As the Halloween season arrives, annual cemetery walks in local areas, which date back to the 1990s, pop up. Like in past years, Oswego and Montgomery each had their version of this event, which was equally informative and imaginatively spooky.
“It’s important to me for the reason it’s important to the community in that it brings people together, but it also makes history accessible,” said Joe Noce, Museum Coordinator for the Little White School Museum. “It makes it fun and interactive, and it shows that the local history of Oswego has a lot of depth to it.”
The Oswego Cemetery Walk at the Oswego Township Cemetery, presented by the Oswegoland Park District, was on Oct. 3, while the Montgomery Cemetery Walk at the Riverside Cemetery, hosted by the Historic Preservation Commission, was on Oct. 2.
During these local cemetery walks, you are guided through the cemetery by a tour guide to learn about past residents and pioneers through “ghosts” of the past or rather informative actors who richly describe the life and accomplishments of these people. In this festive yet acknowledging event about our town’s past, we can deeply appreciate what happened before us.
“We spotlight different people every year; we don’t just do the same thing,” says Debbie Buchanan, Montgomery Village Clerk and member of the Historic Preservation Commission. “It always focuses on different people and stories, so if you come every year, you’ll always have a different experience and hear new stories.”
The tour guides briefly explained the context surrounding each story before it started, allowing the walkers to truly understand each life and their careers, goals, and families.
“Well, as a tour guide, we are given directions, and we are actually given a map to follow the different graves, ” Montgomery Cemetery Walk tour guide Jax Buchanan said. “There are different graves picked every year.”
Although outwardly viewed as a scary fall event, which it is at some points, it is truly a way for past residents to be represented and acknowledged, for their stories are worth sharing and spreading. Whether the actors document the lives of deceased children or adults, they are equally viewed in a positive, appreciative light, allowing these past citizens to be recognized throughout this forty-five-minute walk.
“I think some people [[…]] might think that it’s some kind of spooky event, and it’s not that at all. It’s just an evening walking through the cemetery like [Oct. 2nd],” Debbie Buchanan said. “It was beautiful weather, and you’re walking through the cemetery with lit torches.”
They delve into the lives of those that may go unnoticed by many present residents, portraying their stories to the fullest extent and bringing life to what it once was. Each was unique and individualized, from silly to tragic stories, bringing forth an intriguing, festive vibe and a bundle of emotions, from joy to sorrow, to the audience.
“I can understand why it’s been around so long because it’s definitely a very pervasive event,” Noce added.
This is my first year as a staff reporter on 42Fifty and I am a senior at OHS. I am also involved in NEHS, Best Buddies, and Reading Corner at the school and in my free time I volunteer at the Naperville Area Humane Society. You can contact me by emailing 42Fifty@sd308.org and putting my name in the subject line. We welcome comments on our articles and feedback on our publication!
