Gravely Speaking

Hilldale Cemetery, Martinsville, Indiana

HELMS ROBERT “BOBBY” LEE

AUGUST 15, 1933

JUNE 9, 1997

—HERE LIES A LEGEND—

Mr. JINGLE BELL ROCK

BLESSED ARE THEY THAT MOURN

FOR THEY SHALL BE COMFORTED       MATTHEW 5:4

At this time of year, radio stations are playing classic holiday songs like Big Crosby’s “White Christmas”, “Holly Jolly Christmas” by Burl Ives, and “Santa Baby” by Eartha Kitt, among many others. Late in 1957, Decca records released “Jingle Bell Rock” by country singer, Bobby Helms. He had two country hits that same year with “Fraulein” and “My Special Angel” both of which hit number 1 on the country charts and became cross-over hits, as well, making their way into the Top 40. By Mid-December, “Jingle Bell Rock” was on nearly every radio station’s playlist and even being danced to on American Bandstand when it climbed to number 6 on the Top 40. Within five years “Jingle Bell Rock” sold over two million records and has become a holiday favorite.

The singer, Bobby Helms, was born in Helmsburg, Indiana, most likely settled and named for his ancestors. Helms picked up his musical bent from his parents, Fred and Hildreth Esther, and first started singing in a duo with his brother, Freddie, before he struck out on his own and headed to Nashville, Tennessee, to make a name for himself. Helms travelled round the country performing but spent most of his life living outside Martinsville, Indiana. Helms is buried in the Hilldale Cemetery at Martinsville; his light-gray granite gravestone marking his fame as the singer of the bouncy Christmas tune. He was inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame, but his most fitting tribute is that “Jingle Bell Rock” has been on the holiday playlist since it was first released in the fall of ’57 and has remained there ever since.

I want to give my colleague and friend, Mack, a shout out for giving me a heads up about this famous grave in his home town.

Mt. Olivet Cemetery, Chicago, Illinois

ALPHONSE CAPONE

1899- – 1947

MY JESUS MERCY

MAE CAPONE

1897 – 1986

Gonzo reporter, Geraldo Rivera, had a two-hour television special which aired on April 21, 1986, titled, The Mystery of Al Capone’s Vaults. For a time, Capone had housed his operations in the Lexington Hotel in Chicago. A construction found a series of secret rooms and tunnels under the hotel, which presumably had been used to hide Capone’s prostitution, gambling, and alcohol operations. Rivera, responding to rumors of their discovery developed the idea to open the lost and secret vaults on live television. The much-hyped end of the show, the moment 30 million viewers had waited for, revealed a near empty vault—dust and a few empty gin bottles—leaving Geraldo looking somewhat flummoxed and empty handed.

The vaults that Rivera did not highlight on his special were the vaults of a different kind—Capone’s burial vaults. Al Capone died in Florida from the devastating effects of syphilis left untreated. After a large and elaborate funeral at the Philbrick Funeral Home and Chapel and St. Patrick’s Church in Miami Beach, Florida, Capone’s body was transported to Chicago. To avoid the press a decoy casket was transported by hearse to a train station and shipped to Chicago while the real casket containing Capone was loaded into the back of a station wagon and driven to Illinois. Al Capone’s body was laid to rest at the Mt. Olivet Catholic Cemetery, next to his father, Gabriele, and his brother, Salvatore. A large black polished granite stele was erected. Two oval porcelain photographs of his father and his brother adorned the stone.

QUI RIPOSA

GABRIELE CAPONE

NATO DEC. 29, 1865

MORTO NOV. 14, 1920

QUI RIPOSA

SALVATORE CAPONE

NATO LUGLIO 16, 1895

MORTO APRILE 1, 1924

AL CAPONE

1899 – 1947

There was a steady stream of gawkers to the gravesite and souvenir hunters pried off the photos of Gabreile and Salvatore. Vandals pushed the large stone over several times. After the death of Mae, the Capone family decided to move Grabeile, Salvatore, and Alphonse to the Mt. Carmel Cemetery in Hillside, Illinois. To throw off the sightseers, the large black gravestone was left in place, hoping the ruse would keep people away. This post is evidence the plan didn’t work.

Mt. Carmel Cemetery, Hillside, Illinois