Cemetery walk to bring beauty queen, war heroes back to life
For 29 years people like Steve and Laura Stroud have been bringing the dead back to life at Elgin's Bluff City Cemetery.
Historical figures including first settlers, a sea captain, a female pro ballplayer, escaped slaves and a newspaper columnist have temporarily been resurrected. And they will do that again on Sunday, Sept. 25, as volunteer actors from the Elgin Area Historical Society bring seven more former Elginites back to life.
As visitors to the 29th annual Elgin Cemetery Walk walk — or, for the first time this year, ride a bus — from grave site to grave site, actors who have studied the lives of the people buried below and have dressed as them will give 10-minute presentations about their “memories.”
The Strouds have coordinated the walk for nine years and chose the seven people to be re-created.
“As we're going through the cemetery, we might wander off and find a name I know from my research on old Elgin houses,” said Steve Stroud. “We pick one who could be the central character for the next year's walk, and then everybody else is built around that character.”
He said the central character this year will be Lucille Burns (1905-1992), who defeated dozens of other contestants in the first Miss Elgin beauty pageant in 1925. She then went to Atlantic City and competed in the Miss America contest.
Burns will be portrayed by an actress new to the cemetery walks, Anne LoCascio.
Also coming back to life will be:
• James Dangerfield (1875-1941), portrayed by 18-times cemetery walk actor Mike Delehoy. Dangerfield served as an Army captain during World War I, then stayed in Europe to help rebuild the continent. He lived long enough to see Europe torn by another world war, but died in Lisbon, Portugal, shortly before the Pearl Harbor attack.
“Dangerfield was a remarkable person who has gotten very little publicity,” Steve Stroud said. “He had a chest full of medals. When he died, the king of Portugal provided a special coffin for him to be sent home in.”
• William F. Lynch (1839-1877), portrayed by James Zingales, was also a military hero, in this case during the Civil War. Rising to colonel while only in his 20s, he was captured by Confederates and held in the infamous Libby Prison.
“He never fully recovered from his war injuries,” Laura Stroud said. After Lynch left the Army, she said, President Ulysses Grant visited him and promoted him to brigadier general. But Lynch died soon afterward, just 38 years old.
• Joseph Pabst, a pioneer settler, opened one of Elgin's first hotels. He will be portrayed by August Conte, who will be honored for acting in 25 of the 29 cemetery walks. Conte's past roles included grocer August Scheele, millionaire George Lord (while wife Bonnie Conte played Lord's wife Mary) and Walter Hemmens.
• Emily Lord (1814-1904) fought slavery and founded a seminary for girls in 1851. She will be played by Linda Rock, who Laura Stroud said has acted in 14 or 15 cemetery walks.
• H. Walter Pixley (1848-1918), played by veteran re-enactor Andrew Cuming, became an expert watchmaker in Michigan, then worked at Elgin National Watch Co.
• Irene Oberg (1869-1962), portrayed by new actress Babette Colburn, served as superintendent of Sherman Hospital from 1905-1929 and organized Sherman's first training school for nurses.
The history of the cemetery, its angel monuments, epitaphs on gravestones and early settler Mary Jane Gifford also will be explained by students from Elgin High School's history club, led by teacher John Divine, and by “vignette volunteers” Ira Marcus, Jackie Marcus, Sue Moylan and Barbara Schloss.
Laura Stroud said one new feature this year will be limited bus service for visitors who have trouble walking. A small bus will move from one re-creation site to another and the re-enactors will board the vehicle to give their presentations. However, users of the bus must make a reservation ahead of time by calling (847) 742-4248. For details, visit elginhistory.org.
29th annual Elgin Cemetery Walk
<b>When:</b> Walking tours start between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 25. The walk takes 60 to 90 minutes.
<b>Where:</b> Bluff City Cemetery, 945 Bluff City Blvd., Elgin
<b>Tickets:</b> $12 in advance and for Elgin History Museum members, $15 for nonmembers at the gate, free for children age 12 and younger. Advance tickets are available at the museum (360 Park St., Elgin), at the Ziegler's Ace Hardware stores in Elgin, or online at <a href="http://elginhistory.org/">elginhistory.org</a>.
<b>Details:</b> (847) 742-4248