OCR Text |
Show Sunday. August 19.2007 HERALD DAILY A10 Claim to Poes graveside ritual raises new Wi!HamWan . f--- WA'yiiVjTON POST Tm He sneaks into the cemetery every year at night in the dead of winter, the mysterious man in black, to pay his respects at the grave of Edgar Allan Poe. And in his wake, he never fails to leave three roses and a bottle of cognac. For decades this mystery has drawn thousands to the famed poet's grave in the heart of Baltimore and spawned much speculation Why the Mack garb? Why cognac? And just who is this man? Last week, Sam Porpora, a Poe historian, stepped forward with a shocking announcement he was the man in black. But instead of solving the mystery, he has only deepened it. at Wizened and white-haire92, Porpora still dresses with the impeccable conviction of a former ad man. A resident of a retirement home near Baltimore, he often spends his afternoons telling stories to whomever he can find in the lobby. Silting with a visitor this week. Porpora held a stack of old photos and news clippings. What do you want to know?" he asked, not pausing for an answer. He rattled off about his . story after story childhood and his efforts to save the dilapidated church and cemetery where Poe was buried in downtown Baltimore; He talked pbout almost every-thin- g ' except the man in black, the three ruses and the cognac. want to know about that? he asked. He - leaned in and said, It was me. Ever since he made his announcement, the Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum in Baltimore has been flooded with calls about Porpora's claim. Museum curator Jeff Je- - .. rome, after all, was the one who noticed the roses and cognac and brought the event to light 30 years ago. Ever since, as curator of the Poe House and Museum, he has pro-tected the mysterious legend .. watching but never interfer ing or letting others interfere with the ritual. If anyone could confirm ' Porpora's claim with some authority, it would be Jerome. So V V.' r r V v. ' - r- A ; ' I v :. 1 W ' .. . 5 - CF? " r. ? ,r i 1 fA - ri w' . w Ccv .... . ' ' ' . ", . ' ' i 17 - . l .v- - . . .. tradition of leaving roses and cognac others don't believe him. as more people called, he agonized over what to say. ; .Its not Sam, Jerome said finally. He's like a mentor to me, and I love him, but, believe me, it's not him. . Sitting in a creaky chair at the Baltimore house where Poe once lived. Jefomesearched for the right words. To criticize Porpora would be akin to attacking his own father, he explained. If it weren't for Porpora. Jerome might not have become a Poe fanatic. And yet, Jerome said, after struggling to find a more delicate . way: There are holes so big in Sam's story, you could drive a Mack truck through them. The two men met in 1976. Jerome was 24, a photographer for a food industry publication. Porpora, then 61, was the man who had almost single-hanedly saved from disregard and decay Westminster Presbyte- rian Church, where Poe was buried.' Other prominent people buried at the graveyard include Gen, Samuel Smith, who helped organize the defense of Baltimore in the War of 1812, and CoL James McHenry, secretary of war under presidents George Washington and John Adams.. :. Porpora helped save the - n-- -; r " .. ' , L'VTv-PJ . at the poet' grave, but i, k . ' "4 ! - . r. .i ... V . . Ben Feller . . . . . . . . . . . . g procedures aligning and commercial standards. It's not necessarily sexy stuff, but . WASHINGTON Never fond of its essentialtoour security.lt has to interrupting hbtexas vacation. Pres- - be done, said Roger Noriega, Bushs ident Bush is doing it this year to bol-- former assistant secretary of state ' for Western Hemisphere affairs,. ster ties with the leaders of Canada. and Mexico, two friendly neighbors And it just so happens that Mexico and vital partners. and Canada have renewed them- Bush joins Canadian Prime Min- selves with the election of two right- of center leaders who see the world a bter Stephen Harper and Mexican lot like Bush does. President Felipe Calderon in Monte-The setting will be a massive red- hello, Quebec, on Monday in hopes of cedar chateau on the banks of the Ot- expanding cooperation among their tawa River. Some nettlesome issues. : countries, which enjoy the largest in await the leaders. trading partnership the world. Bush promised to deliver an over- The two-da-y