporary, but you know we also
believe that it's temporary forus as well.
It's just more than three days.
Speaker 3 (25:32):
A little more, just a little bit.
Speaker 1 (25:36):
But I mean we also do more than just landscaping to
improve the cemeteries.
I mean we have the new sectionsigns, so those are beautiful
and I I've already gotten a lotof compliments on those from
social media and just peopleI've talked to who actually go
to the cemeteries.
I already told you about amother who had told me that she
was visiting her son here andthat she thought that it was so
(25:57):
helpful to actually see those.
That's great to know, sowonderful.
Speaker 2 (26:02):
Well, and again, you're absolutely right, you
being here, is what we'veaccomplished in our cemeteries.
I mean, if you would have toldme 20 years ago, 25 years ago,
that someday we would have a100th episode of a podcast.
Speaker 3 (26:18):
First we'd ask what's a podcast, what's a?
Speaker 2 (26:20):
podcast or just a program any kind of program.
I would have looked at you like, why would we do something like
that?
But I think we've really focusedso much on the ministry aspects
of what we do that hasencouraged us to do things like
(26:41):
this podcast to let people knowwhat's going on, to give them
some guidance in dealing withtheir grief and to ensure or
assure them of our care fortheir loved ones and to make
sure that they understand thatwe are very aware of our
responsibility and that you knowwe take that for responsibility
(27:03):
very seriously.
We take that for responsibilityvery seriously.
So it's yeah, it's yes, yousitting here is something that
is a huge accomplishment for us?
because of what?
But again, you quite frankly,paige, you get the mission.
You understand what we're allabout and you know, I know Joel
has always been part of that.
He's always you know, I guessreally you know.
(27:27):
I talked about the landscapeand everything and you brought
me back for a moment and,reflecting on our staff, we have
built a team of people aroundhere and we've always been
fortunate enough to have goodpeople.
but, you know, sometimes youreally have to focus on, you
know, ministry, and I think wehave built a team of people
(27:50):
throughout our organization,whether it's.
Eddie, who's you know comes in,you know to clean the floors, or
whether it's you know someonein my position or you know
anybody throughout.
I mean, if you ask anybody, um,they have a very clear
understanding of, of, theirresponsibility, of their of, of,
(28:12):
and they, they know that thisis a ministry Um and um and they
know the importance of of beingwith out there to serve our
families, and I get a lot ofnice compliments from people
about how wonderful, oh, yourstaff was so wonderful.
They dropped everything andhelped me find this or helped me
find that.
So I think it comes down tothey get it.
(28:35):
We, you know, our crew, ourteam gets it.
Speaker 1 (28:41):
I like that answer mainly because I love everyone
that I work with here at Calvary, mainly because I love everyone
that I work with here atCalvary, including.
Joel.
Hey Joel, what's up?
Paige?
So can you tell us about?
I know you talked a little bitabout the landscaping and how
you built the cemeteries back up.
Well, it was not me, it was.
When you say I, the whole crew.
Yeah, it really was.
Speaker 2 (29:02):
Yeah, I just wanted to be very clear.
This was a team effort, man.
I mean we, you know, I may havebeen the one that kind of set
things in motion, but it really.
We have just such an amazinggroup of people that are
dedicated to service to ourfamilies and I think that's the
thing that I.
I think, if you ask me what isthe thing that you appreciate
(29:25):
most about our Catholiccemeteries, it's the people,
because, without you know, quitefrankly, they make me look good
.
Speaker 1 (29:37):
So what is your proudest achievement then?
Speaker 2 (29:39):
Oh, my gosh.
Speaker 1 (29:41):
I know I have all the good questions.
Speaker 2 (29:46):
My proudest achievement would probably be
the creation of the team thebuilding of the team and making
sure that our staff is takencare of that.
These are that we've taken whatwas once a kind of like eh job.
(30:09):
I know that when I firststarted here, these were not
considered to be great jobs.
These were, they weren't careerseven though a lot of people
stayed here for a long time andwhat my goal was to turn these
(30:49):
into that you could actuallymake a career here, that you
could learn, that you could growbetter, but where you
appreciate the job, where youappreciate what management is
focused on.
My proudest achievement wouldbe the way we have built an
amazing program for our staff,that they can count on us to
(31:15):
always look out for them when itcomes to whether it's a pay
package that is very competitive, competitive or just making
sure that every single employee,regardless of station, is
treated with the dignity andrespect that each person is
(31:36):
entitled to.
Now, it doesn't mean that youdon't have to give back and work
.
There certainly areexpectations that you you know
you gotta we require hard workhere.
Joel knows expectations that youyou know you got to earn that,
you got to earn that paycheckevery two weeks, but but I think
I think, in that regard, that'sprobably the thing that I, at
(31:58):
the end of, at the end of mycareer here and at the end of my
days, I think I will alwaysreflect on the fact that, by
focusing on the needs of ourfamilies, making sure that you
know I mean we have men andwomen here who work, that have
children, they have families,they have responsibilities and
to make sure that they can meetthose obligations, that they can
(32:21):
pay for their groceries and payfor their gas and that they can
take a vacation I think thoseare the things that you know I
would say would be my proudestachievement is turning taking
what was once not a verywell-regarded employment
situation into something that iswhat it is today, where you
(32:44):
know, they know, they know thatthe boss cares about their life,
so that would be my proudestachievement.
Speaker 1 (32:56):
That's a wonderful answer.
And your answer kind of gave meanother question that isn't on
the list.
So what is people's firstreactions when you tell them
that you work at a cemetery?
Because you know it's notreally, I would say you know a
usual job that people hear of.
So, joel, you can answer too.
Speaker 2 (33:18):
I get a lot of oh well, that's interesting.
And then I kind of go into Isays, well, I don't really give
them a lot of time to go intofilling in the blanks in their
head.
I tell them that you know whatwe do, the operation, how many
properties you know.
I kind of give them the oh well, we have 35 miles of roads, we
(33:43):
have 160 employees.
We have, you know, wemanufacture headstones and
memorials.
We have a full shop.
We have, you know, 10 mechanicson staff.
So I kind of and they look atme like you guys do all of that.
Speaker 1 (33:57):
That's a lot.
Speaker 2 (33:58):
Yeah, I mean, you know people only see the
cemetery from the perspective ofthe moment they spent here
burying a loved one and quitefrankly, that's good.
Or Hollywood.
Speaker 3 (34:07):
Or.
Speaker 2 (34:07):
Hollywood or Hollywood yeah.
Speaker 1 (34:10):
Yeah, the way Hollywood does it.
Speaker 2 (34:12):
Hollywood doesn't give us a lot of credit.
Cemeteries are spooky, creepy,whatever they are.
Speaker 1 (34:15):
I have a blog post coming out about that soon, but
they're not.
Speaker 2 (34:19):
I mean, they're amazing properties, they're
beautiful and the history that'shere.
And then, on top of that, thereis the business aspect of it,
and you have to run thecemeteries like any other
business.
We have to, you know.
We have to generate income topay those salaries and to pay,
(34:40):
you know, in order to make surethat we can accomplish those
things that I just talked about,that I'm most proud of, we have
to make money, and so you haveto be very responsible with
these resources.
Without and that's the thing sohow do you make?
How do you make money that youcan pay your people well and
that you can pay the bills andthat you can take care of the
infrastructure and do all thosethings without ever forgetting
(35:03):
that you're a ministry of theCatholic?
Speaker 1 (35:04):
church and never forgetting the mission.
Speaker 2 (35:06):
And that's and that.
So that's kind of thatdifficult thing and I think
we've.
I think we have attained thatdifficult balance between
running it as a business andnever forgetting the ministry
part.
Speaker 1 (35:21):
I would agree.
