Celebrate Poe

Two Heroes Revisited

September 15, 2021 George Bartley Season 1 Episode 75
Celebrate Poe
Two Heroes Revisited
Show Notes Transcript

This episode deals with two American heroes separated by almost 200 years.

  • 1. Gilbert Hunt - a former member of the enslaved population who is famous because of his bravery at the Richmond Theatre Fire.
  • 2. Father Mychal (Father Mike) - a charismatic priest who was the first official fatality of 9/11


  • What was America’s first major disaster?
  • What did Gilbert Hunt do at the Richmond Theatre Fire?
  • What did Gilbert Hunt do at the Virginia Penitentiary Fire?
  • Who is Father Mychal Judge?
  • What makes him so special?
  • Why is Father Mychal called the Saint of 9/11?
  • What has been referred to as the American Pieta?


00:00 Introduction

Intro Music

Welcome to Celebrate Poe - Episode Seventy Five - Two American Heroes Revisited

My name is George Bartley, and today I would like to welcome back our cohost - the ghost of Edgar Allan Poe.In this podcast, the ghost of Mr. Poe and I would like to discuss two heros separated by almost two hundred years.

I had planned to upload another episode about Dracula for this week - and had even written the script and was ready to record it -, but decided at the last minute to upload this episode - Two American Heroes.  So I do have at least one in the can waiting to be uploaded.  This would be for the regular time next week on Monday at Midnight..  And I apologize for the being a bit late with this episode - while I was working on this episode, some driver hit a pole with his car, and the electricity was out in this neighborhood for several hours.

But before this episode continues, I want to thank you all for listening to a podcast that some acquaintances said no one would ever listen to.  Well, in less than a year, over 2,600 people have downloaded episodes of Celebrate Poe.  And, according to my stats, last week there were downloads from Iceland and Indonesia - so now Celebrate Poe has listeners in 50 countries. And that means more to me than you could possibly imagine.

MUSICAL TRANSITIONAL  (MUSIC FROM GOING HOME)

I am sure that you are aware of some of the moving commerations that have taken place regarding the attack on the World Trade Center 20 years ago - how a tragic accident seemed to bring the country together and unite us.  In this episode, I will take a second look at some material used earlier - starting with a hero associated with a tragedy affecting the city of Richmond when Poe was just a toddler. And then the second part of this episode is about a national tragedy and the moving story of the individual who was the first official victim of the 9/11 attacks.

02:59 Ghost of Mr. Poe enters

Hello, Mr. Poe.   Great to see you!  And for those of you just joining us, this podcast is honored with occasional appearances of the ghost of Mr. Poe to talk about his past.

Yes, Mr. Bartley - and don’t forget that the ghosts of Mr. William Shakespeare and Mr. Charles Dickens have also agreed to be guests in the future.

I’m really excited about that.

I have informed Mr. Shakespeare and Mr. Dickens that this podcast seems to present an exceedingly agreeable atmosphere.  So I have recommended this form of communication most highly.  As you can imagine, Mr. Shakespeare and Mr. Dickens have a considerable amount of content to convey, and I suggested that this podcast might be a comfortable medium to express their ideas.  And Mr. Shakespeare and Mr. Dickens will no doubt articulate their feelings during a future series of episodes.

But as for today, from a personal standpoint, I must emphasize that it is most agreeable to speak with you and your audience.

You know, this podcast is going to call on you a lot more in the future.  You do have a unique perspective.

I certainly do welcome the opportunity to express MY ideas - and I am of the opinion that through experience and a certain of amount of research that I am more than adequately prepared for our discussion of Mr. Gilbert Hunt.

Mr. Poe - sounds like you are saying you are pumped up. And later in this podcast, I would like to discuss a hero of 9/11.

04:55 Poe and the Richmond Theatre Fire

Now Mr. Poe - like almost all residents of Richmond during that  period - you are aware of the events that occurred that night.  Mr. Poe, can you tell us where YOU were the night of the terrible Richmond Fire. 

I was only a toddler, and I doubt that I would have been at the Richmond theatre with my parents that night.  But the lady who raised me - but never adopted me - Francis Allan, was quite an avid theatre goer and quite possibly would have attended the theatre that night with John Allan.  But the entire family spent that night with friends on Turkey Island in the eastern part of Virginia.  If the Allans HAD attended the theatre the night of the fire, there is a distinct possibility that I would have stayed home and my mother’s sister would have taken care of me.  Then both Mr. and Mrs. Allan might have perished in the Richmond Theatre Fire - and I would have been an orphan for the second time.

