The Mystery of The Thomas Graves

When's the last time you set out to discover a mystery?

A friend of mine called me a couple weeks ago to tell me about a small graveyard that she remembered from her days of working at Glacial Park in McHenry County, Illinois.  According to her, The Thomas graveyard was nestled in the middle of this enormous state park and you had to hike to get to it. The prospect was too cool for words, so I put on my hiking boots and set out to find it, which we did. 

This video caused quite a stir among my family and friends who viewed it a couple of weeks ago. They thought the details of the family's lives might unnerve people. I also began to be concerned that people might freak out when they saw this stomp.  You see, the Thomas family moved to the area in the 19th century from New York to do some homesteading.  They took an incredible risk and paid an unbelievably high price for it, as you'll see in the stomp.  To leave the stomp at that just wasn't enough. The mystery of what happened to the Thomas family and the question, "Was the risk worth the price?" are left looming at the end of this video. So many people are afraid to take risks because they fear the consequences.  Many will tell you to follow your bliss and everything will always be smooth sailing, and you will always be protected.  I'm not going to insult your intelligence by saying anything like that because, as we all know, that's not always the case; as this video shows.  But that's not where the lesson of this stomp lies.  The price for never taking risks is to shamble like a zombie through a life half-lived and to keep from making a lasting impact.

Unfortunately, no one knows what happened to the Thomas family after they moved out of the area.  There is no record of where they went.  But I want you to consider this as you watch the video: two descedents of the Thomases have been found.  One in Northern Illinois and one in California.  If the Thomases had not taken the risk to move out here, those descendants would not be here today, nor would they be situated where they are.  I think if you asked those descendants and their loved ones was the risk their ancestors took worth it, they would say, Yes, it most definitely was.

My thanks to Ricki Linnenkohl for directing me to this graveyard and to Kim Caldwell from the Priairie View education department for the background on the Thomas family.

Remembered, Part II

Since the last Gravestomp got such strong reaction, I had to do this follow up stomp in Fort Hill Cemetery. People were very effected by the question, What will you be remembered for? and I can understand why. It dredges up a lot of stuff that we're very attached to: things like identity and how we see ourselves. This stomp pushes the subject further.

What Are You Going to Be Remembered For?

A Gravestomp through Fairfield Cemetery in Ela township, Lake county IL which begs the question, what do you want to be remembered for? My thanks to Sandy Coffell who watches the video blog regularly and who asked me to stomp this particular cemetery. The statue that looks like a little mole is actually a small lamb that has decayed. Sign of an infant's grave.

Curiosity and Action

I found this Graveyard during a moonlit drive last night. The huge church was lit with green light and it looked so eerie in the distance that I followed a hunch that there would be a graveyard attached and drove towards it. My curiosity was rewarded when I pulled up to the church and discovered this cool little 19th century cemetery. It looked so eerie and weird at night that I had to go back and stomp it during the day. The whole thing inspired a discussion of following your curiosity and exploring things that give us a sense of adventure.

The video starts when I'm still on my Harley and the wind is deafening for about 30 seconds. It dies down for the rest of it though.

You Give it Meaning.

Calvary Cemetery. A haunting legend. The question of what gives your life meaning...

Make Your Life Extraordinary!

Join Corin White, The Gravestomper, on a mini tour of the rather unusual Queen of Heaven Mausoleum In Hillside, Illinois. The mausoleum houses 20,000 corpses and is three stories. The space is filled with a strange collection of images relating to punishment and suffering--a reminder that life is short, and that we needen't make ourselves suffer any more than we already do.

Be open to Surprise

Adventure through this wonderful little cemetery in Lake County, IL with Gravestomper, Corin White, who encounters a surprise when he arrives...