Staff Reports
ALBION — The Albion High School arts department students invite the community to participate in a historic ghost walk at Mount Albion Cemetery. Tours will leave every 15 minutes beginning at 5:30 p.m., with the last tour leaving at 8 p.m. Saturday and Oct. 24.
“We thought this might be something different the community would be interested in,” said Grants Manager Sue Starkweather. “We’re hoping the community is going to be excited about it and see some of the movers and shakers in a new way.”
Students met over the summer with County Historian Bill Lattin and Village of Albion Historian Neil Johnson to learn about some of the famous movers and shakers of Albion’s past. They gathered information from the historians as well as used resources from Dee Robinson to develop 16 characters that will come to life on the tour.
Some of the ghosts participants will meet on tour are Albert Warner, William Barlow, Juliette Beach, Honorable Sanford Church, Emma Swan, John Proctor, John Hull White and Roswell Burrows.
More than 60 students from teachers Michael Thaine and Gary Simboli’s classes are involved in this service-learning project that connects local history to the community.
“People will get to meet different movers and shakers in early Albion,” Starkweather said. “We’ve got some really interesting people the students are learning about.”
A group of students were responsible for researching their characters and writing their own scripts. They will act out the roles of the famous ghosts
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while dressed in period costumes. Another group of students will serve as guides. They researched the history of Mount Albion Cemetery and will share that information on the 45-minute tour.
Several students recorded instrumental music that would have been appropriate for the time period of the ghosts. Another group of students will serve as “techies” at each grave site making sure the music and lighting add to the tour effect.
“Student response to this project is very positive,” Starkweather said. “They have been surprised by some of the stories they have uncovered and impressed by the lasting impact many of these people who died more than 100 years ago still have on our Albion community. They are excited to share what they have learned with the public during this historic tour, which is not meant to be scary or frightening.”
Tickets are $5 and proceeds go to the Albion Main Street Alliance, whose mission is to revitalize the greater Albion community by investing in and promoting its unique assets.
Those interested in joining the tour must reserve a tour time by calling Starkweather at 589-2087. A bus will shuttle people from the Albion Elementary School to the cemetery. Attendees are asked to bring their own flashlights and wear boots or sneakers. The tour will take place in the oldest part of the cemetery and some sections are unpaved.
