Bringing out the dead

It's a common goal for many people to stay out of graveyards until absolutely compelled to visit.

Such a reason materializes Sunday, Sept. 28 in the form of the 21st Annual Cemetery Walk at Bluff City Cemetery in Elgin.

Seven late Elginites will be portrayed at or near their tombstone to tell their stories or make their cases at the 108-acre final resting place which has been interring Elgin's beloved and notorious since 1889.

Steve and Laura Stroud are the co-coordinators of the event for the first time this year and didn't have to go far to come up with some choices for the participating actors. "Since this is our first year we already had a couple people in mind," Laura said.

One of the people they had in mind was Philip Freiler whose 1887 house is the Strouds' current home.

Katie Thiele, the housekeeper during Freiler's time was another choice, according to Laura.

"Her granddaughter lived in Elgin and had told us many stories about her so we knew we wanted to do Katie," she said.

Linda Conro, who is Katie Thiele's great-granddaughter, will recreate the character at the walk.

Steve Stroud, author of "There Used to Be," a series of books about historical Elgin, served as a resource for the rest of the characters: Dr. William Todd, Alice Byrd Potter, Joseph Fordrescher, Judge David Sherwood and Libbie Samuelson.

The Strouds gathered information from a variety of sources, including historical records, newspaper clippings and the Internet.

The level of fame or notoriety of the person determines how challenging the research may be. August Conte, who has participated as an actor in almost all of the cemetery walks, can testify to that.

"A couple of years ago I did Eddie Rickenbacker, the famous race car driver," Conte said. "It was so easy to get information because he's all over the Internet."

More obscure portrayals take a little guess work.

"If you get a character where there's not that much information, you have to go with the genre of the immigrant group or social class at the time," Conte explained. "I never make anything up but you kind of have to infer sometimes."

"One time I played a farmer and he talked about making hay. Well, when I was a kid I made hay so I knew all about it and I was able to talk authoritatively about it."

Once the information has been researched and dispatched to the actors, the Strouds turn to the cemetery itself.

"We spend a fair amount of time at the cemetery going from one site to the other because in between we're writing up about different types of tombstones," Laura Stroud said. "Because it's such an old cemetery there are a variety of tombstones."

All of this information is passed on to the guides who will deliver the groups from one portrayal to the next while pointing out sights of interest along the way.

Conte enjoys the fun involved with the experience of historical portrayal.

"How often do adults get to play?" he said. "Once a year we go do our acting and get it out of our system for awhile. We dress up in costume and we pretend to be somebody else."

"The nice part about it is that unlike doing a play you don't have to go to a month or two of rehearsals," said Conte. "We prepare our own scripts from historical information provided by the Historical Society. We basically become writers, directors and actors in our little one person play."

This year Conte's one-person play will depict Philip Freiler, a teetotaler who ran a local liquor business in Elgin. "He was born in Hartford, Connecticut in 1860; his parents were from Austria. He was a businessman and did well for himself," Conte said

Aside from the portrayals, Marge Edwards, a historian with the Dundee Township Historical Society, will be on hand to discuss the many and varied superstitions of the Victorians.

"I start out by asking people if they are superstitious and reminding people of things that come from our childhood like, 'don't step on a crack, you'll break your mother's back and don't let a black cat cross in front of you,'" Edwards said.

In keeping with the environment, Edwards will discuss superstitions that deal with the subject of death and offer a warning as well.

"Do not smell the flowers on a coffin," she said. "Don't put your shoes on the table or you will die by hanging. A dead person's eyes must be closed or they'll find someone to take with them."

"People have always been superstitious and some of these things are carried along through the centuries," said Edwards, who researches through the use of books and computers. "A lot of what people do today comes from ancient times, like burning incense and lighting candles, which is supposed to ward off evil spirits."

The afternoon promises to be a fascinating mix of theater and history and represents a great deal of time, energy and talent.

"We put energy and effort into it as if we are doing a play," Conte said. "It's just a little one-act play done 15 times in one day."

If you go

What: The 21st annual Historic Elgin Cemetery Walk

When: noon to 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 28

Where: Bluff City Cemetery, 945 Bluff City Blvd., Elgin

Cost: $6 on the day of the event or $5 in advance at the Elgin Historical Society, 360 Park Street or Ziegler's Ace Hardware Stores in Elgin

Info: Elgin Area Historical Society, (847) 742-4248