St. John W

If you frequent Little Pond, you already know our patron saint:

John W. Jones came to Elmira as a runaway slave. He facilitated the flight of some 800 fugitives like himself through the Underground Railroad. My dorm room in 1975-76 was right over one of those passages.

During the Civil War there was a prisoner of war camp on the banks of the Chemung. My beloved river was probably the cause of thousands of deaths from diseases exacerbated by the dampness and flooding.

Jones personally oversaw the burial of almost 3,000 of those unfortunates. He kept meticulous records that allowed their grieving families to find closure in Woodlawn Cemetery.

Sunday we had a couple of pieces in our newspaper about Jones: an editorial detailing his life; an update on the restoration of his home and creation of a John W. Jones Museum; a series in the Gallery section with photos of the museum.

Icing on the cake! St. John W was a gentleman. (DUH! or DOH! Actually they mean "prosperous")

And sprinkles! Did you know?

Love it!

pb
Little Pond