I mean I've only been here fortwo years, but I mean I see that
I mean we have the blog, wehave the grief support groups,
we have the free events thatpeople can go to.
I mean Walk to Remember iscoming up this Sunday, and then
I mean there are all thesethings that we do to support the
families, but I mean we also do, obviously, incorporate the
business side of it.
So I can definitely see that.
Speaker 3 (35:42):
Andre mentioned Father Wright and when Father
Wright approached me aboutworking at the cemeteries hey,
you ever think about working?
Speaker 1 (35:50):
at the cemeteries Apparently.
Father Wright was just arecruiter, is what I'm hearing,
my first reaction was what?
Speaker 3 (35:55):
digging him Again going?
Back to that whole notion.
Yes, and you don't really thinkabout or at least I didn't at
the time, I mean I was 29.
I didn't think about, like,what all goes into actually
upkeeping and running a cemetery.
And then you get into it andyou see, I mean it's the record
(36:19):
keeping, it's just answering thephone call and giving out a
burial location, it is thebackhoes and the dump trucks and
the Cushmans and steel-toedboots.
I mean it's all that and youlearn that as you're here and
(36:44):
you get immersed into it.
And, yeah, it's a lot more thanjust digging a grave, yeah, and
even even that you know, andreeven mentioned that earlier yeah
, you know most people are like,well, I could dig that hole,
you could, but are you going toget it deep enough?
Are you going to stay withinthe confines of the grave size,
(37:06):
right, are you going to all ofthose things?
Speaker 1 (37:11):
There's so much that goes into it.
Speaker 3 (37:12):
It is so involved.
People think it's so simple,but it's really not.
It's not.
Speaker 1 (37:17):
I would say that my friends also had the same
reaction when I started workinghere.
They also thought that I wouldbe digging graves, not running a
podcast.
And then, whenever I tellpeople about this podcast, they
always ask what we talk aboutand I tell them.
I give them the whole spielbecause, you know, I think that
it's really important and Ireally love doing the podcast.
It's one of my favorite things,so I'm glad it really provides
(37:37):
a lot of.
Speaker 2 (37:38):
You're providing a lot of information to our
families, so that they havemaybe a clearer understanding of
what we do.
You know, I appreciate youmentioning the boot program,
because that was you know.
That was I mean, if you reallywant an idea of how we think
about our staff and how we youknow whether it's myself or any
one of the management team howwe feel about the people that
(38:00):
you know.
Ultimately, the staff here is.
They are my responsibility andit is my responsibility to
ensure that they have the besttools, the best equipment and
the best compensation that wecan possibly give.
Obviously, there's always thoseparameters and we really do try
to bring in a lot of outsidesources and to develop the
(38:23):
statistics so that we are verycompetitive depending on the job
classification.
But the steel-toed bootsprobably are the thing that most
reflect how I feel.
Early on when I started so ithas to be 20 plus years.
Well, when I started I startedgoing around and unfortunately
(38:45):
we were in a very difficultfinancial period.
There were some seriousfinancial difficulties at that
time, so it took a little bit ofwhile.
It took some time to getthrough some of that stuff.
But I remember talking to aparticular employee who's still
with us, so I mean he's beenhere that long and I was talking
(39:07):
to him and it was rainy and Ilooked down and his boots were.
They were steel-toed boots,they had to be, but they were
held together with duct tape.
And I thought to myself is thiswhere we are, where you know
someone that we rely on to beout there in the miserable cold
weather?
(39:27):
And I looked at him and he justsaid to me he saw me looking at
his boots and he said, yeah,well, you know, I'm trying to
get that last bit of life out ofhim, andre, I'm thinking to
myself, you know, we can't allowthis.
And it wasn't that long after.
I mean, I was determined that wewere going to have, you know,
(39:48):
programs.
So now we've reached a pointwhere we pay for Red Wing boots.
They receive, you know, thetruck comes here and they get a
winter pair and a summer pair.
And you know, we figure,because they get two pair of
boots, they usually last everytwo seasons, but if they go bad,
(40:10):
we'll, we'll get them anotherpair.
So the the red wing boot truckcomes and they get that, they
get to go in and they pickthemselves a nice pair of, uh,
red wing boots.
And then we started, you know,um, one of the guys was asking
if we could provide them withrain gear.
And so we did.
We bought top-line rain gear,not just something.
(40:32):
The rain gear that we give ourguys isn't something that you
get in a little plastic baggie,that's you know.
Speaker 1 (40:37):
From the dollar store .
Speaker 2 (40:38):
No man, this rain gear is top quality, whether
it's the jackets, the sweatshirt, whatever the equipment that
they need to make them, you know, comfortable in their day,
because you know what, quitehonestly, I've done construction
in my life and I rememberwearing crappy, beat-up boots
(41:00):
and being soaked to the pointwhere you are just you know,
your feet are prunes and Iworked outside so I know what
it's like.
I think everybody who'sresponsible for people who work
outside needs to spend timeworking outside so they can
understand what it's like tostand in a hot shower and, as
(41:25):
hot as that water can get, yourbody is still not warming up
because your core temperaturehas has has crashed because you
were working outside inmiserable cold weather.
And people who work outside, um, you know.
And so when you have had thatexperience in your life and you
and you are responsible forpeople who work outside, that is
(41:48):
something that you're alwaysthinking about is are they okay?
Are they?
You know?
Hey, don't make sure they getinside and warm up or, on a hot
day, make sure they go insideand cool off, make sure they
have plenty of water.
So you're always thinking aboutmaking sure that the staff, that
they're okay, that they're notput at risk.
(42:09):
So that's, you know, that kindof ties into what my proudest
achievement is Just the way weand that particular employee
that's still with us with theboots he's every now and again
when I see him, you know, wehave a quick conversation and he
just always appreciateseverything that we've done for
(42:32):
our staff, because he rememberswhat it was like before when
very little was done to takecare of our staff, and that's it
makes me sad that there's thatthere were people here back in
that day when, you know, whenthat effort wasn't put into it
and I don't blame anybody, it'sjust there was a mentality that
(42:54):
that's just the way it was andyou know you have to have a
different experience, maybe froman outsider's perspective, to
bring that, so that you knowyou're focused on the needs of
your people.
Speaker 1 (43:07):
Yeah, and I mean, people are everything when it
comes to a business.
Speaker 3 (43:11):
They really are, especially this one.
Speaker 1 (43:13):
So one last question to end this off what legacy
would you like to leave as CEO?
Speaker 2 (43:21):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (43:24):
I saved the last good one for last.
I saved the last good one forlast.
Speaker 2 (43:33):
That's a tough one because I really don't think a
lot about legacy, but I live mylife very, very frankly.
(43:54):
I I leave behind here.
I hope that people rememberthat I cared for them and that I
cared enough to put, you know,my needs aside for their needs,
and my only thing that I, youknow, the legacy I want is that
when I stand before God, he mayroll his eyes a bit, but he
doesn't point me in the otherdirection.
(44:15):
So that is, that is.
I think that that is when you,when you live your life with,
with heaven as your primaryfocus, um, it's, it's.
It guides you in a way that isvery different than a lot of us.
And again, it doesn't matterwhere you are in life, whether
(44:36):
you're the one that's out theredigging the grave or whether
you're building cars in Detroitand your responsibility is to
put the transmission in orwhatever it is.
You're welding this or puttingthat together.
Every career, every job,everything we do.
(44:58):
When you live it in such a waythat you're focused on being
part of the community and partof a faith that guides you
toward God, I think legacybecomes.
That's where your legacy liesis that you live your life with
(45:21):
a focus on heaven and so thatwhen the end comes, so a lot of
people live their lives withtheir focus on legacy is to have
their name on a library, ortheir name on this, or to have
their name on whatever you know,whatever it is, I mean, and
that's great, that's good?
I certainly would never.
