“Stories in Stone” Makes its Debut -
A New Patch Program

“Stories in Stone” is an innovative educational program for students in grades 4 to 12 aimed at promoting the incredible educational resources of Rochester, New York’s Mount Hope Cemetery. It is now available for teachers, homeschoolers, and Girl Scout leaders.

The program has seven goals:

1. To celebrate the contributions of famous women buried in Mount Hope Cemetery such as: Susan B. Anthony, Anna Murray Douglass, Daisy Marquis Jones, Georgiana Farr Sibley, Margaret Woodbury Strong, plus other great leaders

2. To study in depth at least one woman buried in Mount Hope Cemetery

3. To develop an appreciation of women as effective leaders and as role models for social change

4. To appreciate Mount Hope Cemetery as a local landmark and national historical treasure

5. To discover other community cemeteries and appreciate their history

6. To research and learn about careers

7. To value the importance of community service and experience service learning

The components of the program include a Student Manual, a Teachers Manual, a 20 minute video of Mount Hope, a binder containing short biographies of 34 famous women buried at Mount Hope, and copies of Richard Reisem and Frank Gillespie’s books, Mount Hope: Rochester, New York, American’s First Municipal Victorian Cemetery and Buried Treasures in Mount Hope Cemetery, Rochester, New York A Pictorial Field Guide. Hard copies of the entire program can be borrowed from the Girl Scouts of Genesee Valley for a small fee of $2.50 by calling the Girl Scout Shop at (585) 239-7901 or emailing pcshop@gvgs.org.

The program is currently available on line on the Girl Scouts of Genesee Valley website, gsgv.org. The activities in this program are correlated with New York State Learning Standards as well as Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences. Ideas are included for adapting the program to younger children, students with special needs, and English language learners. Participants who successfully complete the program can purchase a “patch” to celebrate their accomplishment!

The authors of "Stories in Stone" are Patricia Corcoran and Suzanne Jaschik from the Friends of Mount Hope Cemetery and Mary Thran, Program Specialist from the Girl Scouts of Genesee Valley. This project is the result of an exciting collaboration between the two organizations and was the brainchild of Jean Czerkas, historian and trustee of the Friends of Mount Hope Cemetery.