Echoes of Yesteryear: a walk through Oak Ridge Cemetery returns this fall, happening Sunday, October 2nd from noon until 4 p.m. The final tour starts at 3:15 p.m.
Actors in period dress will bring to life important figures from Sangamon County history in this family-friendly event that was canceled last year due to bad weather and the year before that because of the COVID pandemic.
Mary Disseler will portray Margaret Carpenter, wife of William Carpenter (think: Carpenter Park).
“A lot of the emphasis is to remind people that Sangamon County and Springfield are not just about Mr. Lincoln,” Disseler said, “that there’s fabulous people who also did a lot of work to make this place so livable and so lovely to be a part of.”
The event put on annually by the Sangamon County Historical Society is free but donations are suggested.
According to Mary Alice Davis, Cemetery Walk Chairperson, parking will be widely available. Attendees will be bussed to the first gravesite and from there will walk to the other sites (about 1/2 mile total along level terrain). Participants should allow for about two hours from start to finish. Refreshments will be available for purchase.
Davis said that in past years as many as six hundred people have come out for the event.