I was born in Dayton, Ohio.  Home of the famous Wright brothers, and it used to be an all right place to live.  My daughters were also born in Dayton and in the very same hospital – Miami Valley Hospital.

Down the street from the hospital is one of my very favorite places in Dayton.  It is Woodlawn Cemetery and Arboretum and has just the most wonderful attractions.  When you enter the cemetery you see this fabulous structure with a gentleman, Adam Schantz, sitting atop a mausoleum.  It is said that he moves every once in a while.  We always try to capture him moving but have never had the privilege.

There is a lovely burial crypt that always has a fresh red rose on the door handle.  We always wonder who puts the rose there every day.

You travel up a slight grade to the top of the hill and the view of Dayton is so very lovely.  I have many photos of this exact spot.  I have taken many visitors to Dayton to see this view.

One of my favorite graves is that of little Johnny Morehouse.  I looked on line and discovered that Johnny drowned in a canal near his home.  His dog dragged him out of the canal but Johnny was already dead.  The cemetery site says that this monument of Johnny and his dog is one of their best attractions.  The monument was carved by a local sculptor, Daniel La Dow and shows Johnny resting his head on his dog and next to him are his ball and ball cap and his harmonica.  These were in Johnny’s pocket when he drowned.  Legend states that Johnny’s dog sat beside his grave for days after his burial.

Another of my favorite grave sites is a little girl playing a flute.  I wonder if she really did play the flute in life or if her family just wanted her to play the flute throughout eternity.

There is always something very whimsical in the cemetery.  With the University of Dayton in the neighborhood, I wonder if kids get drunk in the cemetery and leave remnants of their drunken evening.

One of my personal heroes is buried there – Erma Bombeck.  Also buried there are Wilbur Wright, Charles F. Kettering and Paul Lawrence Dunbar, three of the famous Daytonians.

If you ever get to Dayton be sure to check out the cemetery.  You will not be sorry.