I'm not judging anybody for howthey want their legacy to be.
(45:43):
You know, whether it's puttingtheir name on a library,
whatever I mean, those areimportant things, because a lot
of those you know.
When you have your name on ahospital, what'd you do?
You built a hospital thatserves people, and so that's a
wonderful, beautiful legacy.
But if that legacy loses sightof heaven, then what was it
really for?
Okay, I mean, putting your nameon a building is beautiful and
(46:07):
it serves and it does a lot ofgreat things, but what good is
it if, if you don't achieveheaven?
So that's, that's what legacyshould be and that's what we
should all be focused on.
Speaker 1 (46:23):
So Well, I think that is a great note to end on.
So thank you, Andre, forjoining us, sharing your
insights and stories with us.
Joel, thank you for joining usfor the moment that you did.
Speaker 3 (46:35):
This guy's gold, bring him down here.
Episodes 101 to 200 writethemselves.
Speaker 2 (46:42):
Well, thank you, I appreciate that.
Speaker 3 (47:01):
Now, shifting gears.
We're going to delve into oneof our favorite segments
Messages from Heaven.
This part of the show alwaysgives us a moment to reflect and
connect with something beyondus.
Today, we have a particularlytouching story that reminds us
of the profound impact of loveand legacy.
Speaker 1 (47:21):
This story was submitted by Michaela S.
Ever since my mom passed awayin 2015,.
By Michaela S.
Ever since my mom passed awayin 2015,.
I found comfort in the littlesigns that she stole with me,
watching over the big moments ofmy life.
It started with me findingdimes on the sidewalk, a symbol
I've come to associate with herpresence.
On my first day of college, Ifound a dime outside my
(47:43):
classroom.
On my first day with my nowfiance, he found a shiny dime on
the ground and handed it to me.
Again and again.
It kept happening.
I suppose you could havechalked it up as a coincidence
and moved on.
But the most striking momenthappened on the day I went to
get my marriage license.
It was a significant step andit served as a reminder.
(48:03):
My mom wouldn't be present atthe wedding.
My fiance and I filled out thenecessary paperwork and left it
on the table while we steppedout for a bit.
When we returned there, it wasa dime sitting on top of the
license.
No one had been in the room andthere was no way it could have
been there before.
It was as if my mom had justdropped by to show her approval
and to remind me she was stillpart of my life.
(48:25):
That dime felt like a hug fromher.
On the day of my wedding weleft an empty seat for her and
put a dime on it.
A short but beautiful story.
It serves as a reminder that adeparted loved one's love and
spirit continue to be part ofall the important milestones in
(48:45):
our life guiding us from beyond.
It's truly remarkable how signsand symbols can comfort us in
profound ways.
Let's move on to anotherintriguing segment of today's
(49:15):
episode.
We're going to delve into thelife and legacy of a notable
figure buried at one of ourcemeteries Ed Delahunty.
Ed's story is not onlyinspiring but also a testament
to the mark an individual canleave on a community.
Join us as we explore hiscontributions and the lasting
impact he has made.
Cleveland is home to some ofthe best athletic teams in the
(49:38):
country, even though the Brownsare making that kind of hard to
believe right now.
Cleveland is also home to somefamous and notable athletes such
as Ed Delahunty.
Cleveland is also home to somefamous and notable athletes such
as Ed Delahunty.
His story is one of greatsuccess, proving how hard work
and dedication pay off.
Born in Cleveland on October 30,1867, delahunty had a rather
(49:59):
normal childhood, attendingCentral High School in Cleveland
and attending St Joseph'sCollege.
Delahunty stayed local for themajority of his early years.
When he was 20 years old,delahunty signed on to play with
a minor league team in Wheeling, west Virginia.
It wasn't long before Delahuntywas traded and by the end of
1887, he was sent toPhiladelphia, pa, to play with
(50:22):
the Phillies.
In the spring of 1888, heofficially began his career in
the major leagues, starting onsecond base.
Over the next five years, hewould begin to build his batting
average, so much so that in1892, he hit a ball so hard it
broke the pitcher's ankle.
By 1893, he had a listing of 19home runs and 146 runners
(50:48):
batted in, and his performancewas only getting better.
It wasn't until 1899 thatDelahunty won his first batting
title, boasting a .400 battingaverage for three years.
However, this wasn't his firstnotable achievement.
In 1896, he became the secondperson to hit four home runs in
(51:11):
a single game, and that sameyear he also hit 10 consecutive
times while atbat.
Delahunty began to play for theWashington Senators in 1902,
where he won another battingtitle, making him the only
person to hold a batting titlein both the National and
American Leagues.
Delahunty played for theSenators until his untimely
(51:34):
death in 1903.
He was buried in CalvaryCemetery in Cleveland in Section
10, lot 135B, grave 7.
At the time of his death, dellaHunty had recorded 101 home
runs, 1,464 runners batted in,522 doubles, 185 triples and 455
(51:59):
stolen bases.
One can only imagine what hecould have accomplished had he
continued hiscareer.
And that brings us to the endof today's episode.
Thank you for joining us onthis special journey through
heartfelt messages from beyondand celebrating the lives of
(52:20):
remarkable individuals like EdDelahunty.
It's stories like these thatremind us of the connections and
legacies that shape ourexperiences and our communities.
Before we go, just a reminderwe're always looking for more
guests for the Inspiring Storiesof Healing and Hope series, and
we're also looking for moremessages from heaven or experts
(52:41):
in the field of grief in orderto join us on the podcast.
So if you or anyone you knowhas a story or is interested in
joining us, please email us atpodcast at C-L-E-C-E-M dot org.
Thank you.
Thank you so much for joining us.
(00:30):
Welcome back to CC Airwaves.
My name is Paige Mattillo, andtoday we're celebrating a major
milestone our 100th episode.
We've come a long way since ourfirst episode, which aired on
January 3rd 2020.
And over the past four years,we've had the pleasure of
hosting over 30 guests fromacross the United States.
A huge thank you goes out toour listeners for your
(00:52):
unwavering support.
From day one, our audience hasgrown to include listeners from
around the world, includingGermany, canada, singapore,
croatia, australia, ireland andmany more.
In today's episode, we havesome exciting segments lined up.
We'll be interviewing ourDirector of Cemeteries, andre
Law, sharing an inspiringmessage from heaven and telling
(01:13):
the story of a notable figureburied at one of our cemeteries.
Stay tuned for an episodefilled with reflections,
insights and celebrations of ourjourney together.
Insights and celebrations ofour journey together.
I'm excited to have Andre Law,our Director of Cemeteries.
Andre, welcome to the show.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
Thank you and congratulations on the 100th
episode.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
Thank you, what a milestone.
I know it's wonderful, so whydon't you kick things off and
just start by telling us how yougot here?
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Well, that's a very interesting and could be a long
story, but I'll shorten it up byjust telling you that you know,
in law school I thought I wasgoing to change the world.
I ended up working for a coupleof judges and I realized that
the world of the justice systemdoesn't really want to change.
So I was struggling with wheredo I go next, because I really
(02:14):
didn't know that my legal careerwas going to go the direction
that I had initially intended.
And I ended up finding out,through a very strange set of
circumstances, that the Dioceseof Cleveland was looking for an
attorney in their legal officeand I got an application in.
I was told that they were notaccepting anymore.
(02:35):
I, as you guys know me well,enough, I can be very persistent
and I pushed and the next thingI know I walked into the
Chancery Building of the Dioceseof Cleveland on December 4th
1991.
And I spent some time in thelegal office.
I was transferred to thefinance office where I got to
work very closely with thefinancial legal secretary at the
(02:57):
time, father Wright, who was anamazing mentor who eventually
also became my priest and myfriend.
And that relationship, reallyit was such a wonderful
friendship.