Yes, such a lamentable series of events would have been entirely possible, and altered every aspect of my future life.


It is generally agreed that the Richmond Theatre Fire killed hundreds of people and was America’s first major disaster - and - some of them were the most influential people in Virginia. But a lesser known story behind the fire is that of Gilbert Hunt.  Could you tell us the story of Mr. Gilbert Hunt and his bravery?

06:16 Gilbert Hunt and the Richmond Theatre Fire

Certainly, Mr. Bartley.

But one thing before you start, in an earlier episode of Celebrate Poe, I believe in an earlier episode I referred to Gilbert Hunt as a member of the enslaved population - since that time I have found another source that said that Gilbert Hunt was a former slave who had purchased his freedom.   I guess it is another example of when you are dealing with history, you have to accept the reality that you will sometimes find conflicting statements regarding the facts.

Are you quite finished, Mr. Bartley?   

Yes, I promise not to interrupt you any more in this episode.

(Clears throat) Now although calamity can inspire an individual to respond heroically, sometimes the most negative qualities of a person's character are exposed when confronted with danger.

You might say that sometimes dangerous situations can bring out the best in a person, but can also bring out the worse in some people.

Mr. Bartley, I thought you said you weren’t going to interrupt me.

Sorry, Mr. Poe - I will stay quiet.

An example of the negative qualities in a person being expressed occurred at the Richmond Theatre on the night of the fire. These negative actions were expressed as a result of a frantic crowd pushing a young girl to the floor.  One must remember that this jostling occurred while fire was spreading throughout the building.  The young lady cried out pleading for someone to help her.  Then she  finally recognized one of her acquaintances in the crowd.  Incidentally, this man was quite well known and highly respected in the Richmond community. The girl then grabbed onto the man’s coat and begged him to save her.  When she touched his coat, the man reached for his penknife, cut his coat skirt loose, and fled.  Fortunately, the girl survived, but she never revealed the identity of the cowardly man who had betrayed her and left the young lady to perish.

Now such actions stand in contrast to the actions of Gilbert Hunt.

One must be cognizant of the fact that Gilbert Hunt was a blacksmith whose shop was located near the Richmond Theatre. On the evening of December 26, just after he returned from worship at a local church, he was suddenly startled by a cry that the playhouse was on fire. 
His former mistress - the lady who formerly owned him ….


Mr. Poe, it seems almost unthinkable that anyone could feel that they were entitled to OWN another person.

Yes, such a practice is highly immoral.

09:01 Saving lives

Anyway, his former mistress begged the blacksmith to rush to the theatre and save her only daughter. Mr. Hunt ran quickly towards the theatre with every intention to save the young lady.

On his way to the theatre, Mr. Hunt stopped at the house of a neighbor and pleaded with him to lend him a bed “on which poor creatures might fall as they leaped from windows.” His neighbor, who apparently had little heart, refused Mr.. Hunt’s request, Then, Mr. Hunt somehow managed to obtain a step ladder.  By the time he arrived at the theatre he was met by a most horrible scene.  Gilbert Hunt later wrote in his diary, “ As the door was too small to let the crowd get out,numbers of them ended up leaping from the windows only to be crushed to death by the fall.”

Mr. Hunt, hoping to save the lives of some of those jumping, ran to a spot below one of the top windows where several people had fallen to their death. The blacksmith looked up and saw James McCaw, a local doctor, standing at a window above. The doctor then called upon him to catch each lady that he was about to lower from an opened pane of glass.  One would have find it almost impossible to imagine that the two men carried on an extended conversation regarding their responses to the fire - it seemed that they were guided by an instinctive desire to save the lives of other human beings. Working as a team, Gilbert Hunt and Dr. McCaw bravely saved 12 women from the burning flames, the last lady being the doctor's sister.  Now Mr. Hunt had easily caught the first 11 women dropped from the window in his strong arms without incident.  One must remember that he had an extremely strong physique.
He later reflected that “. . . the ladies felt as light as feathers.” However, Gilbert's last catch proved to be far more taxing. Like Dr. McCaw, his sister was big boned, muscular, and shall we say - more than a little heavy set. When she was dropped from the window by her brother and landed in Mr. Hunt’s arms, the force of the impact knocked Mr. Hunt to the ground.  She hit the ground with him. Fortunately, neither party was hurt.

