4 Southern Exposure
Winter 2021
This fall, volunteers noticed something un-
usual on the cemetery bank while exploring
the sod sloping toward State St.
Fall ends a year of discovery at St. Michael’s
After cleaning and a thorough evaluation at the site, the stone revealed
the name, ‘Emma Schabhuettl’ in German script.
The following German script was deciphered by Thomas J.
McCullough, Assistant Archivist at Moravian Archives:
“Emma, Tochter von Frantz u[nd] Angelina Schabhitl,
geboren 1906 Juni 28, gestorben 1907 Januar 3. Ihr Leben war
ein Augenblick, ein Frühlingstraum Ihr Erdenglück.”
Dieter and Inge Hoehn provided the translation:
“Emma, daughter of Frantz and Angelina Schabhuettl, born
28 Jun 1906, died 3 Jan 1907. Her life was as a blink of an eye,
her earthly happiness eeting as a dream of spring.”
A headstone is freed prior to proper cleaning
by volunteers who used approved techniques
and products.
A
s with many headstones at St. Michael’s Cemetery, the lack of an anchored base on the sandy
hillside meant its placement was unstable—the fate of many headstones. The slope and subsid-
ence of the soil underneath added to their instability. This is the reason so many headstones
seemed to have disappeared over the past 157 years, safely hidden under the grass in the sandy soil. To
date, volunteers have accounted for 8,500 interments, many not found in church records or maps. The
discovery of this little headstone was one of them.
SECRETS OF THE CEMETERY
Courtesy Deborah Snyder
Southern Exposure 5
Winter 2021
A
little known fact—families of those interred
at St. Michael’s Cemetery have always
been responsible for the upkeep of the burial
sites. Since many families have died out or
moved away, maintenance of the cemetery
now falls to volunteers.
These volunteers have documented at least
8,500 burials in St. Michael’s through existing
headstones matched to obituaries, death certi-
cates and family recollections. As we discover
and document more burial sites every year, we
do not always know the specic origin of their
locations in the cemetery.
Over time, the steep nature of the ceme-
tery’s sandy hill continues to erode headstones
that have toppled, sank into the sod and literally
disappeared.
The Findagrave website lets us collect
the names of the deceased with their stories,
photos and families in a virtual, yet somewhat
permanent way.
For insights into interments at St. Mi-
chael’s, visit https://www.ndagrave.com/cem-
etery/46191/saint-michael’s-cemetery?
Your support in the form of a donation
designated to St. Michael’s Cemetery at the
Holy Infancy Parish website would make an
interesting gift!
Visit https://www.holyinfancychurch.com/giving/
W
hile exploring the sod that sloped toward State St. at St.
Michael’s Cemetery this fall, volunteers Ken Bratsch,
Deborah Snyder and Tania Wasko noticed an irregu-
larity on the bank and probed deeper into the sod. What emerged
from the soil was a stone inscribed with the name Emma Schab-
huettl in German script.
Research found that Emma lived for only six months when
she died of marasmus, a type of protein-energy malnutrition
that affected children. The term ‘marasmus’ on her death cer-
ticate was a phrase used to describe profound weight loss in a
child at the time of death.
Since Emma had a twin, perhaps her life started out at a dis-
advantage—or her immigrant family may have struggled after
Emma’s birth. Emma’s parents, Frank and Angeline Jandersitz
Schabhuettl, emigrated from Austria’s Burgenland in 1902. They
were members of Holy Ghost Church, a parish started by a con-
gregation of German Catholics.
In the 1960s, Frank and Angeline themselves were ultimately
buried in Holy Ghost Cemetery—a newer cemetery that would
have already been open for several years before Emma died. It is
impossible to know why her family chose to bury Emma in St.
Michael’s Cemetery.
I
n response to the recent discovery of Emma’s headstone, Rose-
ann Clavelli contributed the following recollections of Emma’s
cousin, Erwin Schabhuettl, also known as ‘Shops’. . .
by Rosemary C. Buffington
Why headstone recovery is worth the effort
SECRETS OF THE CEMETERY
“Why ‘Shops?’ All the guys on the football team had nicknames
and I gure ‘Shops’ was a play on the ‘Schaub’ part of his surname.
‘Shops’was one of the coaches (top row, far right in photo above) of
the Pawnee Red Raiders, a Lehigh Valley sandlot football team that
played during the late 1930s to early 1940s. ‘Shops’ was very artis-
tic—he drew caricatures and had beautiful penmanship.
“I have many long, hand-written letters that he wrote me after
my dad passed away. He recounted many good stories about their
childhood and friendship and I treasure them greatly. I think ‘Shops’
worked for the electric company.”
— Roseann Clavelli
Through the discovery of Emma’s headstone unseen for decades
at St. Michael’s Cemetery, a sense of perspective is given to so many
who lived and died in South Bethlehem—and with these latest re-
coveries, they are once again remembered.
Courtesy Deborah Snyder
Peeling back sod at St. Michael’s Cemetery
reveals another hidden headstone in pristine
condition.
