NORTH WEBSTER — The North Webster Community Public Library will host its 11th annual Cemetery Walk 1-3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 10.  Open to the public free of charge, this living history event is sponsored by the library’s Local History and Genealogy Center.

During the Cemetery Walk, the library conducts guided walking tours through the North Webster Cemetery where enactors are stationed throughout the cemetery portraying individuals who are buried there.  As the enactors tell their life stories, visitors learn about local history through the lives of ordinary people.

The 2017 Cemetery Walk will remember the late George Markley  (1799-1881) portrayed by Todd Lucas; Virgil Ritter  (187 7-1955) portrayed by Forrest Boesenberg; Jacob and Elizabeth Horn (1845-1927/1856-1914) portrayed by Matt Pulley and Lori Hickman; Frederick D. Greider (1876-1949) portrayed by Victor LaBarbera; Maud E. Willis (1874-1962) portrayed by Ashley Pulley; and James W. and Martha Mock Scott (1837-1862/1838-1910) portrayed by Gary Earnhart and Paula Markley.  There will also be a surprise stop at an unmarked grave.

The departed persons featured in this year’s Cemetery Walk were selected from a Cemetery Walk Essay Contest held in March in which patrons researched and submitted essays about the life of a person buried in the local cemetery. The essay authors are:  Paula Markley writing about George Markley; Terri Ritter writing about Virgil Ritter; Rebecca Pressler writing about Jacob and Elizabeth Horn; Cindy Keirn writing about Frederick D. Greider, Maud Willis and James W. and Martha Scott; and Beth Smith writing about the unknown grave. 

Guided walking tours begin at the library, located at 301 N. Main Street in North Webster, and leave every 10 minutes between 1 and 3 p.m.  The North Webster Cemetery is within a short walking distance from the library.  Golf cart shuttles will be available for people who have difficulty walking.  The Friends of the Library organization will furnish free refreshments while patrons wait for their tour to begin or after their tour ends.  Pianist Cathy Ervin will provide musical entertainment inside the library. 

For more information, contact Local History and Genealogy Center Director Beth Smith, at (574) 834-7122 ext. 205.