Cemetery walk returns for 9th year
The Echoes From Our Past historic cemetery tour by the Butler County Historical Society returns later this month with new subjects and new attractions.
Historical figure re-enactors at the North Side Cemetery, 1002 N. Main St., will be graveside at 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. May 21.
Joining the re-enactors this year at 11 a.m. will be the Western Pennsylvanian Model T Ford Club. Those on the 11 a.m. tour will see the cars lined up near the chapel/check-in area when they come in the morning. The car owners will go on the 11 a.m. tour themselves, then head out.
There will be at least 10 Model T autos and 20 club members at the 11 a.m. session.
During Echoes From Our Past, people walk from grave to grave to hear actors in the appropriate period costume discuss the lives of the people they are portraying.
For this, the ninth annual cemetery tour, Butler County Historical Society executive director Jennifer Ford, said months of research and writing went into selecting the historical figures to be represented.
“It’s quite a process. It takes us several rounds around the cemetery collecting names and dates to find the right people,” she said.
And by the right people, Ford explained, she meant people who had left enough of an imprint in the the historical record, as well as being in the literal right place.
“There has to be enough history to fill a 6-minute monologue,” Ford said. “We would dearly like to have more women, but they don’t leave a big track in the historical record.”
Ford said she was helped by Deb Kruger, who teaches an Intro to Historical Research class at Butler County Community College.
“They often get the ball rolling, especially if we are desperate for people in one section,” Ford said.
And the graves of the cemetery walk subjects have to be in the right six sections of the cemetery. There has to be enough distance between grave sites. Graves can’t be at the top or bottom of hills.
The six people chosen for this year’s cemetery walk include:
Richard V. Dennison, Ford said, was the scion of an illustrious and well-connected family, which included U.S. senators and mayors of Philadelphia. His father moved to Butler.
In time, Dennison traveled the world and acquired a stable of horses and a Montana ranch that was regularly visited by presidents.
Ford said the mystery is why Dennison, his father and sisters are all buried in Butler.
John Gordon Gage was an electrician for Armco who climbed the corporate ladder and became a plant supervisor during the Great Depression and World War II.
Sophia Hollak was an immigrant from Eastern Europe in the late 1800s who settled in Lyndora. She had five sons in military service during World II.
Albert McDowell was the third-generation descendant of a pioneer family. He ran an Underground Railroad stop.
James & Emeline McMarlin were also descendants of an extremely well known pioneer family. James McMarlin served in the Civil War.
Hyman and Ellen Schneideman were married after Hyman Scheideman converted from Judaism to Protestantism so he could marry Ellen. Ford said Ellen Schneideman tells her story which provides a connection to the Jewish community in Butler.
In addition, Lisa Frishkorn of the Western Pennsylvania Model T Club approached the historical society about bringing some of the members’ vintage vehicles to be displayed during cemetery tour.
Ford said the walk can accommodate six groups of 16 to 18 people at each of its two sessions. Each of the six groups will start at different parts of the cemetery and will be guided by volunteers from the historical society board.
Ford said tickets can be purchased by calling 724-283-8116, visiting the website, butlerhistory.com or stopping by the historical society’s headquarters in the Senator Walter Lowrie House, 123 W. Diamond St., between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Wednesdays and Fridays.
