Dear Norton cousins, Today I received my invitation and announcement of the Annual Meeting of the Nordica Memorial Foundation, Thursday, 26 June, 2002 at 4:00 p.m., at the Homestead Museum in Farmington, ME. If you don't belong, you might care to join, the dues are $5.00 per year or $100 for a lifetime membership. You can send your dues or donations made out to the "Nordica Memorial Association, Inc.", to Emily Floyd, 258 High Street, Farmington, ME 04938. Donations are welcome, as they wish to restore Lillian's gowns that have been in storage all these years. August 17, 2002 will be the Annual Concert and open house at the college there in Farmington. For 2 or 3 years now, several of us have been attempting to locate the grandchildren of Lillian's sisters, hoping to encourage them to attend the Annual Norton reunion held in August on the grounds of the Nordica Foundation. We also have been searching for the final resting place of Lillian. I've sent many checks along with requests for Interment records to the cemeteries where we thought George W. Young might have buried Lillian. Several weeks ago I received information from the New York Bay Cemetery in Jersey City, New Jersey, they had burial records for several members of the Young family including Lillian's last husband George W. Young. In some of the spaces in the lot/plot there are double burials, but one space was empty. The note from the cemetery said that G.W. Young may have secretly buried Lillian, so I thought that might be where she is interred. Today I received a copy of a letter from Mr. Tom Sawyer, President of the Nordica Foundation, the letter appears to be written in 1952, and I surmise by Mr. Ben Steinchfield, who was a great admirer of Madame Nordica. NORDICA ASHES, Ben's to Andre Benoist, Aug 15 & 16 1952. "Between the two visits I had made another pilgrimage-one in which I knew Mr. Benoist would be interested. That was to the cemetery where Mme Nordica is buried. This meant going to Jersey City to the New York Bay Cemetery. The same morning we had driven to Linden, N.J. some five miles south of Jersey City to another cemetery. Here I was going to find out if a headstone had been erected over the grave of the friend from the Lexington Hotel, Assistant Manager for may years there. His tragic story of resigning suddenly, losing his mind and becoming a menace to himself, finally in Bellevue, then in a State Institution from which he came apparently well only to become ill again at the Sloane House where he lived temporarily and worked for the time he was there. But this time it was gangrene and when told that amputation must be made, he tried to jump out the window at the hospital where he was taken. That meant Bellevue again. When I discovered all this he was nearly gone and fortunately died. His assets were around $300. which were enough for burial which was made by the Public Administrator who took over his affairs as he had no kin. My attempt to be present for the funeral was frustrated for I had secured the release of his body from the morgue at Bellevue one night and by the time I telephoned the undertaker the following morning to ask about services - he was buried! Then I kept after the Pub. Adm. to get a stone to mark his grave and when I was told he did not have sufficient funds, (I) reminded them he was a Veteran, also had Social Security. Imagine my satisfaction when I finally found the grave to see a polished granite marker with his name and date of death on it in a beautiful cemetery well cared for always. ****Then to come to find the resting place of Nordica-and at the office found a lot for George Young but in the old part and nobody else in it apparently. I told the old gentleman that could not be the lot and he searched in the other files for the cemetery which adjoins the first with nothing there to show where one leaves off and the other begins, Finally he gave me the cards to look at and asked if I saw anybody there whom I knew. First I saw JOHN ALVIN YOUNG whom I'd know well. He was George W.'s brother and told me at one time he would get the ashes for us in time as he was the only member of the family who did anything for the family plot there. He did not tell me where the cemetery was - that I had to find out later, perhaps three years ago by the chance visit of his niece to the Homestead. Then I saw George W. Young - but never a mention of the name of Nordica. But he called an attendant who took the cards and was to take us to the lot. This man said on seei! ng them: I remonstrated but he was positive. We reached the lot as numbered on the card and it was a corner one, curved as the road went by it that way. Arriving near enough to realize that there actually was but one stone there, was astounded to read on the stone: JOHN ALVIN YOUNG, and the date of birth and death. No other marker of any sort on the entire lot. I looked at the cards with the attendant and he showed me how the lots were set in, feet toward the curve in the road as it went around the outside of the lot. Also showed me how the lots were numbered and that of John Alvin was not inserted on the card with the diagram. But I persisted to find out which grave would be that of George W. It was number four #4! All the man could do to show me the spot where George would be - and of course, with him the urn with the ashes of Nordica. Truly, it was a difficult moment for me to learn that nothing but green grass was there - no reminder of the glorious past. I'd thought there was a large family monument and said to the attendant that there seemed to be in center of the lot what appeared to be a foundation for a monument as the ground was slightly raised. He said - "Oh, No - there used to be flowers there, a flower garden." Then I knew what John Alvin meant when he said he took care of the family plot and nobody else, not! even George, Jr. or his sister, Dorothy ever did anything for it. The man said to be sure of the grave, he'd have to probe to locate the vault. I did not think wise to continue and walked slowly back to the office and we drove on. But the young friend with me expressed my thought: Millionaires and world famed people lie with no marker and a little nonentity had a fine marker just because he had a friend who saw to it that he got it. I expressed my thoughts by asking my young friend if he knew the O.Henry stories - for this surely would furnish the material for a typical O.Henry story. Recounting this to Andre Benoist, he simply said: "Sic transit Gloria - Fame is but transient." So I surmise that Lillian Bayard Norton a.k.a. Madame Nordica is buried in lot Number 80, in the Bay View Section of the New York Bay Cemetery, Jersey City, N.J. Possibly in the same space as George W. Young, or just possibly in the Edgewood Section of the same cemetery in space #3 where there is no notation of a burial, double burials in two of the spaces and the 3rd space no burial, or at least no record of a burial. This lot owned by Franklin & George W. Young. (George W. Young, Jr.?) My conclusion, is we know where Madame Nordica is buried, in which cemetery anyway. I propose there is no need to exhume her ashes, if there are any left, but to memoralize her through the NBordica Memorial Foundation. We can contibute to the restoration and preservation of her gowns with donations. Maybe someday if funds exist we can erect a stone, in Maine where it belongs, a tribute to this glorious woman. If anyone wishes a diagram of the cemetery lots, you can contact me individually, as I cannot send an attachment via the Norton Roots Web mailing list. Joan Norton Mullen Joan Mullen *********************************************************************** NEW E-MAIL ADDRESS - Please change your address book. TO: SWANLADY@COX.NET *************************************************************************