All the world’s a stage, 

And all the men and women merely players; 

—William Shakespeare  

Laurel Grove Cemetery and the Louisa Porter Gravestone 

I’m going to let you in on a personal secret I’ve been keeping for some time now. However, promise me you won’t tell everyone—just the folks who will most appreciate it. 

In past Postcards from Savannah (PFS), I’ve mentioned my three Jack Russell doggies: JJ, Bubbles, and Ashkii. I often bring all three dogs to work, particularly when I’m planning a long workday in the studio. All of my Jacks love to while most of their time away from sleeping in each one’s designated spot.  

JJ, my sweet boy, will usually get up to greet everyone who enters my gallery. Bubbles, born with not quite the bubbliest of personalities, will usually glance up and offer a short uncommitted growl when seeing an intruder near her space. Ashkii is always quick to be my bathroom break attendant and she accompanies me when we wash our paintbrushes at the end of the day, as well. 

Every day when we come to the studio, we park far away so all three dogs get at least two long walks. 

But listen up, now: When I want to take them for a ‘special’ walk — as often as not on my way home from work — I’ll stop at the Laurel Grove Cemetery, which has been serving Savannahians since 1852. 

It is not the most famous cemetery in Savannah, of course. I’ll be getting out to visit Bonaventure to paint a couple of my postcards soon enough. But Laurel Grove is a special place nonetheless. 

All three pups are in on my secret: It is simply the best place in Savannah to walk your dogs; the quiet of the local also comforts the mind and soul. Plus, usually, there is no one else there, so my dogs can run to molest squirrels while I look around in contemplation, free from interruption. I highly recommend it. 

I’ve already painted and written about Florence Martus (PFS #22), the ‘Waving Girl.’ She now resides in Laurel Grove Cemetery buried next to her brother. Last week, I wrote about Juliette “Daisy” Gordon Low (PFS #32), the founder of the Girl Scouts. She is here, too, buried in her scout uniform with a note in its pocket that says: “You are not only the first Girl Scout but the best Girl Scout of them all.” Indeed. 

And, of course, many others who each played a role in Savannah’s history can now be found here. Civil War generals nearby slaves who died before the Confederate loss in the war that freed them; civil rights activists nearby clandestine teachers who taught slaves to read and write. Of course, parts of the cemetery are segregated reflecting a past that must never be forgotten; and, naturally, here reside ministers of both races, who comforted segregated congregations equally using the same Good Book.  

Fatefully, the full choir of American History can be heard in Laurel Grove Cemetery. So, when I come here to walk and to think and to rest and to restore my soul, there is much to keep me preoccupied. 

Today, I painted the gorgeous gravestone marker of Louisa Porter. Who was Louisa Porter? She was married to the president of the Bank of Georgia and later became a philanthropist, helping to create the Industrial Relief Society and Home for the Friendless which, after her death, was renamed ‘The Louisa Porter Home for Girls.’ So, the short answer to the question I asked above — Louisa Porter is an angel.