And when he was leaving thediocese finance office to take
(03:20):
over as director of cemeteries,he asked me if I'd want to come
with him and help him with ourcemeteries At that time.
You know our cemeteries neededa lot of help.
They were in, there were thingsthat needed fixing and we came
here to make those repairs.
And then in 2009, bishop Lennonasked me to be the CEO slash
(03:45):
director of cemeteries whenFather retired.
And here I am.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
And here you are All these years later.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
It's funny when I think of my time with the
Diocese of Cleveland, and Inever anticipated or expected
that I would have dedicated mycareer to the church, but the
church has a way of bringing youin and God has a way of
encouraging you to stay Anytime.
(04:14):
I thought about you know wheredo I go next?
Is this really where I want tobe?
Somehow or another?
You know, and, um, somehow oranother.
Uh, you know, and, and you know, I'll just leave it at.
Really, I put it all in God'shands and, um, it's amazing,
when you trust God with yourlife, how it can uh it, it
(04:34):
really can.
Your road can.
It's not easy.
It's uh, it, it.
It has a lot of uh there's.
There's a lot of potholes alongthe way and a lot of brick
walls you have to break down,but when you trust God to guide
you and it all just seems towork out in a way that you never
(04:58):
really would have anticipatedhad you thought it through, you
just kind of follow where hetakes you, and I guess that's
the best way to describe why I'mhere right now, today, sitting
here talking to you at our 100thepisode of the CCA podcast and
(05:18):
recognizing where my career hasbeen.
I mean, I'll be 62 years oldhere in November and I was 29
when I walked into the Dioceseof Cleveland Chance Rebuilding.
So it's amazing to reflect onthose years working with the
church.
What I can say is I've alwaysfound the church to be this
(05:39):
perfect thing, this perfectentity created by Christ, this
perfect entity created by Christ.
And you know, as we worship God, unfortunately we as human
beings, you know, we muck it upevery now and again and the
perfect, flawless diamond getssome smudge on it, but you know,
you just wipe it away and theperfect diamond always remains.
(06:02):
And because you know, thisinstitution was created, the
church was created by Christ,the institution was created by
us.
So, and that's, and that'sreally.
Once you grasp thatunderstanding that the church
itself is, is, it was Christ andand the church is Christ and
(06:25):
the church is God, and youunderstand that the
institutional church is human,it becomes very easy to
differentiate between the flawsof the human and the perfection
of the divine.
So why am I here?
Speaker 1 (06:44):
That's why that makes sense.
I mean, I think it's funnybecause I remember I think it
was my first month and I youalways ask me this periodically.
You always go.
What do people think when youtell them you work in a cemetery
?
And I didn't think that I'd endup here either.
I mean, if you asked me incollege, I don't think I would
have said that I was working forthe Catholic cemeteries either.
(07:05):
But you know, you're right, youput things in God's hands and
he leads you where you'resupposed to go.
So I understand your journeycompletely.
Speaker 2 (07:13):
And it's funny when you it is, it is exactly right.
I mean when you do just trustthat, you just throw it in his
hands and you just allow yourlife to you know, I mean, it
still requires work.
There will be pitfalls, therewill be struggles.
There will be moments when youjust want to, you know, bury
(07:34):
your head in the sand or, justyou know, crawl up into a ball
and, just you know, just walkaway from everything.
But you know that your missionis to serve and to serve others,
and I think the most importantthing that this ministry has
offered me is an opportunity tobe there for people.
And it's not easy, becauseyou'll always have people that
(07:58):
criticize you.
You'll always have people thatthink that you're the worst
human being that ever lived,because you have to make hard
decisions and you know harddecisions that require sometimes
impacting someone's emotions.
And you know when you denysomething or you don't allow
somebody to do what they want ona memorial or a headstone, or
(08:23):
you know when they want to be ona memorial or a headstone, or
you know when they want to be,you know, have something
situated a certain way or thedecorations that we don't allow
or that.
You know why we allow this orwhy we don't allow that, and you
really do you are reallysubjected to a lot of criticism
because of those hard decisionsthat you have to make.
(08:44):
And again, and of course it'snever easy when you're talking
to a mom who's lost her son, ora father who you know who's lost
his child, or you know son,daughter, whatever it might be,
or you know a spouse I meanthere's so many.
I mean I I could sit here forhours just talking about the
(09:06):
situations that we've dealt with.
But you know, my, my goalalways is to make sure that when
we when I do deal with a familythat is in in struggling with
the death of a loved one and andthey're impacted by a decision
that was very hard to make,decision that was very hard to
(09:31):
make, it really, you know,ultimately we focus solely on
how do we somehow guide themthrough their grief and where
our rules and regulations arecomplied with, but in a way that
it doesn't make the situationworse.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
And it's not always.
We don't always succeed in that.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
But we certainly try.
We certainly never forget whowe are as a Catholic
organization, that we are aministry of our church, that our
bishop has expectations of us.
When we treat people, that wetreat them with the kindness
that Christ would want us, wetreat them with the uh, with the
kindness that Christ would wantus to to, to treat them with
(10:09):
and, uh, you know, justrecognizing that that everybody,
everybody is grieves in acertain way, and just try our
best to to be there for them asthey mourn the passing of
someone they cared about deeply.
And that's so, that's so, sothose are the hard times that
you know that, that when we'rewhen we're confronted by those
(10:29):
difficult situations and it'sgut-wrenching when you have to
tell a mom no, or a father no,or you know a spouse or whatever
it was it is.
It can be a real gut-wrenchingexperience.
But you know you have no choicebecause you're trying to,
you're trying to blend, you know, all those different requests
(10:50):
and requirements and with therules and to ensure that you
know you don't have chaos,because there's.
You know we have 750,000 peopleburied in our cemeteries, you
know and every year we still,you know we're burying 5,000,.
You know people and you know sothat's 5,000, you know people
and you know so that's 5,000more families that every year
that are impacted by the deathof a loved one, that also have
(11:11):
to find themselves in asituation where our rules and
regulations sometimes can bedifficult to accept.
But the other side of the coinis chaos, and we can't have
chaos, we can't have justeverybody doing whatever they
want.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
Yeah, well, I mean, there's safety concerns with
certain decorations that can putthe field in harm's way.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
Absolutely Well, and you know it's funny that you
mentioned the safety concerns.
I remember when we prohibitedthe pins in the crosses.
Speaker 3 (11:44):
You remember those, Joel, when they had the Right,
right, I do so the the oldwooden crosses would have stakes
they'd have stakes and thenduring the winter the ground
freezes.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
You try to remove them and those stakes are stuck
in the ground because they breakoff right and so then you've
got, you know, three, fourinches of a, of a, almost like a
nail sticking out of the ground, and we did actually have an
employee who put one through hisfoot, and so you know.
Speaker 1 (12:11):
So then we started a rule that says no more.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
And well, everybody got upset because they had
bought these crosses.
And I'm like, well, you know,those would be, we grandfathered
the old ones in, but anythingnew, and so that.
And then people would always,you know, then you'd get people
saying, well, mine wasgrandfathered in because I
bought it and it's like it looksbrand new.
It's like, so you know,eventually we just got to that
point after a couple of yearswhere the rule was in place.
(12:36):
We knew that these crosses atsome point we're going to be
replaced anyway.
So it, we eventually got tothat point where we didn't allow
them at all.
But again, as you said, it'sthe requirement of maintaining
the safety of our employees andit's just like the metal stuff
and the chips and the differentrocks that people put around
(12:57):
their monuments.
It's the same thing.
I mean we don't sit around justtrying to figure.
Sometimes you get theimpression like they think that
there's this guy in that corneroffice wringing his hands,
wondering, you know how can Imake this more difficult?
Speaker 1 (13:08):
how can I make?