Mr. Hunt also saved the life of Dr. McCaw, who jumped just as a burning section of wall was about to collapse on him.

The next day, Mr. Hunt returned to Shockoe Hill where the Richmond Theatre once stood. Reflecting upon his return many years later, he wrote:

“The next day, I went to the scene where such awful sights had been witnessed. And oh! how my heart shudders even now at the things which then and there met my eye. There lay, piled together, one mass of half-burned bodies — the bodies of all classes and conditions of people — the young and the old, the bound and the free, the rich and the poor, the great and the small, were all lying there together. Some of them were so badly burned that it was impossible to recognize them. Others were almost uninjured [it appeared]; yet life had left their bodies, and there they lay, cold, and stiff, and dead.”


I do hope that Mr. Hunt was able to save the daughter of the lady who formerly owned him.

Despite his heroic efforts during the Richmond Theatre Fire that night, Gilbert Hunt was unable to save the daughter of the lady to whom you refer.  And several years after the fire, he wrote in his diary,

“I never found my young mistress, and suppose she perished among the many other young and beautiful females, who on that dreadful night passed so unexpectedly from time to eternity.”

Mr. Hunt later became a member of the Richmond fire company.  One night in 1823 he found himself fight ing a terrible fire at the Virginia Penitentiary.  In his diary he wrote -   "The night on which the Penitentiary was burned, I was quietly sitting down at home. It was about 10 o'clock when the alarm was first sounded. As soon as I found out where it was, I at once hurried to the place. When I got there, the flames were rapidly doing their work. The wind was high, and we found it impossible to get any water. The fire then was burning furiously around the front entrance, thus shutting off all possible means of escape. I shall never forget the awfulness of the scene. It seems as plain before me, as if it had happened last night.
 
The prisoners were all shut up in their cells, and we still found it impossible to stop the flames. Oh! if you could have seen the poor fellows countenances, lighted up by the red light of the flames, and heard their piercing cries, you couldn't have helped but try and do something,
There was only one way we could get them out, that was to cut through the walls. But we couldn't get a ladder; so Captain -- , one of the bravest firemen that ever lived, got on top my shoulders, and cut a hole in the wall, through which we were able to get all of the prisoners out without any injury. We handed them down, one at a time, to the soldiers, who kept them from getting away. During all this time the flames were spreading like wild-fire over the whole building.

I was very much struck with the conduct of the last prisoner we got out. Just as we were about pulling him out of the fire, he ran back into his cell to get his Bible. Captain hollered that the prisoner had better save himself, and let his Bible alone. But the prisoner thought differently. Maybe 'twas the Bible his mother had given him when he was a boy.
The prisoners were all marched on the capitol square, and kept under guard.
The next day I spent in making hand-cuffs for the poor fellows. I didn't think, the night before, I should have this to do." Mr. Hunt later became very active in the black community of Richmond. Mr. Hunt  later migrated to Liberia, but neither the people nor the climate suited him, and he returned to Richmond.  He died at the age of 88 years.

In conclusion, Mr. Bartley - now that I have spoken regarding the Richmond Theatre Fire - from the perspective of one of its heroes - I do believe I will take my leave.

GHOST EXIT

17:33 Explanation of format change for episode

I am going to change the format of the rest of this episode a bit today.  Instead of giving sources, contact information, action steps, thanks for listening, etc. at the end, I am going to do those parts now - before the section about the second hero in this episode.

The reason is that it just did not seem appropriate to discuss the bravery displayed at 9/11 ending with the spiritual “Goin Home,” and then have the usual promo information - it just seemed too jarring - kinda like watching a moving television program or motion picture followed directly by an loud, noisy commercial.

Sources (and this is a bit lengthier than usual) for “Two Heros” include The Book of Mychal: The Surprising Life and Heroic Death of Father Mychal Judge by Michael Daly, Father Mychal Judge: An Authentic American Hero by Michael Ford, the video Saint of 9/11, Narrated by Sir Ian McKellan, The Unforgettable Story of the Fight to Survive Inside the Twin Towers by Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn, Encyclopedia Virginia published by the Virginia Humanities Council, the 1854 edition of Gilbert Hunt, The City Blacksmith by Phillip Barrett,  Edgar Allan Poe: A Critical Biography by Arthur Hobson Quinn, The Poe Log: A Documentary Life of Edgar Allan Poe by Dwight R. Thomas and David K. Jackson, Edgar Allan Poe: The Man by Mary E. Phillips.

