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PODCAST

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories

Brief biographies of permanent residents of Laurel Hill East in Philadelphia and Laurel Hill West in Bala Cywnyd, Pennsylvania. Often educational, always entertaining.

history

All Episodes

77:50

Mariticide for Beginners

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories ·

2025/10/10

Biographical Bytes from Bala #049 John Hobbs was stalked and shot at a railway station in 1891 by a spurned lover. CPT Clayton Erb was shot and killed, either by his wife or his sister-in-law, during one of many knockdown drag-out battles that had occurred in the brief marriage at the Red Gables mansion in Delaware County. In 1922, businessman Oscar Rosier and his secretary Jerry were mortally wounded by Rosier’s wife, who was thought to be the prettiest salesgirl in Philadelphia. Oscar lived long

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43:50

Raymond Pace Alexander & The Arsenic Murders

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories ·

2025/10/06

ABC079, Part 5The tale of the arsenic widows of Philadelphia will never be told fully, and hundreds of men may have died at their hands. Two of the women who looked the guiltiest were saved from a life in prison by brilliant African American defense attorney Raymond Pace Alexander.

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12:45

Victor "Babe" Andreoli: Kill and Be Killed

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories ·

2025/10/05

ABC #079, part 5Victor "Babe" Andreoli was raised in East Falls in a large, hardworking family, but fell in with bad company and was sentenced to life in prison. It didn't go well.

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28:27

Willie Lanzetta & His Infamous Brethren

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories ·

2025/10/04

ABC-079, part 3 Willie was one of six brothers in the crime business. They never bothered to affiliate with the Mafia, but three of the six brothers were picked off during gang wars. Willie was one of the victims.

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11:59

"Little Petey" Bisciotti & The Flag Day Massacre

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories ·

2025/10/03

ABC079 - part 2 Potito "Little Petey" Bisciotti was on the lower rungs of the mob but wanted to move up in the numbers racket. A rendezvous with fellow gangsters led to his untimely death by sawed-off shotgun.

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18:03

Evolution of Philadelphia Crime

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories ·

2025/10/02

ABC079, Part 1: How and Why Crime Emerged In neighborhoods across the city, ethnic groups clashed over control of gambling operations, protection, the numbers racket, prostitution, and eventually bootlegging. These criminal enterprises weren’t just about making money, but were also about gaining power and influence, sometimes even forging ties with local politicians and the police.

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135:40

Thugs & Gangsters of Laurel Hill

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories ·

2025/10/01

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #079 This episode tells of Laurel Hill residents remembered today for their involvement with organized crime in the 1930s and 1940s. After the full podcast today, each segment will be released individually. Petito "Little Petey" Bisciotti was a wannabe numbers man killed in what has become known as the Flag Day Massacre. Willie Lanzetti was one of six notorious brothers in constant legal troubles; he met his end in a gangland slaying before his body was

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46:59

John Henry Fow: Foghorn for the Talk, Ducky for the Walk

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories ·

2025/09/14

Biographical Bytes from Bala #048Today, I shine a spotlight on an all-but-forgotten Philadelphia politician John Henry Fow, known as “Foghorn” for his stentorian voice and “Ducky” for his quirky walk. Fow was a tough lawyer with an uncanny knack for finding what was unconstitutional. He wasn’t afraid to challenge accepted knowledge, and debunked the story behind the famous “Washington Crosses the Delaware” painting and seriously challenged the Betsy Ross flag anecdote. Fow’s love for practical

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26:31

LTC Edgar Loftus: Facing Down a Nazi Ace

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories ·

2025/09/06

Part 5 of All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #078 Edgar Loftus was a Wharton grad who rose in the Army Air Corps to Lieutenant Colonel. On VE Day, he was ranking officer in charge when a small squadron of German Aces landing their aircraft at his air base to end their war. The story is remarkable.

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25:51

Jacques Louis Francine: I Bombed Japan

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories ·

2025/09/05

Part 4 of All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #078 Despite his very French name, Jacques Louis Francine was from a well-established Philadelphia family. HIs grandfather was a Union general, his father was the world's expert on tuberculosis. Jacques was the ultimate outdoorsman, collecting specimens for the Academy of Natural Sciences in northern Canada and starting a canoe camp. But he was also a decorated fighter pilot and bomber pilot with more than 30 missions to his name. He is buried in

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31:43

Holger "Hold Your Horses" Hoiriis: Barnstorming,...