Speaker 2 (13:10):
life more difficult for this poor, grieving you know
mom or or dad, and I'm like youknow.
No, as a matter of fact, wereally, really do struggle with
a lot of the decisions we make,uh, and it doesn't matter what
it is, whether it's you know,what do we?
What kind of pricing do we do?
You know, and we do.
We spend an enormous amount oftime on pricing and one of the
(13:32):
part of that conversation is youknow, how do we cover our costs
without burdening our families?
Because we recognize that thisis a very, very expensive,
expensive thing.
And funerals, the funeral part,is extremely costly.
And then on our end I mean, andand you kind of get that you
(13:54):
know, well, I could dig thathole, for I could dig that hole
for that, you know, in 20minutes.
And I'm like, well, a lot ofpeople don't think about
everything, that that is all thework that has to be done to get
to that point where you'reactually digging that hole.
But also then you're thinking,you know they ignore all the
development costs that go intoputting together a section, and
(14:17):
then all the, you know all thetime that is spent to make sure
that when you dig that holeyou're digging the right hole
and that you know you're makingsure you're digging the right
hole, and and that you knowyou're making sure.
And then, after the, after theeverything's done, you know, to
the supplies, that you need tomake sure that the grass is
growing, cause you know and itis amazing how you know how hard
(14:38):
it is to get grass to grow in acemetery Once you start ripping
up all that stuff.
And I mean, you know, and wespend quite a bit of money on
the materials, we really do, wehave topsoil made at Holy Cross,
I mean.
So it's just people don't reallyunderstand all the behind the
(15:01):
scenes and what we do, and mygoal personally is to minimize
the behind-the-scenes impact sothat I want families, when they
come into the cemetery, to focuson one thing their relationship
with the person that is buriedhere, to allow themselves the
time to remember and not focuson why are there weeds on my
(15:26):
grave?
Why is the grass not growing?
We spend so much time onspraying and cleaning and doing
all these things, but you know,there's only one place where
perfection exists and it's nothere.
That's heaven.
But we certainly do strive tobring as much of that perfection
to our cemeteries as we can,because we recognize that this
(15:46):
is where people come toreconnect with their loved ones,
to immerse themselves in thosememories, and I want them to
only be focused on their memoryof the loved one, not on some
other issues.
You know, whether it's in amausoleum or whether it's out
there in the field.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
So, Andre, how has the Catholic cemeteries changed
since you started here?
I'm sure there's so manychanges.
I mean we just heard about onewith decoration policy.
Speaker 3 (16:15):
Besides all the gray hair.
Speaker 2 (16:19):
Yeah, I did have dark hair when I started.
Well, I think the mostimportant thing is that we have
focused on just making sure thatour cemeteries are amongst the
best kept properties of anyother cemetery.
You know, like I said I guessyou know just to kind of follow
(16:40):
up with what I just said I wantpeople to come here and have a
little bit of that you know, Iwant a little bit of that wow
factor Like wow, what abeautiful place, you know, and I
think for the most part we'vesucceeded.
You know, unfortunately, onceyou go through the entrance and
you see all the things we'vedone and the plantings and the
landscape and everything, andthen you go to your grave and
(17:03):
there's crabgrass on the grave,well, that kind of takes away
from that.
But in that light, we'vesprayed a lot and we do a lot of
those things.
But I think how things havechanged.
You know, there was a period oftime where Catholic cemeteries,
they had lost the vision of theministry and I don't know when
(17:30):
specifically that happened,because for all that time, in
our Cleveland cemeteries anyway,I mean, there was a lot of that
very, very ministry-drivenfocus and at some point, whether
it was maybe the, maybe in the80s or the into the 90s, it
(17:52):
almost just seemed like, well,things were just moving along
the way they always this is well, this is how it's always been
and there was less of a focus onproviding our families with,
you know, beautiful pieces ofprop, you know beautiful places
where they could go and remembertheir loved ones.
So I think one of the thingsthat I focused on, and Father
(18:13):
Wright, when we got here, wasbeautification, that we had to
take these wonderful propertiesand bring them back to the
beauty that existed around thetime many of them were
established and in through the,you know, those early decades,
and kind of bringing them allback to a place of beauty.
(18:37):
You know, I think one of thethings that I am most proud of
is what happened at Holy CrossAkron, for example.
Holy Cross Akron, for example,where what was a big, swampy
kind of it just really wasn'tattractive at all, I mean, and
now, my gosh, when I go downthere, it's absolutely beautiful
(18:58):
.
Speaker 3 (18:58):
It was like a giant puddle.
Yeah, oh, wow.
Speaker 2 (19:02):
It really was.
It was brown and Brown and ugly.
Speaker 3 (19:05):
Yeah, almost like.
It just was like the end pointof wherever the water was coming
from.
It just ended up there like inthis just big puddle.
Speaker 2 (19:19):
Oh and junk.
Speaker 3 (19:20):
Remember all the junk that used to come in there.
Speaker 2 (19:22):
All the tires, tires, yeah.
Speaker 3 (19:23):
Tires.
Oh my gosh, what was this.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
It was weird, it was likeires.
Oh my gosh, it's like people,would you?
Speaker 2 (19:27):
know what was this?
It was weird.
It was like we there was justso much junk and it's like, oh
my God, and there was really.
There wasn't much landscape,there weren't any trees.
Speaker 3 (19:37):
No, not at all.
And now you?
Speaker 2 (19:38):
go down there, my gosh.
You can't even.
You can barely see other sidebecause of the, the trees that
have grown in and what we didwith planting of those um.
I know that when, at one pointI think, we planted uh, about 15
000 trees in our cemeteries um,yeah, I do remember the the
tree initiative.
(19:59):
Oh, my gosh, we went crazy onplanting trees, which, but we
needed to because it, you know.
I mean, what do people want?
And when they come to acemetery, they want it to be
beautiful, they wanted they itto be forested and park-like and
and to be a place where they,they can reconnect.
This place Calvary Cemeteryhere in Cleveland, it was it.
It really was in such bad shapeand and now people come here
(20:23):
they go.
Oh my gosh, this place isbeautiful.
And you know, but many of them,I mean Holy Cross, that whole
entrance, what we did there.
I mean, we took what was just aplain old big pile of just a
flat grassy area and wereestablished this creek.
I don't know why, I don't knowwhat was so popular putting
(20:43):
creeks in pipes but we reopenedit and daylighted it and now
there's.
You know.
So now you have, you know, Imean, if you drive down Brook
Park Road, if you drove downBrook Park Road 20 years ago and
looked over into Holy Cross, itwas just a flat nothing.
Speaker 3 (20:59):
It was just flat blah .
Speaker 2 (21:01):
Yeah, there was nothing.
Speaker 3 (21:03):
And then they daylighted the stream.
Almost 1,500 feet of streamGave it some landscaping around
it and some vegetation.
Now it looks beautiful.
Speaker 2 (21:16):
I know, and it continues to grow.
The other day I was there and Iwas walking toward that area
where it's kind of we left a lotof it to kind of go natural and
there was about three or fourdeer that were just kind of
lying there and they jumped upbecause I was approaching.
And so that's what's nice, is, Imean.
(21:36):
And so I know, at All Souls, Igot a little bit of pushback on
the area up front where we usedto cut it all the time, and so
it was nice and cut andeverything, and I'm like, well,
why are we cutting this hugearea of grass when it's, you
know, this should be?
If we had let it go 20 yearsago, it would be a forest today.
(21:58):
So, and I guess we, you know,it's just one of those things
where I finally came to therealization that you know, what
we've done at other properties,we should do that here as well.
So, trying to really make it so, when you drive into a Catholic
cemetery, you should be able toreconnect with, you know, god's
(22:19):
gift of nature to us all, andwhen you pull into a Catholic
cemetery, it should take youaway from the hustle and bustle
of daily life and so that you'reonly focused on one thing you
know remembering the person thatyou, that you, you know you
left here, that you buried here,you know, and there's always
that well, they're really notthere.
