Naperville’s dead join the living for cemetery walk

Naperville native Sgt. Levi Shafer may or may not be responsible for the first two shots fired at Gettysburg. Historians have varying opinions, but you can ask him yourself on Saturday.

Shafer is one of eight historic Napervillians you can bump into during Naper Settlement’s cemetery walking tour “The Living Cemetery: An Interpretive Visit to Naperville Cemetery,” from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 15.

Legend says one of Shafer’s lieutenants in the 8th Illinois Calvary borrowed Shafer’s gun in an attempt to fire the first shot Gettysburg. He missed, leaving Shafer to fire and land his first two shots.

“A Naperville limestone monument marks the spot at Gettysburg still today,” said Barbara Rimmer, a settlement educator.

Another former Napervillian you’ll encounter has a new script this year, thanks to her in-depth diaries.

Rimmer said organizers are “very excited” to present Hannah Ditzler, a schoolteacher and librarian born in 1848. During the Civil War, she regularly corresponded with her brother and another soldier serving in the Union Army.

Cemetery guests will also encounter DuPage County’s first white woman settler, Clarissa Hobson, who will discuss living through the Black Hawk War and the time she spent in Chicago’s Fort Dearborn.

“We’ve got some really great historical figures this year,” said educator Cindy Lackore. “But we’ve also got some folks like a widow in mourning, who will describe the grieving process of the times, and an undertaker who will describe how embalming was done.”

In all, guests will spend about 10 minutes with each former Naperville resident, near the individual’s grave site. Despite being at the grave site with someone impersonating the dead, Rimmer said no one has ever experienced any paranormal activity.

“We have a great respect and admiration for the lives they lead,” she said. “And that’s what is experienced along the walk. This is an educational tour.”

If you go

If you go

What: “The Living Cemetery: An Interpretive Visit to Naperville Cemetery”

When: 2 to 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 15

Where: 523 S. Webster St., Naperville,

Cost: $12

Info: (630) 420-6010 or napersettlement.museum