Cemetery Archives - Alliance Historical Society

A front page story from The Alliance Review’s June 12, 1946 issue recounts the story of Pal, the little black and white terrier who adopted the Alliance City Cemetery as his home and superintendent Charlie Boyd as his keeper. Pal became the City Cemetery’s 4-legged “employee” and had an almost human personality with flashes of human insight into his surroundings and the people with whom he worked.

City Cemetery dog Pal with Mrs. Boyd and Ralph Harris

As reported in the paper, “Pal made an unheralded appearance in the City Cemetery one day eight years [earlier]. Appraising each worker, he trotted unhesitatingly toward the late Charles Boyd, then cemetery superintendent. From then on he was ‘Charlie’s’ and literally ‘dogged’ his footsteps.” The workers adopted him and he was as regular in attendance as any other employee.

Mrs. Boyd wasn’t as enamored of the precocious pooch as her husband. She insisted on a probationary period when Pal first followed Charlie home from work. And so Pal spent some time in the garage until one day he made his way into the house … and into Mrs. Boyd’s heart.

Respectful of the City Cemetery

Pal was very respectful of the cemetery and the ceremonies held there. When a hearse rolled into the driveway, Pal knew that it was time for him to quietly retreat. He would trot back to the office building, drop to the ground, place his head on his crossed paws, and watch the proceedings. He would remain in this position until the last car left the cemetery and then he would get up and make his rounds again.

Pal loved chipmunks but never ate or molested them after killing them. But the dead chipmunks mysteriously disappeared when no one was around. “One day when Pal had a particularly large haul of five chipmunks, Mr. Boyd decided on a bit of sleuthing and found the amazing answer. With his paws, Pal would dig a small hollow, drop the chipmunk in the ground with his teeth and lightly mound the earth into a miniature grave. He stepped back, cocked his head to one side and viewed his footwork. Then he proceeded to the business of the next chipmunk, and the next, until five graves were laid out side-by-side and as evenly as a plumb line.”

Pal Continues Working

After Mr. Boyd’s death in 1945, Mrs. Boyd’s brother, Ralph Harris, who was also a cemetery employee, would stop by her home and pick up Pal “for work.” Just like the men he worked with, Pal had his lunch at noon and gets a ride home at 5:00 if the workers were ready to go. If they had to work late, Pal would trot over to nearby home and catch a nap with the little girl of the family. Around 10 or 11 p.m. when he was refreshed, Pal would find his way back to Mrs. Boyd’s home on Geiger Avenue.

We’re not sure when Pal left this life, but he was a dynamic little bundle of affection and devotion to Charles Boyd with a long trail of human friends to remember him.

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Story created from a story in The Alliance Review, June 12, 1946

Unknown Baby Boy

2023 | Alliance Review, Cemetery

Death and Discovery | Blume’s undertaking rooms | Funeral Rites | Laid to Rest

On Tuesday evening, May 2, 1916, at 8:30 p.m., Mrs. J. T. Conley and Mrs. H. Richards discovered the lifeless body of a male child in the woman’s toilet room of the Pennsylvania depot in downtown Alliance. The child was wrapped in newspaper and had been dead for some time. Its weight was about 8-10 pounds.

Death and Discovery

The two ladies immediately notified the police who in turn started investigating the death. Coroner B. J. Douds of Canton arrived to inspect the child’s body.

The skin of the baby was dark, denoting either African American or Italian parentage. The coroner was unable to determine whether the baby was born alive or not, but all indications were that no physician had handled the delivery. The newspaper account stated that “the child had apparently been bathed and there were some indications that talcum powder had been used upon it.” The official word from the coroner was “hemorrhage from neglect to tie cod, being found dead in toilet room at Penna. depot. Alliance, Stark County. — Neglect.”

Blume’s undertaking rooms

The baby remained at Blume’s underaking rooms as the investigation continued. Several hundred people visited the funeral home to view the abandoned baby boy. “Mr. Blume had the body embalmed and dressed and it [rested] in a neat little casket placed within a glass case, where it [could] be viewed by all who [cared] to see it.” Mr. Blume offered a $10 reward to the mother of the child if she would come and claim the body. Three days later, he raised the reward to $20, but no one came forward.

The mystery of the dead baby boy grew as Blume’s undertaking received a phone message from an unidentified woman on May 7. The caller requested that the body be held until Friday, May 12.

Visitors who viewed the baby asked how he would be buried. Though their donations were small, people began leaving quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies, with an occasional dollar bill to help provide a proper burial for the abandoned child. Donations continued to come in “for baby” and soon totaled $21.57 to defray the expenses of burying the infant.

Funeral Rites

On Sunday, May 14, 1916, the funeral services were held at G. E. Blume & Son undertaking rooms, with Rev. J. C. Turner of the A. M. E. church and Capt. Stark of the Salvation Army officiating. The remains would be deposited in the City Cemetery receiving vault if no new developments arose.

The account of the service made the front page of The Alliance Review with the heading, “Unusual Were Funeral Rites.” More than 200 people attended the service to pay their respects to the baby. The service was touted as “unusual” because of the mystery surrounding the child, the fact that no mourners attended, and no mother was in attendance to grieve the death. The crowd contained a mix of nationalities to witness the Christian burial of the unknown baby boy.

A quartet from the A. M. E. church consisting of Charles Smith, William Johnson, Mary Moore, and Lucy Smith sang two songs and Mrs. Stark from the Salvation Army sang “Beautiful Isle of Somewhere.” The baby, robed in a garment of white, rested in a little white casket, with a donated wreath of flowers decorating the bier.

Laid to Rest

Burial took place on Monday, May 15, in the northwest corner of Section S in Alliance City Cemetery. A grave marker, about two feet by eight inches and three inches thick was donated by Bauhof and Graham monument makers. It is inscribed:

UNKNOWN BABY BOY
Found dead at Penna. R. R. Depot
May 2, 1916
Buried by the public

Each year, on the anniversary of the baby’s death, an unknown person places flowers on the grave. The mystery continues.