I know that their physical,their physical remains, are
(22:43):
buried in a dignified, beautifulplace.
Their soul, we pray, is inheaven and we believe.
But Catholic cemeteries are allpart of that belief, the belief
in the resurrection, the beliefin our relationship with God,
the significance that thisperson played in our lives.
That's why we treat their bodywith the dignity and respect of
(23:04):
placing them in sacred ground.
And that sacred ground shouldlook amazing.
It should really look beautiful.
And so, as a result, here weare.
You know, if you would have toldme 25 years ago that we would
be amongst the top cemeteries inthe country, I would have
(23:25):
probably looked at you and saidI don't see how that'll ever
happen.
But now I get calls fromcemeteries all across the
country asking hey, what are youdoing with this or what are you
doing with that?
And I'm like how did you hearabout us?
Well, maybe a supplier orsomeone else said hey, if you
want to go see a cemetery and awell-run cemetery, go to
(23:47):
Cleveland.
And again, I mean, there'salways things we could do.
And you know, one of the thingsthat probably frustrates me the
most is when I go out.
I see all the things that stillneed to be done and you could
still only tackle one thing at atime.
So you know, but I've never lostsight of where we were, where
(24:09):
we are and where we need to be,to ensure that our families will
always have these beautifulproperties, that they can trust
that the Catholic cemeterieswill always be there for them,
because we do this for our thisis for our families, this is our
(24:29):
church's way of telling ourfamilies that we love them and
we care about them and that werecognize this beautiful
ministry of the church and itreally is a relationship that we
have with our dead.
One of the corporal work ofmercy corporal works of mercy is
, you know, the burial of thedead, and it's, you know, these
(24:50):
are things that were given to us, these are gifts that were
given to us by Christ.
And look at, you know, in theJewish tradition, the importance
of burial.
I mean, it was so important, asChrist died on that cross, to
retrieve his body, anointed asmuch as they could to get him
(25:11):
into the tomb before sundown,and that tradition continues on
in what we do and it wascritical that he be properly
buried.
Now we know it was onlytemporary, but you know we also
believe that it's temporary forus as well.
It's just more than three days.
Speaker 3 (25:32):
A little more, just a little bit.
Speaker 1 (25:36):
But I mean we also do more than just landscaping to
improve the cemeteries.
I mean we have the new sectionsigns, so those are beautiful
and I I've already gotten a lotof compliments on those from
social media and just peopleI've talked to who actually go
to the cemeteries.
I already told you about amother who had told me that she
was visiting her son here andthat she thought that it was so
(25:57):
helpful to actually see those.
That's great to know, sowonderful.
Speaker 2 (26:02):
Well, and again, you're absolutely right, you
being here, is what we'veaccomplished in our cemeteries.
I mean, if you would have toldme 20 years ago, 25 years ago,
that someday we would have a100th episode of a podcast.
Speaker 3 (26:18):
First we'd ask what's a podcast, what's a?
Speaker 2 (26:20):
podcast or just a program any kind of program.
I would have looked at you like, why would we do something like
that?
But I think we've really focusedso much on the ministry aspects
of what we do that hasencouraged us to do things like
(26:41):
this podcast to let people knowwhat's going on, to give them
some guidance in dealing withtheir grief and to ensure or
assure them of our care fortheir loved ones and to make
sure that they understand thatwe are very aware of our
responsibility and that you knowwe take that for responsibility
(27:03):
very seriously.
We take that for responsibilityvery seriously.
So it's yeah, it's yes, yousitting here is something that
is a huge accomplishment for us?
because of what?
But again, you quite frankly,paige, you get the mission.
You understand what we're allabout and you know, I know Joel
has always been part of that.
He's always you know, I guessreally you know.
(27:27):
I talked about the landscapeand everything and you brought
me back for a moment and,reflecting on our staff, we have
built a team of people aroundhere and we've always been
fortunate enough to have goodpeople.
but, you know, sometimes youreally have to focus on, you
know, ministry, and I think wehave built a team of people
(27:50):
throughout our organization,whether it's.
Eddie, who's you know comes in,you know to clean the floors, or
whether it's you know someonein my position or you know
anybody throughout.
I mean, if you ask anybody, um,they have a very clear
understanding of, of, theirresponsibility, of their of, of,
(28:12):
and they, they know that thisis a ministry Um and um and they
know the importance of of beingwith out there to serve our
families, and I get a lot ofnice compliments from people
about how wonderful, oh, yourstaff was so wonderful.
They dropped everything andhelped me find this or helped me
find that.
So I think it comes down tothey get it.
(28:35):
We, you know, our crew, ourteam gets it.
Speaker 1 (28:41):
I like that answer mainly because I love everyone
that I work with here at Calvary, mainly because I love everyone
that I work with here atCalvary, including.
Joel.
Hey Joel, what's up?
Paige?
So can you tell us about?
I know you talked a little bitabout the landscaping and how
you built the cemeteries back up.
Well, it was not me, it was.
When you say I, the whole crew.
Yeah, it really was.
Speaker 2 (29:02):
Yeah, I just wanted to be very clear.
This was a team effort, man.
I mean we, you know, I may havebeen the one that kind of set
things in motion, but it really.
We have just such an amazinggroup of people that are
dedicated to service to ourfamilies and I think that's the
thing that I.
I think, if you ask me what isthe thing that you appreciate
(29:25):
most about our Catholiccemeteries, it's the people,
because, without you know, quitefrankly, they make me look good
.
Speaker 1 (29:37):
So what is your proudest achievement then?
Speaker 2 (29:39):
Oh, my gosh.
Speaker 1 (29:41):
I know I have all the good questions.
Speaker 2 (29:46):
My proudest achievement would probably be
the creation of the team thebuilding of the team and making
sure that our staff is takencare of that.
These are that we've taken whatwas once a kind of like eh job.
(30:09):
I know that when I firststarted here, these were not
considered to be great jobs.
These were, they weren't careerseven though a lot of people
stayed here for a long time andwhat my goal was to turn these
(30:49):
into that you could actuallymake a career here, that you
could learn, that you could growbetter, but where you
appreciate the job, where youappreciate what management is
focused on.
My proudest achievement wouldbe the way we have built an
amazing program for our staff,that they can count on us to
(31:15):
always look out for them when itcomes to whether it's a pay
package that is very competitive, competitive or just making
sure that every single employee,regardless of station, is
treated with the dignity andrespect that each person is
(31:36):
entitled to.
Now, it doesn't mean that youdon't have to give back and work
.
There certainly areexpectations that you you know
you gotta we require hard workhere.
Joel knows expectations that youyou know you got to earn that,
you got to earn that paycheckevery two weeks, but but I think
I think, in that regard, that'sprobably the thing that I, at
(31:58):
the end of, at the end of mycareer here and at the end of my
days, I think I will alwaysreflect on the fact that, by
focusing on the needs of ourfamilies, making sure that you
know I mean we have men andwomen here who work, that have
children, they have families,they have responsibilities and
to make sure that they can meetthose obligations, that they can
(32:21):
pay for their groceries and payfor their gas and that they can
take a vacation I think thoseare the things that you know I
would say would be my proudestachievement is turning taking
what was once not a verywell-regarded employment
situation into something that iswhat it is today, where you
(32:44):
know, they know, they know thatthe boss cares about their life,
so that would be my proudestachievement.
Speaker 1 (32:56):
That's a wonderful answer.
And your answer kind of gave meanother question that isn't on
the list.
So what is people's firstreactions when you tell them
that you work at a cemetery?
Because you know it's notreally, I would say you know a
usual job that people hear of.
So, joel, you can answer too.
