MADISON COUNTY — On Saturday, Sept. 25, the Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Canastota will host “If Headstones Could Talk,” a living history walking tour featuring five cemetery “residents.”
Attendees will learn about the history of the cemetery and its maintenance from their guides and occasionally stop to hear the stories of some of the cemetery’s longtime residents.
“We have five unique characters who will [talk about their lives],” said Madison County Historian Matthew Urtz. “We have a former county judge, we have an actress who had quite the drama-filled life, we have our last U.S. House of Representatives member to actually live in Madison County when they served, we have aCivil War nurse who was one of the few women who actually got a pension from her time in the service, and we have the man who donated the mortuary of this cemetery.”
According to Urtz, all of the actors are volunteers.
“All the actors were gracious enough to volunteer their time, so we are very appreciative of that,” said Urtz. “[Also,] the library got folks from their writing clubs to help us write the scripts.”
Tours will start at 10, 10:30, 11 and 11:30 a.m., and each will take approximately 60 minutes. Attendees are encouraged to wear hiking boots and to be prepared to walk uphill.
A rain date is scheduled for Sept. 26.
Tickets can be purchased at the cemetery on the day of the event. Admittance is $5 for adults and free for children 12 and under. All proceeds will benefit the Mount Pleasant Cemetery Association, the Canastota Public Library, and the Canastota Canal Town Museum.
Located beside a remnant of the original Erie Canal, the Canastota Canal Town Museum is a two-floor space filled with authentic memorabilia, art and other exhibits illustrating Canastota’s contributions to the canal, commerce, industry and agriculture.
For more information on “If Headstones Could Talk,” contact Urtz at 315-366-2453.