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories ·

2025/09/04

Part 3 of All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #078 In 1924, Danish-born Holger Hoiriis moved to the United States and bought an airplane. After barnstorming for a few years, he hitched up with German American photographer Otto Hillig who wanted to cross the ocean. Holgier thus became the first pilot to carry a paying customer across the Atlantic. He was also the first pilot to complete night airmail delivery for the US Postal service. After the war and when Holger was no longer around to

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37:32

Philadelphia Fliers: Grover Cleveland Bergdoll, Hobey...

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories ·

2025/09/03

Part 2 of All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #078 Beer heir Grover Cleveland Bergdoll was an early adaptor to flight and it is his Wright Brothers biplane that suspends from the ceiling of the Franklin Institute. He was also the most notorious American Draft Dodger during the Great War. You met Hobart Amory Hare "Hobey" Baker in an earlier podcast when fellow guide Paul Sookiasian and I talked about his athletic prowess; I return now to discuss his life as a pilot, and add new information

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30:00

Lincoln's Air Force: Defying Gravity in the 19th Century

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories ·

2025/09/02

Part 1 of All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #078 The first American balloon flight took place from Philadelphia, as did the great balloon riot of 1819. Thaddeus Lowe, who has relatives at Laurel Hill East, was the man who introduced the balloon to American warfare when he helped guide Union troops from 500 feet above the earth during the Battle of Fair Oaks. Until replaced by spy planes in the 20th century, balloons were one of the best surveillance tools in warfare.

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180:51

Look! Up in the Sky! Laurel Hill Pilots, part 1

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories ·

2025/09/01

Thaddeus Lowe is not buried at Laurel Hill, but has many connections there. He was an balloon aeronaut during the Civil War, thus father of the United States Air Force. Grover Cleveland Bergdoll's family is in a huge mausoleum at Laurel Hill West. An early student of the Wright brothers, he became a poster child for privilege when he dodged the draft during the Great War. Hobey Baker's athletic gifts made him a natural pilot, but he crashed and died on the day he was scheduled to return

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47:32

Sara Oberholtzer and Philadelphia Thrift

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories ·

2025/08/14

Biographical Bytes from Bala #057 for mid-August 2025Sara Louisa Oberholtzer was a feminist, an abolitionist, and a temperance advocate who helped establish school bank accounts for millions of American children during the "Thrift" movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Her legacy for thrift in Philadelphia is second only to Benjamin Franklin's.

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24:16

Antoinette Westphal: Drexel Forever!

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories ·

2025/08/05

From All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #077, Part 4Antoinette Westphal was Drexel through and through. While a student there in the late 1950s, she captained both the field hockey and lacrosse teams, and wrote the newspaper's gossip column. She married fellow grad Ray Westphal and they started a family as Ray turned an idea into a successful business. Antoinette started her own spa, and took an interest in Drexel's art collection. After her death, Ray's generous donation caused creation

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39:20

Joseph Wharton: The Law without Morals Is Useless

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories ·

2025/08/04

From All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #077, part 3 Joseph Wharton was a Quaker businessman and philanthropist whose work is still felt throughout the city and the world. He was the primary founder of Swarthmore College. His business acumen allowed the US Mint to make a healthy profit in the years he was involved. Fisher Park in northeast Philadelphia was his gift to the city. The Wharton State Forest in New Jersey is the largest mass of land owned by the state. And, of course, the

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28:48

Henry Biddle: Educating the Freedman

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories ·

2025/08/03

From All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #077, part 2 Captain Henry Biddle was wounded in the Battle of Glendale and died a few weeks later after having befriended his treating physician. His wife donated money in his name to found Biddle College in North Carolina, which has since changed its name to Johnson C. Smith University. His son Spencer Fullerton Baird Biddle was a Navy man who became a cattle rancher and introduced the highland cow to America and was a co-founder of the American

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22:04

Charles Macalester: Inventing Glengarry & Torresdale

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories ·

2025/08/02

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #077, Part 1 Charles Macalester established the town of Torresdale, founded Presbyterian Hospital, financially advised eight US presidents, and may have been the richest man in the world. A codicil in his will provided for the beginning of Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, one of the top-ranked liberal arts schools in the country. The river mansion Glen Foerd stands as another of his creations.

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02:17:32

Some College Namesakes, Part 1 (complete)

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories ·

2025/08/01

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #077 - College Namesakes Several Laurel Hill residents have institutions of higher learning named in their honor. Charles Macalester made a contribution that helped to turn a small liberal arts school into one of the finest small colleges in the land. Joseph Wharton made fortunes several times over, but is best remembered for starting what has become one of the top business schools in the country. Henry Biddle died from wounds received during the Peninsula

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