Speaker 2 (33:18):
I get a lot of oh well, that's interesting.
And then I kind of go into Isays, well, I don't really give
them a lot of time to go intofilling in the blanks in their
head.
I tell them that you know whatwe do, the operation, how many
properties you know.
I kind of give them the oh well, we have 35 miles of roads, we
(33:43):
have 160 employees.
We have, you know, wemanufacture headstones and
memorials.
We have a full shop.
We have, you know, 10 mechanicson staff.
So I kind of and they look atme like you guys do all of that.
Speaker 1 (33:57):
That's a lot.
Speaker 2 (33:58):
Yeah, I mean, you know people only see the
cemetery from the perspective ofthe moment they spent here
burying a loved one and quitefrankly, that's good.
Or Hollywood.
Speaker 3 (34:07):
Or.
Speaker 2 (34:07):
Hollywood or Hollywood yeah.
Speaker 1 (34:10):
Yeah, the way Hollywood does it.
Speaker 2 (34:12):
Hollywood doesn't give us a lot of credit.
Cemeteries are spooky, creepy,whatever they are.
Speaker 1 (34:15):
I have a blog post coming out about that soon, but
they're not.
Speaker 2 (34:19):
I mean, they're amazing properties, they're
beautiful and the history that'shere.
And then, on top of that, thereis the business aspect of it,
and you have to run thecemeteries like any other
business.
We have to, you know.
We have to generate income topay those salaries and to pay,
(34:40):
you know, in order to make surethat we can accomplish those
things that I just talked about,that I'm most proud of, we have
to make money, and so you haveto be very responsible with
these resources.
Without and that's the thing sohow do you make?
How do you make money that youcan pay your people well and
that you can pay the bills andthat you can take care of the
infrastructure and do all thosethings without ever forgetting
(35:03):
that you're a ministry of theCatholic?
Speaker 1 (35:04):
church and never forgetting the mission.
Speaker 2 (35:06):
And that's and that.
So that's kind of thatdifficult thing and I think
we've.
I think we have attained thatdifficult balance between
running it as a business andnever forgetting the ministry
part.
Speaker 1 (35:21):
I would agree.
I mean I've only been here fortwo years, but I mean I see that
I mean we have the blog, wehave the grief support groups,
we have the free events thatpeople can go to.
I mean Walk to Remember iscoming up this Sunday, and then
I mean there are all thesethings that we do to support the
families, but I mean we also do, obviously, incorporate the
business side of it.
So I can definitely see that.
Speaker 3 (35:42):
Andre mentioned Father Wright and when Father
Wright approached me aboutworking at the cemeteries hey,
you ever think about working?
Speaker 1 (35:50):
at the cemeteries Apparently.
Father Wright was just arecruiter, is what I'm hearing,
my first reaction was what?
Speaker 3 (35:55):
digging him Again going?
Back to that whole notion.
Yes, and you don't really thinkabout or at least I didn't at
the time, I mean I was 29.
I didn't think about, like,what all goes into actually
upkeeping and running a cemetery.
And then you get into it andyou see, I mean it's the record
(36:19):
keeping, it's just answering thephone call and giving out a
burial location, it is thebackhoes and the dump trucks and
the Cushmans and steel-toedboots.
I mean it's all that and youlearn that as you're here and
(36:44):
you get immersed into it.
And, yeah, it's a lot more thanjust digging a grave, yeah, and
even even that you know, andreeven mentioned that earlier yeah
, you know most people are like,well, I could dig that hole,
you could, but are you going toget it deep enough?
Are you going to stay withinthe confines of the grave size,
(37:06):
right, are you going to all ofthose things?
Speaker 1 (37:11):
There's so much that goes into it.
Speaker 3 (37:12):
It is so involved.
People think it's so simple,but it's really not.
It's not.
Speaker 1 (37:17):
I would say that my friends also had the same
reaction when I started workinghere.
They also thought that I wouldbe digging graves, not running a
podcast.
And then, whenever I tellpeople about this podcast, they
always ask what we talk aboutand I tell them.
I give them the whole spielbecause, you know, I think that
it's really important and Ireally love doing the podcast.
It's one of my favorite things,so I'm glad it really provides
(37:37):
a lot of.
Speaker 2 (37:38):
You're providing a lot of information to our
families, so that they havemaybe a clearer understanding of
what we do.
You know, I appreciate youmentioning the boot program,
because that was you know.
That was I mean, if you reallywant an idea of how we think
about our staff and how we youknow whether it's myself or any
one of the management team howwe feel about the people that
(38:00):
you know.
Ultimately, the staff here is.
They are my responsibility andit is my responsibility to
ensure that they have the besttools, the best equipment and
the best compensation that wecan possibly give.
Obviously, there's always thoseparameters and we really do try
to bring in a lot of outsidesources and to develop the
(38:23):
statistics so that we are verycompetitive depending on the job
classification.
But the steel-toed bootsprobably are the thing that most
reflect how I feel.
Early on when I started so ithas to be 20 plus years.
Well, when I started I startedgoing around and unfortunately
(38:45):
we were in a very difficultfinancial period.
There were some seriousfinancial difficulties at that
time, so it took a little bit ofwhile.
It took some time to getthrough some of that stuff.
But I remember talking to aparticular employee who's still
with us, so I mean he's beenhere that long and I was talking
(39:07):
to him and it was rainy and Ilooked down and his boots were.
They were steel-toed boots,they had to be, but they were
held together with duct tape.
And I thought to myself is thiswhere we are, where you know
someone that we rely on to beout there in the miserable cold
weather?
(39:27):
And I looked at him and he justsaid to me he saw me looking at
his boots and he said, yeah,well, you know, I'm trying to
get that last bit of life out ofhim, andre, I'm thinking to
myself, you know, we can't allowthis.
And it wasn't that long after.
I mean, I was determined that wewere going to have, you know,
(39:48):
programs.
So now we've reached a pointwhere we pay for Red Wing boots.
They receive, you know, thetruck comes here and they get a
winter pair and a summer pair.
And you know, we figure,because they get two pair of
boots, they usually last everytwo seasons, but if they go bad,
(40:10):
we'll, we'll get them anotherpair.
So the the red wing boot truckcomes and they get that, they
get to go in and they pickthemselves a nice pair of, uh,
red wing boots.
And then we started, you know,um, one of the guys was asking
if we could provide them withrain gear.
And so we did.
We bought top-line rain gear,not just something.
(40:32):
The rain gear that we give ourguys isn't something that you
get in a little plastic baggie,that's you know.
Speaker 1 (40:37):
From the dollar store .
Speaker 2 (40:38):
No man, this rain gear is top quality, whether
it's the jackets, the sweatshirt, whatever the equipment that
they need to make them, you know, comfortable in their day,
because you know what, quitehonestly, I've done construction
in my life and I rememberwearing crappy, beat-up boots
(41:00):
and being soaked to the pointwhere you are just you know,
your feet are prunes and Iworked outside so I know what
it's like.
I think everybody who'sresponsible for people who work
outside needs to spend timeworking outside so they can
understand what it's like tostand in a hot shower and, as
(41:25):
hot as that water can get, yourbody is still not warming up
because your core temperaturehas has has crashed because you
were working outside inmiserable cold weather.
And people who work outside, um, you know.
And so when you have had thatexperience in your life and you
and you are responsible forpeople who work outside, that is
(41:48):
something that you're alwaysthinking about is are they okay?
Are they?
You know?
Hey, don't make sure they getinside and warm up or, on a hot
day, make sure they go insideand cool off, make sure they
have plenty of water.
So you're always thinking aboutmaking sure that the staff, that
they're okay, that they're notput at risk.
