Saving an iconic cemetery | Morning Newsletter

You’ll see some new names here while Kerith is out for a few weeks. I’m Katie Krzaczek, an editor here at The Inquirer, filling in this morning. Temps will remain on the cooler side today, with highs in the mid-50s and clouds slowly moving out.

Today, we’re taking a look at an effort to save the vibrant green space at an iconic cemetery in Southwest Philly, where “Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now” vocalist John Whitehead, Civil War-era nurse Mary Brady, and maybe even Betsy Ross are laid to rest.

And, we’ll give you the inside scoop on how the Broad Street Run — happening this Sunday! — tracks the times of thousands of runners at once.

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Let’s get Wednesday started ➡️

— Katie Krzaczek (@hashtagkatie, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

In Southwest Philly, 200 verdant, parklike acres are filled with enormous junipers and yews, a 140-year-old hemlock among Pennsylvania’s tallest, and a family of native sassafras trees. It’s also the final resting place for laborers, actors, ministers, gangsters, soldiers, sailors, and onetime titans of industry.

The lush greenery — a certified arboretum — living within one of the largest graveyards in Pennsylvania is the product of hundreds of volunteers’ efforts to restore the property after its owners abandoned it in 2011.

The 10-year undertaking, so far, has been like assembling “a beautiful, complex puzzle” that involves genealogical, historical, botanical, and even wildlife management concerns, according to Ken Smith, president of the Friends of Mount Moriah Cemetery.

Our reporter Kevin Riordan has the full story about the effort to restore the sanctuary — for the living, the dead, and the environment that has grown around it.

🏃 The Broad Street Run returns to the first Sunday in May this weekend, when 28,000 runners will make their way through the city, beginning in North Philly and ending by the stadiums in South Philly.

🏃 Although that’s fewer participants than the 40,000 the race usually sees, it’s still a lot of people (and times) to keep track of across 10 miles.

🏃 To deliver results, race organizers use RFID — radio-frequency identification — chips stuck to race bibs. That’s the same tech used in the E-ZPass that’s mounted on your windshield.

🏃 Drexel engineer Kapil Dandekar told our reporter Tom Avril how the technology works — and some other uses it might serve in the future.

Although thousands of runners will hit the pavement in Philly on Sunday, the city isn’t quite as active as other large metropolitan areas, according to an analysis of 2021 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.

Today’s question: Of 49 cities with populations of 350,000 or more, where did Philadelphia rank among America’s most physically active large cities? Take a guess and find the answer here.

🌹 Wondering: Why The Bachelorette was filming in Wildwood? Warning: spoilers ahead.

💊 Explaining: Everything you need to know about Pfizer’s antiviral COVID-19 drug, Paxlovid: How it works, side effects, and who can get it.

🗣️ Reading: Elon Musk’s (successful) bid to buy Twitter was fueled by an interest in preserving free speech online — but even he doesn’t know what that means.

This beloved mascot just celebrated a birthday on April 24.

HAPTICAL HIPLINE

Think you know? Send your guess our way at morningnewsletter@inquirer.com. We’ll give a shoutout to a reader at random who answers correctly. Today’s shoutout goes to Carol Basile of Center City, who correctly guessed WALT WHITMAN as Tuesday’s answer.

That’s all for Wednesday. One of my colleagues will land in your inbox tomorrow. 👋🏻