About LaShelle Scott
LaShelle Scott is the executive producer and host of Stones, Bones, and Shadows, a podcast about historic cemeteries and the people who reside in them. Everyone who has passed through this world has made an impact in some way, and has a story to tell. And LaShelle makes sure those stories get heard.
Her passion for cemeteries started when she was a kid, getting up and at 'em early on a hot Arizona summer day to visit the plots of relatives in a nearby cemetery. With her family, she would help clean and pretty up their resting places, listen to stories, and feel closer to those who have departed this life.
Over the years, stopping at historic cemeteries to find other relatives, take in the elaborate monuments, and enjoy the garden atmosphere, has become a thing to do. And finding the stories of the famous, infamous, and everyday Jacks and Jills in those cemeteries has led to the production of more than 30 episodes of Stones, Bones, and Shadows.
Things You Won't Hear in this Episode
What's one story that you heard, or talked about, that you enjoyed learning about?
I did really love the story of Fortune when I talked to Martin about the Riverside Cemetery. Fortune was a slave and his owner, when he passed away, decided that he was going to use his bones for medical purposes and had them made into a skeleton. They were passed down through the family, and into a museum, and eventually in a closet. Someone decided that Fortune needed to have his name back and that he should have the dignity of a burial. They figured out who he was and where he'd come from and gave him a beautiful lie-in-state funeral, and now he's laid to rest in the Riverside Cemetery in Waterbury and has a beautiful stone.
I just love that, even though history can be cruel and wrong, that sometimes we can still do things to help make it a little better and make some things right. So I really loved that story. LISTEN TO THE EPISODE
What famous people have you talked about on the podcast?
Let's see. I've talked about Big Nose Kate, the girlfriend of Doc Holliday, and did a big episode about her and where she was buried and that was really interesting. I also did one about a man that people believe to be Billy the Kid, that wasn't really killed by Pat Garrett and had gone on to live the rest of his life. His name was John Miller, and you'll have to check it out to see if you think Billy could have actually escaped. Just super interesting.
Sometimes, the stories are about someone who may be well known in a part of the country, like the episode I did in Savannah, GA, and the owner of Wormsloe Plantation, Noble Jones. And so in that area of the country, the Jones family is a well-known name, but out here, no one's ever heard of Noble Jones. And so that makes it really interesting, too.
What's it like to put together an episode?
I say it's like writing a research paper for college every single week -- the deadline and trying to find all your facts and your sources and pull them all together and write something that's interesting and compelling [with] everything in your own words. It's really time consuming, but I love it.
Who else in your family helps with the podcast?
I get everybody involved. My daughter Taylor is the editor and does all the sound the putting it all together. And then my daughter Randi does a lot with photography and she's written a few episodes.