(42:09):
So that's, you know, that kindof ties into what my proudest
achievement is Just the way weand that particular employee
that's still with us with theboots he's every now and again
when I see him, you know, wehave a quick conversation and he
just always appreciateseverything that we've done for
(42:32):
our staff, because he rememberswhat it was like before when
very little was done to takecare of our staff, and that's it
makes me sad that there's thatthere were people here back in
that day when, you know, whenthat effort wasn't put into it
and I don't blame anybody, it'sjust there was a mentality that
(42:54):
that's just the way it was andyou know you have to have a
different experience, maybe froman outsider's perspective, to
bring that, so that you knowyou're focused on the needs of
your people.
Speaker 1 (43:07):
Yeah, and I mean, people are everything when it
comes to a business.
Speaker 3 (43:11):
They really are, especially this one.
Speaker 1 (43:13):
So one last question to end this off what legacy
would you like to leave as CEO?
Speaker 2 (43:21):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (43:24):
I saved the last good one for last.
I saved the last good one forlast.
Speaker 2 (43:33):
That's a tough one because I really don't think a
lot about legacy, but I live mylife very, very frankly.
(43:54):
I I leave behind here.
I hope that people rememberthat I cared for them and that I
cared enough to put, you know,my needs aside for their needs,
and my only thing that I, youknow, the legacy I want is that
when I stand before God, he mayroll his eyes a bit, but he
doesn't point me in the otherdirection.
(44:15):
So that is, that is.
I think that that is when you,when you live your life with,
with heaven as your primaryfocus, um, it's, it's.
It guides you in a way that isvery different than a lot of us.
And again, it doesn't matterwhere you are in life, whether
(44:36):
you're the one that's out theredigging the grave or whether
you're building cars in Detroitand your responsibility is to
put the transmission in orwhatever it is.
You're welding this or puttingthat together.
Every career, every job,everything we do.
(44:58):
When you live it in such a waythat you're focused on being
part of the community and partof a faith that guides you
toward God, I think legacybecomes.
That's where your legacy liesis that you live your life with
(45:21):
a focus on heaven and so thatwhen the end comes, so a lot of
people live their lives withtheir focus on legacy is to have
their name on a library, ortheir name on this, or to have
their name on whatever you know,whatever it is, I mean, and
that's great, that's good?
I certainly would never.
I'm not judging anybody for howthey want their legacy to be.
(45:43):
You know, whether it's puttingtheir name on a library,
whatever I mean, those areimportant things, because a lot
of those you know.
When you have your name on ahospital, what'd you do?
You built a hospital thatserves people, and so that's a
wonderful, beautiful legacy.
But if that legacy loses sightof heaven, then what was it
really for?
Okay, I mean, putting your nameon a building is beautiful and
(46:07):
it serves and it does a lot ofgreat things, but what good is
it if, if you don't achieveheaven?
So that's, that's what legacyshould be and that's what we
should all be focused on.
Speaker 1 (46:23):
So Well, I think that is a great note to end on.
So thank you, Andre, forjoining us, sharing your
insights and stories with us.
Joel, thank you for joining usfor the moment that you did.
Speaker 3 (46:35):
This guy's gold, bring him down here.
Episodes 101 to 200 writethemselves.
Speaker 2 (46:42):
Well, thank you, I appreciate that.
Speaker 3 (47:01):
Now, shifting gears.
We're going to delve into oneof our favorite segments
Messages from Heaven.
This part of the show alwaysgives us a moment to reflect and
connect with something beyondus.
Today, we have a particularlytouching story that reminds us
of the profound impact of loveand legacy.
Speaker 1 (47:21):
This story was submitted by Michaela S.
Ever since my mom passed awayin 2015,.
By Michaela S.
Ever since my mom passed awayin 2015,.
I found comfort in the littlesigns that she stole with me,
watching over the big moments ofmy life.
It started with me findingdimes on the sidewalk, a symbol
I've come to associate with herpresence.
On my first day of college, Ifound a dime outside my
(47:43):
classroom.
On my first day with my nowfiance, he found a shiny dime on
the ground and handed it to me.
Again and again.
It kept happening.
I suppose you could havechalked it up as a coincidence
and moved on.
But the most striking momenthappened on the day I went to
get my marriage license.
It was a significant step andit served as a reminder.
(48:03):
My mom wouldn't be present atthe wedding.
My fiance and I filled out thenecessary paperwork and left it
on the table while we steppedout for a bit.
When we returned there, it wasa dime sitting on top of the
license.
No one had been in the room andthere was no way it could have
been there before.
It was as if my mom had justdropped by to show her approval
and to remind me she was stillpart of my life.
(48:25):
That dime felt like a hug fromher.
On the day of my wedding weleft an empty seat for her and
put a dime on it.
A short but beautiful story.
It serves as a reminder that adeparted loved one's love and
spirit continue to be part ofall the important milestones in
(48:45):
our life guiding us from beyond.
It's truly remarkable how signsand symbols can comfort us in
profound ways.
Let's move on to anotherintriguing segment of today's
(49:15):
episode.
We're going to delve into thelife and legacy of a notable
figure buried at one of ourcemeteries Ed Delahunty.
Ed's story is not onlyinspiring but also a testament
to the mark an individual canleave on a community.
Join us as we explore hiscontributions and the lasting
impact he has made.
Cleveland is home to some ofthe best athletic teams in the
(49:38):
country, even though the Brownsare making that kind of hard to
believe right now.
Cleveland is also home to somefamous and notable athletes such
as Ed Delahunty.
Cleveland is also home to somefamous and notable athletes such
as Ed Delahunty.
His story is one of greatsuccess, proving how hard work
and dedication pay off.
Born in Cleveland on October 30,1867, delahunty had a rather
(49:59):
normal childhood, attendingCentral High School in Cleveland
and attending St Joseph'sCollege.
Delahunty stayed local for themajority of his early years.
When he was 20 years old,delahunty signed on to play with
a minor league team in Wheeling, west Virginia.
It wasn't long before Delahuntywas traded and by the end of
1887, he was sent toPhiladelphia, pa, to play with
(50:22):
the Phillies.
In the spring of 1888, heofficially began his career in
the major leagues, starting onsecond base.
Over the next five years, hewould begin to build his batting
average, so much so that in1892, he hit a ball so hard it
broke the pitcher's ankle.
By 1893, he had a listing of 19home runs and 146 runners
(50:48):
batted in, and his performancewas only getting better.
It wasn't until 1899 thatDelahunty won his first batting
title, boasting a .400 battingaverage for three years.
However, this wasn't his firstnotable achievement.
In 1896, he became the secondperson to hit four home runs in
(51:11):
a single game, and that sameyear he also hit 10 consecutive
times while atbat.
Delahunty began to play for theWashington Senators in 1902,
where he won another battingtitle, making him the only
person to hold a batting titlein both the National and
American Leagues.
Delahunty played for theSenators until his untimely
(51:34):
death in 1903.
He was buried in CalvaryCemetery in Cleveland in Section
10, lot 135B, grave 7.
At the time of his death, dellaHunty had recorded 101 home
runs, 1,464 runners batted in,522 doubles, 185 triples and 455
(51:59):
stolen bases.
One can only imagine what hecould have accomplished had he
continued hiscareer.
And that brings us to the endof today's episode.
Thank you for joining us onthis special journey through
heartfelt messages from beyondand celebrating the lives of
(52:20):
remarkable individuals like EdDelahunty.
It's stories like these thatremind us of the connections and
legacies that shape ourexperiences and our communities.
Before we go, just a reminderwe're always looking for more
guests for the Inspiring Storiesof Healing and Hope series, and
we're also looking for moremessages from heaven or experts
(52:41):
in the field of grief in orderto join us on the podcast.
So if you or anyone you knowhas a story or is interested in
joining us, please email us atpodcast at C-L-E-C-E-M dot org.
Thank you.
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