BUCYRUS – The stories will unfold again on Memorial Day this year.
Veterans’ stories. Tales of war, battles won, and lives lost. Glimpses into the lives of hometown heroes and others laid to rest in the historic grounds of Oakwood Cemetery.
The popular Cemetery Walks will officially return on Monday, May 31, from 12 to 3 p.m. at Oakwood Cemetery. The Memorial Day event will honor Crawford County veterans with a second walk on Sunday, July 4, to celebrate the city’s Bicentennial.
“The Cemetery Walks were always really popular,” said Jessie Furner, executive director of the Bucyrus Area Chamber of Commerce, who is organizing the walks for the Bucyrus Bicentennial Commission. “I was thrilled that they approached me about resurrecting them.”
The Memorial Day tour will include stops at 11 graves. Many of the relatives will be on hand, Furner said, dressed in period costumes to portray their ancestors. “All the veterans have interesting stories,” said Furner, a history buff who serves on the board of the Bucyrus Historical Society.
The Cemetery Walks, which always attracted hundreds of visitors, was actually the brainchild of former Chamber Executive Director Deb Pinion, Furner said. They ran from 2012 to 2016 and were called the “Know Who You Owe” series back then, she said.
On Memorial Day, the first stop is the grave of Bucyrus native Harry L. Martin, a Marine Corps 1st Lt. who was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor – the highest military decoration – for his heroics fighting the Japanese on Iwo Jima. Martin, who was killed by a grenade during enemy fire, will be portrayed by Thomas Kurek.
Other stops include the graves of John H. Holt, an Army veteran of World War II, who will be portrayed by his grandson, Robert Cohen; Charles “Champ” Collene, the first Crawford county resident killed in the Vietnam War, who will be portrayed by Princeton Wurm; and U.S. Navy veteran Boyd Long, who retired as a Naval Commander after 20 years of service. Doug Fought will play his role.
The walk then moves along to Oliver Blackburn’s grave, where Jeff Evans will reveal how Blackburn was awarded the Silver Star, Bronze Star, and two Purple Hearts for his service in the Army, and to the grave of Paul C. Kennedy, a WWII vet and longtime Bucyrus attorney who will be portrayed by his grandson, Kevin Myers.
Other stops are at the graves of Ralph Sack, a U.S. Army Air Corp veteran, who will be portrayed by Emily Reeder-Gallagher; George Fischer, Jr., also with the Air Corps in the 7th Bomb Squadron, who will be portrayed by his nephew, Randy Fischer; and the Stoneburner brothers – William, Earl, and John – whose story will be narrated by their mother, Henrietta, portrayed by Billie Weiland.
Adam J. Ward will give visitors a glimpse into the life of his uncle, John D. Sears, Jr., who served in the Navy Air Corps before returning to Bucyrus as a fourth-generation attorney, while great-nephew Adam J. Ward will act out John D. Sears, Sr., a veteran of both World Wars as well as an attorney and prosecutor in town.
Furner said the walk wouldn’t be complete without time to pause at the tombstone of Lauretta Schimmoler in Holy Trinity Cemetery. Schimmoler, a flight nurse, was the founder of Bucyrus Airport and the first woman in this country to operate and manage an airport. Alexa Franklin will play the nurse and aviator role.
Furner said the chamber plans to have at least one walk a year from here on. The walk on July 4 will also run from noon to 3 p.m. at Oakwood Cemetery, with the re-dedication of the True Meridian Marker at 1 p.m.