Mother and Twins - Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia (and Rocky!?!)
We went to an event in Laurel Hill Cemetery located in Philadelphia last year. It was a beautiful cemetery, and whenever I say beautiful with cemeteries it means it's old, has many graves with statues that are unique (especially when they are falling apart).
There were 2 or 3 statues that I saw via google search, that I knew I had to find. We parked. Found 2 within 5 minutes. The #1 on my list was nearly impossible to find. I'm looking at different images, seeing the river, a building on the mountain, but nothing. Eventually a small bridge took us to another giant part of the cemetery. I look out in the distance and there 'She' was.
When I saw her, I was in a place I REALLY regret not knowing about (more of that at the end)
The statue is of Mary Schaaff. It was carved by her husband and the twins' father and overlooks the spot on the Schuylkill River where the babies drowned in 1855. Mary Schaaff died in 1857 - though many people thought the 3 died together in a boating accident
The one side is in Polish translated to: To the memory of Mary Schaaff. Wife of Henry Dmoghowski-Saunders. Born Neustadt on the Rhine May 24, 1823. Died Philadelphia July 8, 1857. Her children repose with her.
Now for the part I regret. I'm a huge Rocky fan, been so since I was around 5.SPOILER ALERTS In the last 2 movies with Rocky - Rocky Balboa & Creed. Rocky goes to visit his wife's grave. He has a folding chair in a tree (that has since been torn down) & talks to Adrian. In Creed another main character passed and buried next to her.
Look at the very left of this Still from Creed (not my photo), that's Mrs. Schaaff, along with the building on the hill that is visible in 2 of my photos.
Little did I know, The headstones are located elsewhere in the cemetery (Adrian's was originally made of foam, but Stallone didn't think it looked right and had a real one made- not sure about the other one, since he wasn't the director of CREED). So that means- trip #2 coming soon
Hope you enjoyed the post
Wow, so interesting! I'm not sure I saw these later Rocky Movies - it's been a long time since I saw them. So sad for the mother and her twins depicted in the statue.
Yes the Rocky part of the post was more personal to me, growing up a Rocky fan & the fact that I was oblivious where I was standing (usually I would know that stuff). Plus it is pretty awesome that this statue made a cameo in a film that was up for many awards. The view is stunning, and that is probably why Sylvester Stallone picked that spot.
There is so much beauty in many of the old cemeteries.
I really enjoyed this history.
Such a bittersweet story.....I felt very sad for her and her babies.
I don't understand what you were talking about though re
Did this have to do with the Rocky films? If so, I have not seen them so maybe that's why I didn't get it.
I did enjoy the post though, thank you and I will look for part 2. Your photos were beautiful btw.
It was from the last Rocky film (Rocky Balboa) & the newer movie 'Creed'- a spinoff of the Rocky films. Basically Rocky lost his wife and he would go to her grave everyday. When I got home, I looked up the Mother and Twins, that is when I saw that the movie was filmed there. I was just venting that I was on the spot of one of my favorite movie franchises and had no idea. Then to read that the gravestones are there on display and I missed the photo op, makes me have to go back
The things I don't know .... interesting story. The statue made me feel a bit sad though to be honest. It's a beautiful tribute to a mother's love that's for sure.
Thanks for taking the time to explain :)
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Very nice! We don't have any quite that ornate in this area, as Minnesota was "the frontier" in the 1800's, and most settlers weren't very wealthy. The civial war-era graves are still fascinating, though. Sculpted by hand, with thoughtful epitaphs inscribed, they are works of art in their own right. It would be fun to see that graveyard in the fog... :-)
Mary's sculpture looks very nicely weathered. 150+ years has provided some added aesthetic!
I love shooting at night or in the fog in cemeteries, most of them (due to vandalism most likely) close at sunset or before. The weathering is my favorite part. Sadly, especially in Europe, arms and legs tend to fall off- sometimes worse. It's hard to find good cemeteries in the US. New Orleans & Savannah have been my favorites. Every cemetery I've been to in Europe (Paris, London, & Rome) is like a museum. We were just in Hollywood and of course many of the rich and famous have super expensive statues, but they usually don't have any character to them. Too clean and polished.