North American Lead- ers' Summit appears to lack a signa-- haul of immigration pot- ture issue, except perhaps a new U.S. icy, and now he will be seeing Caide-ron for the first time since that effort push to halt Mexicos bloody drug ..wars. collapsed in Congress. Calderon has made clear he b after more from the Instead, the broad theme is eco- nomic prosperity, built around sev- U.S. than hundreds of miles of fenc-eral topics; border security, competi-- ing to keep the countries divided. tiveness with India and China, prod- Harper is frustrated over a US. law uct safety and energy solutions. that tightened passport rules for Cana-Underlying those points are techni-- : dians visiting the US, although Kish cal but important matters, such as has little influence over the matter. border-crossin- avx iatidwuss -- . U,S.-Mexi- . The leaders probably will discuss how best to counter the message of Venezuela's fiery president, Hugo Chavez, who b leading a leftward shift in Latin America. Each has a strategic interest in promoting de- mocracy in the Western Hemisphere, an area of emphasis for Bush before he leaves office in January 2009, "What's really important b that they continue to reflect the signifi- canoe of North American integration the fact that there are post 911 problems, but they aren't going to un-dermine trade and investment. said Charles Doran, a scholar at John Hop- kins Universitys School of Advanced International Studies. Doran foresees no dominating issue at the summit- - That's a good thing, There's not one thing thats going to preoccupy them, he said. The meeting comes as the U.S. goy- eminent b posed to offer a major aid plan to Mexico to fight drug traffick- ing and violence. Bush may announce part or all the proposal during the summit if the details are completed in . time. The effort b expected to help access is limited, This is the third summit of the countries' leaders during the Bush administration. The effort emerged in drug traffickers and sent soldiers into yiolence-plagueareas since he. the aftermath of the 2001 terrorist at- won election last year. The effort has tacks as the UJ&, Canada and Mexico earned praise from Bush. Still, many ' sought to figure out how to tighten .. border security without hampering people in Mexico are wary of U.S. intervention, fearing it could threaten trade and tourism. their sovereignty. That b a common. ..The first meeting, in Texas, launched a partnership in which the efforts. worry in cross-bordI think (Calderon) understands countries have tried to harmonize that he cant and he shouldnt their security and economic prohave to take these guys on all by grams. , Bush arrives Monday afternoon in v himself, said Noriega, now a visiting ' fellow at the American Enterprise Montebello, which is bet ween Ottawa Institirte. And 1 think President Bush and Montreal ; He will have a realizes that whether Calderon sue- private meeting ceeds or fails will have a dramatic ... with Harper at Fairmont Le Chateau , Montebello, the summit site. They are effect on our security. The White House is framing expec- - expected to talk economic matters, tations in the broadest of language. global wanning, conflicts in the Mid--, Bush spokesman Gordon Johndroe die East and the war in Afghanistan, said the presidents goal is to make where Canola has committed troops. '' the continent safer and more pros- Bush then meets separately with Calderon. Border security and the fair perous. Protests are expected, although the treatment erf immigrants are probable resort will be under tight security and topics. pay for equipment and training. Calderon has cracked down on d . . . . . . d- . Pott . . . MANAWashmglon church by dressing volunteers ' KaMin Whitt 17, of Hyco, W.Va., reads the Edgar Allan Poe poem "The Raven by Poe's grave ; g in black choir robes and at the Westminster Presbyterian Church cemetery. paid tours of the catacombs beneath the church. So when Porpora announced When Jerome found the He deserves a medal for together from the catacomb what he did for that (dace, that he had invented the rose-- ; article, he said he felt relieved : windows, they saw someone c but also a little sad. He said he Jerome said. He kept it in the dressed in a black fedora, tradition, others else one in Mack no feels indebted to his former when Baltimore's and while coat scarf Ppe community