By Bob Strohm
bstrohm@wbcowqel.com
Hundreds of people took the time to get to know some of the past residents of Bucyrus through stories and reenactments Sunday afternoon. The latest edition of the Bucyrus Cemtery Walk took place in the Union and Holy Trinity cemeteries.
Highlighting some of the city’s more famous residents, the cemetery walk featured people portraying their deceased counterpart and bringing to light some of their more famous exploits.
Starting off the tour in the Holy Trinity Cemetery was Lauretta Schimmoler portrayed by Peg Ballou. Ballou told the story of Schimmoler who became the first woman aviator to establish an airport in the U.S. and command an American Legion Post. Schimmler was also founder of the Aerial Nurse Corps of America; a precursor to life flight responders.
Ballou explained why she portrayed Schimmoler.
“I am also a pilot and I am at Bucyrus Airport and I have a close connection to her in that I am also a 99 which is the international organization of women pilots. So I feel a kinship. I feel that I want to know more about her,” Ballou said. “She was very energetic woman, who accomplished a lot in her life, and look at the relevance. How many of us see air flight every day or near a helicopter that does Medflight there is one in Galion, we have from all around us that come into Bucyrus airport, and she was the one that thought it up, ‘Why can’t we have air ambulances?’”
Ballou shared a story on Schimmoler that she hadn’t told the first few groups traveling through on the cemetery walk.
“One story I didn’t tell on this was that she, with this Waco, she had it (Bucyrus Airport) for a short while and her hangar burnt. She was the manager here in Bucyrus and it burnt under suspicious circumstances. Now everybody pretty much figures that the men didn’t like the fact that there was a woman that was running the airport,” Ballou said. “But you know what it, was a long time ago, and you learn to forgive, and later on she was able to bring that airport and make it a real important center of the county.”
Captain J.J. Fullenkamp was awarded the O.W. Merrell Award for saving Ann Neidermier and her five children in 1972 from two heavily armed prison escapees. Portraying J.J. Fullenkamp was his son Keith Fullenkamp. After Fullenkamp told the crowd of his father’s heroics, Tom Neidermier, husband of Ann, spoke a few words.
Brittany Griffin the great granddaughter of J.J. Fullenkamp took the cemetery walk with her husband Brian Griffin. .
“We came out to see my uncle portray my great-grandpa,” Griffin said. “My favorite memory of my grandpa was probably just watching him love his family. He was always having cookouts and always loved being around his grandkids he was a great family man.”
Some of the earliest members of Bucyrus were celebrated in the Union Cemetery including Samuel and Mary Norton. The Union Cemetery walk featured Revolutionary, and Civil War re-enactors, along with demonstrations on how early settlers to the Bucyrus area made their living.
The cemetery walk was presented by Crawford 20/20 Vision’s Quality of Life team. Director of the Bucyrus Area Chamber of Commerce, Deb Pinion, explained where the slogan, “get to Know who you owe,” came from.
“I had been to one before and Rob Neff who was on the committee coined the phrase, ‘get to know who you owe.’ And we believe that if you know who the historic and influential people in 
your community were that you will feel more ingrained in your community and therefore give back to it,” Pinion said. “That is where we started and since then it has just grown and grown. We moved it this year, and we were afraid people might be confused where it was, but obviously they are not.”
Other Bucyrus citizens remembered on the cemetery walk were Edward Fox portrayed by Mary and Dan Fox, Robert ”Mac” Morrison portrayed by Mark Light, Charles and Garnet Bauer portrayed by Sis Love, Nick and Helen Vasil portrayed by son Nick Vasil. Bob and Charlie Hoelzel portrayed by Jeff Reser and Bill Kahle, Anthony and Josephine Corona portrayed by Frank Corona Jr., Bob and Mary Posey portrayed by Bill Fisher, and the Carroll family portrayed by Jim Cox.