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Date: 10/30/2019
SOUTHWICK – For the seventh straight year historical reenactors took over Southwick’s Old Cemetery to tell tales of the town’s rich history Oct. 26.
The annual Spirit Walk took visitors on a tour of the Old Cemetery by visiting eight gravestones of various historical figures in Southwick, including Maud Davis, Matthew Laflins and John Barnes, among others. Each of the sites offered a distinct presentation by the reenactors, with tales of their characters’ histories and different displays based on what they did during their lives.
The event was organized by the Southwick Historical Society, with permission from the cemetery and help from Girl Scout troops 11220 and 12916, according to Historical Society Treasurer Pat Odiorne. She said that the event is a fundraiser for the Historical Society so they suggested a donation of $5 for tour participants.
Southwick Girl Scouts helped with the refreshments for the day. Odiorne noted the Girl Scouts have been willing to help out each year since the start of the walk.
She explained that the idea to have a Spirit Walk came about when she saw one in a local community, but knew Southwick had to do it in its own way.
“We had seen a Spirit Walk in Longmeadow in the evening that was a lantern tour, and we looked around our cemetery and knew we couldn’t do it at night because the terrain would make it dangerous so we’ve been doing it in the afternoon since then,” Odiorne said.
Odiorne explained the event and the Historical Society are completely run by volunteers. “The actors were all volunteers as well, three of them have participated in all seven Spirit Walks, playing various characters over that time,” she said.
Odiorne added that each year about 100 people take the tours. On Saturday, the cemetery was bustling with activity for a beautiful fall day. During the tour different groups, each with 10 to 15 people, overlapped at the various gravesites at several times during the day.
Odiorne said she was happy to see new people come to the event this year in addition to perennial participants. She added that one couple had no idea about the event until Friday when they were visiting the cemetery.
“They were in the cemetery yesterday when we were putting up the signs and we told them about it and they came back, it was kinda neat,” she said.