public eye mentor but also to the man was paying much attention to walking in the darkness. They were unconvinced. the believed it was a man because It.. many problems who taught him to love Poe Among of his size, height and gait. Under Porpora, Jerome with Porporas claim, the big-- . ' t the man in black. ' A few years ago, the mysAbout the same time, Porbecame a tour guide. And in gest is his insistence that he stunt to his spare time, Jerome began out as farced of the ritual a began tery man left a note for Jepora was being his role as Poes local guardiat garner attention fort he church rome, along with the bcrttle and pursuing what turned into a in 1967. But church members The University of Maryland's roses, that said. The torch win lifelong passion fot Poe. ' be passed. law school was acquiring had talked about the tradition Early on, Jerome came The next year, he said, a across a decades-ol- d article Westminster Church. And the dating back to 1949. , that mentioned briefly an city announced that it was Digging through archives at noticeably younger man with another note. The the Maryland Historical Socianonymous citizen who taking over the Poe House. man in black had passed away, Porpora, who was the church ety, Jerome found the article Creeps in annually to place an historian and curator of the that had led him to discover the the note read, but his two sons empty bottle (of excellent l) of be i. Poe. to the tomb asked was neither house, cognac and roses. It was dated will continue his tradition. against 1950. And there are other So on a whim in 1977, on under the new regimes. ' ' The last note from the two contained something else, sons let inconsistencies in was he Poes Jaa 19 birthday, Jerome say go Porpora's Many because of his flair for the dra- story, which has changed a bit personal information, Jerome stopped by the author's grave since he first made his claim. and was astonished to find a matic. Porpora had begun emsaid, that he just cant talk bottle and three roses. Income versions, he made about, bellishing his tours with historiJerome insists that he still The next year, Jerome cally dubious stories. He talked up the tale for a newspaper does not know the identity of of a mass burial grave at the ; story, which appears to have staked out the cemetery. But after sitting for hours, he church from the Revolutionary run in 1976. In others, he was' the man or those of his successors. the figure in black. rushed to a nearby building to War that was later debunked But if 1 found out who did use the bathroom and returned and of a visit to the cemetery Porpora attributes peoples to find roses and cognac sitting by Poe, which some historians doubts to how popular and . it, I wouldn't even tell my doubt had occurred, ' wife, he said. speculative the tradition has against the grave After all, like the'man in become since he says he began Other Poe devotees began . , Its one thing to do publicblack did, Jerome loves Poe. . it. For Jerome, however, there ity, but you don't throw out accusing Jerome of making ' And anyone who loves Poe, tip the incident, so be brought , the truth for publicity's sake, ; b no doubt: Porpora's claim he explained, understands the said Jeff Savoy e, secretary of could not be true. The 1950 arothers with him in followticle is proof. Baltimores Poe Society. ? ing years. In 1981, peering importance of mystery. orga-nizin- . . thf -- "S MELINA Oh.-yo- - MCUNA MANAWa$huton Post Edgar Aliaii Foe historian Sam Porpora soys he began the d ' , . . er . . . .. GRAND OPENING SALE UltraLtix iooo PWowtop Based, MdhD&kCd.r ;;-t- ' v: s . .a. QUEEN SET Wsedfrcs $689.00 Finely TMtzrd KMGSETS9I94I0 FUUSETSS5J.M Rigtrup Poiiltry Fr.rxt See the difference a spring chicken can make! i I Great for new and existing yards and lawns. Comr-orearthworms and harbors friendly bacteria to keep pM-- s , i v'ms ..iam- - WLei a er I WAOUSJJ, Blinds Paint & i HARRIS HEARING CENTER 330 W. Center St. Provo er,: , No !Duette NewStyle lybrid Shutters t Honeycomb ShadeJ wia 'a :V Interest No Pay f 1 r. I T7ja r ! I y 2 Woods & Faux n OnTheBejtT A f Benjamin ' -- For People Who '.p I -j x 25XOFF.17,1. -- OREM 373-682- 7 ts MATTRESS FACTORY 1032 1. State wMVnniiritrtiwaiiMiinedftaaAiHt mWfALLPAPER J Vm SET $429.00 ' window fashions I j : t SI L 25 WALLPAPERS I Moore . & BORDERS 7:V4f,: Paints RegaC Taint |