Remember to check out the web page for this podcast at celebratepoe.buzzsprout.com for show notes, and a transcript.  The cover art for this episode is an image of Gilbert Hunt.  That’s celebratepoe.buzzsprout.com  And the show notes for this episode also have some links to a moving photograph mentioned near the end of this episode.
I also encourage you to to ask questions from the character of Mr. Poe - there no need to include your name, unless you want a shout out.  I do have quite a few questions from my days at History Alive as Poe - but I want to deal with the subjects that YOU are most interested in.
Or you can just send any questions to celeratepoe@gmail.com.
Well, thank you very much for making it this far, as we take a deep dive into life, works, times, and influences of America’s Shakespeare, and how he has influenced our world.  Join us for the next episode in this podcast series as we continue an examination of the relationship between Bram Stoker and Sir Henry Irving - a fascinating relationship that many scholars believe led to the creation of the book Dracula.
Now the sources for the rest of this podcast include Father Michael Judge: An American Hero by Michael Ford, and an incredible documentary narrated by Sir Ian McKellan, Saint of 9/11.  But I think the best - and that is saying a lot - is The Book of Mychal by Michael Daly.

21:29 Life of Father Mychal Judge

Mychal Judge was born in 1933 in Brooklyn, New York, the son of poor Irish parents.  Michael Daly does a great job in his book talking about the trials and very difficult childhood that Mychal Judge experienced.  At the age of six, he watched his father die a slow and painful illness.  Since his father could not work, Mychal Judge shined shoes at New York Penn Station.  Later he became an alcoholic, but in 1978 with the support of Alcoholics Anonymous he became sober.

When he was 15, he began the process to enter the Franciscan community, and changed the spelling of his name to Mychal.  Apparently there were several other Michaels as in M I C H A E L S in his class. So he changed the spelling of his name to M Y C H A L.  After his ordination, he served several churches, and his warmth and sincere ability to relate to all people made him almost a legend.

It was said of Father Mychal that he knew exactly what was needed, and was able to provide - that anyone whose room he went in felt truly blessed.

One of his closest friends in the priesthood said in reference to the AIDS patients that Father Mychal spent time with, “If you descend into somebody’s private hell and stand there with them, it ceases to be hell. And that’s exactly what he did.  He would go into their pain and rage and sorrow and share it with them, and then both of them would be blessed by that sharing and feel God’s grace and presence.  He would go away as fulfilled as the AIDS person he visited.”

23:35 Sexual orientation

He was aware of his sexual orientation - his attraction to members of the same gender - but he always remained celibate.  Others have said that whether Father Mychal was straight or gay, his deepest passion was for neither man or for woman - he was in love with God. His sexual orientation was not central to his being.

In Father Mychal Judge: An Authentic American Hero, one of Father Mychal’s closest friends said that “Mychal had come to terms with being gay, and disagreed with official church teaching about gay orientation and gay relationships.”   Father Mychal wrote “I thought about my gay self and how the people I meet never get to know me fully  yet I feel no guilt, none whatsoever today.  I feel on the train Home.  I am at peace finally. This is what You want me to do, Lord.  You alone brought me here. I have nothing to fear.”

One of his most moving statements was: “Is there so much love in the world that we can afford to discriminate against any kind of love?”

In other words, Father Mychal embraced his homosexuality as a gift from God.

Just to give one example of Father Mychal’s ability to bring about emotional healing, I am going to take a minute and look at the coming out of Stephen Smurr.  Stephen was an extremely talented and successful designer of children’s clothes.  One day he noticed a growth on a leg.  After going to a doctor, he received the diagnosis of AIDS.  When he told his employer, he was fired.

When he informed his parents that he was gay and ill, they were stunned, and came to see him in New York.   He took them to a meeting of support group for gay Catholics called Dignity.

Stephen’s mother, Marge, was reported to have said, “I was so overwhelmed by this vast group of men.  I knew but I didn’t want to know. I just couldn’t myself to believe my son was like this.”

Then a smiling priest came out of the crowd.

Marge remembers that “ Father Judge introduced himself, and it just about blew me away because I never dreamed in a million years that someone like that would be there.”

Father Judge then said, Marge, the great thing you and your husband have done is to uphold your son. So many families can’t, You’ve accepted it,” She then said, “Well, what choice do we have?”

