Enactor Don Minear portrays grist mill owner William Yohn (1861-1933) during the 2013 North Webster Cemetery Walk sponsored by the North Webster Community Public Library’s Local History and Genealogy Center. This year’s event is scheduled from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 7.

The North Webster Community Public Library will host its eighth annual Cemetery Walk on Sunday, Sept. 7, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. 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 tours through the North Webster Cemetery where enactors are stationed throughout the cemetery portraying local persons who are buried there.  As the enactors tell their stories and recount past times, visitors learn about local history and the people who formed the fabric of the community in years gone by.

The 2014 Cemetery Walk will feature the late Isabelle Wyland (1870-1939) portrayed by Mary Erb; Charles J. and Gertrude Long (1877-1948 & 1880-1941) portrayed by Gary Earnhart and Janette Stackhouse; Kenneth L. Koher (1936-1956) portrayed by Forrest Boesenberg; Fred and Bessie Seniff (1888-1942 & 1886-1955) portrayed by Matt and Ashley Pulley; R. Kip Sullivan (1906-1977) portrayed by Richard Owen; and Mary and Judy Sullivan (1913-2012 & 1933-1949) portrayed by Ann Lohman and Mackenzie Essex.

The deceased 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 writers are Rebecca Pressler, Carolyn Long, Cindy Keirn, Judy Taylor, Doug Bowser and Paula Markley.

Guided walking tours begin at the library, located at 301 N. Main St. in North Webster, and leave every 15 minutes between 1 p.m. 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. Free entertainment is also part of the event. Sarah Tuttle will sing and play guitar inside the library while saxophonist Charles Cotton will perform gospel and military music in the cemetery. In addition, author Richard Rose will be at the library with his new book The Lazarus Conspiracies.

For more information, contact Local History and Genealogy Center Director Beth Smith, at 574-834-7122 ext. 205. Videos of past Cemetery Walks are available for viewing on the library’s website at www.nweb.lib.in.us/indiana_room/walk.