Ghost Walk brings local history to life
Published 12:00 am Saturday, August 21, 2004
Unsolved murders, unrequited love, daring deeds of the Underground Railroad, grave robbers.
Ironton's history is a veritable kaleidoscope - colorful and multi-faceted.
Moments of that history will be brought to life Saturday when the Lawrence County Historical Society presents its second-annual Ghost Walk at Woodland Cemetery.
The Ghost Walk invites enthusiasts of local lore to move among the final resting places of some of the cemetery's silent citizens, learning their stories and, in doing so, learning more about the area's past. Local history buffs, dressed in period costume, will play the parts of the dearly departed.
"It's just a good way to show people some of the history of the founders of our city," Historical Society president Pat Arrington said. "Lots of different things went on here. And, it kind of makes you remember more when you see it as well as hear or read about it."
Organizers last year had planned to have 250 visitors for the Ghost Walk and were deluged with more than 500 people. More than 500 are expected to attend this year, too.
Some new stories will be featured this year, such as that of Clara Campbell, the daughter of Ironton founder John Campbell. Clara Campbell was engaged to marry Charles Arbuckle, of the Arbuckle Coffee fame. Caddish Charles jilted young Clara and she slapped him with a breach of promise suit, a remedy almost unheard of in this day and age. Clara asked for $100,000 to punish her erstwhile suitor, but she received only $40,000. Never married, she is buried near her parents.
Another new addition this year is the story of Jesse Norton, who laid the first sidewalk in Ironton.
"He did this so his mother wouldn't get her shoes dirty," said Andy Stapleton, who will play Jesse Norton Saturday evening.
"That's what I like about him - he loved his mother, he loved his wife."
The Ghost Walk will again this year include the story of Dr. Joseph Lowry, whose 1930s-era murder was never solved. Lowry is played by Bob Cleary, with Cleary's real-life wife, Cheryl, playing the part of Sarah, Dr. Lowry's wife.
James Ditcher, a conductor on the Underground Railroad, will tell of his narrow escape at the hands of slave hunters and his missions to bring escaped slaves to freedom. Known as "The Red Fox", Ditcher was instrumental in helping as many as 300 escaped slaves before the Civil War broke out and he joined the Union cause.
"I think the coolest thing about him was that he was able to escape capture so many times," John Kuehne said. Kuehne will play Ditcher; Jacquetta Dufore will play his wife, Livina.
Guests will be greeted at the cemetery gates by Dr.
and Mrs. Orin C. Newton, played by Patricia Arrington and Rod Depriest. It was Newton who sold the city the land for Woodland Cemetery at a cost of $10,000, turning farmland into what is considered to be one of the most beautiful cemeteries anywhere, as well as a local landmark and source of pride for area residents.
"I hope Ironton sees this for what it is, a historical thing, not a ghost thing," Arrington said. "People tend to emphasize the ghost part and some expect to see someone jump out from behind a tree at them and that's not what this is all about. It's about history."