A brief aside here - I know from personal experience, that it deeply hurts when your father rejects your sexual orientation- in essence, never fully accepting you as a person.

But back to Father Mychal - The author Michael Daly goes on to say “Father Mychal was doing what he always did. He was acknowledging what was strong and good in people at a time when they needed that strength and goodness most.”

Against numerous bureacratic odds, he was appointed Chaplain of the Fire Department of New York in 1992.

27:19 Bravery at the Twin Towers

Now on September 11, at 8:46 approximately 14,000 people were inside the World Trade Center in New York City just starting their weekdays.
Then the first of two planes flew into the World Trade Center buildings. 

EXPLOSION SOUND

Hundreds of people jumped from the top floors to the ground, as their bodies fell for as long as nine seconds.  Some held hands, some fell with their eyes toward heaven, but all of them hit the pavement at such a velocity that their bodies turned into a blood red spatter.  The act of jumping high from a burning structure may resemble the reactions of many of those who attended the Richmond Theatre on December 26, 1811.   The difference was that jumping from the high floors of the Twin Towers inevitably resulted in death.

At first, it might seem senseless to jump from such a high structure as the Twin Towers - knowing that there is no way you would survive the fall.
But the alternative was to stay and be surrounded by the roaring flames as you are burned alive and experience terrifying pain.

Now to some of us, the events of 9-11 bring back intense memories - to others who only know that day because of the recent commerations, that day may seem almost unreal.   It was a time when the country realized that a terrible tragedy had taken place, and came together in unity - unlike the frequent divisions of today.

29:03 First victim of the attacks

When the explosions first took place, Father Mychal and members of the Fire Department of New York rushed to the site of the bombings, and entered the lobby of the World Trade Center.  Father Mychal could have easily stood back out of the way.  But instead he entered the lobby to administer last rites.  He prayed fervently and tried to provide a positive presence amidst the chaos. It was said that his last words were “Please God, stop this.” before the south tower collapsed.  Debris filled the north tower lobby, killing many of the individuals inside, including Father Mychal.

A team of men carried the body of Father Mychal in a chair that held his slumped body.  It was then that Reuters photographer Shannon Stapleton snapped one of the most famous images associated with 9/11 - two firefighters, a police officer, and an emergency responder carrying out their fallen religious leader. 

Some have called the photograph the American Pieta - in reference to Michelangelo’s sculpture of Mary cradling the body of Christ.  In the show notes, I have included a link to a photograph of Michelangelo’s Pieta, as well as a link to the photograph of Father Mychal.  I know that the 9/11 picture is a bit different than Micheangelo’s work mainly because it involves several men carrying a body, but it is almost chilling to compare the positions of the bodies of Christ and Father Mychal.

Father Mychal was designated “Victim 00001” - making him the first official victim of the 9/11 attacks.  Although others had certainly been killed before him, such as the crews and passengers of three planes, as well as the occupants of the towers and Pentagon, Father Judge was the first certified fatality because he was the first body to be recovered and transported to he medical examiner.

At Father Mike’s burial service, his friend Father Duffy gave the homily.  The church was full, with guests including Bill, Hillary, and Chelsea Clinton.  Hillary recalled that Father Mike “lit up the White House” when he led a prayer breakfast there. And during his words at the funeral, Bill Clinton said Judge's death was a "special loss. We should lift his life up as an example of what has to prevail. We have to be more like Father Mike than the people who killed him.”

Father Duffy had a theory regarding why Father Mike had been the first to perish on that day.

He said to the 3,000 people gathered “There were between two and three hundred firemen buried there, the commissioner told us that night. Michael Judge could not minister to them all. It was physically impossible in this life, but not in the next. And I think that, if he were given his choice, he would prefer to have happened what actually happened. He passed through the other side of life, and now he can continue doing what he wanted to do with all his heart. And during the next few weeks we’re going to have more names added, name after name of people who are going to be brought out of that rubble. And Michael Judge is going to be on the other side of death … to greet them.

33:05 Ending music (“Going Home”) 

35:21 End


Revered, somber music - GOIN HOME

Links for Pieta comparison

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piet%C3%A0#/media/File:Michelangelo's_Pieta_5450_cropncleaned_edit.jpg

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/for-five-men-tragedy-remains-over-photo-of-911s-first-casualty/article592945/#c-image-0