Historic society hopes event can return next year

With the COVID-19 pandemic still ongoing, another popular regional event has been canceled.

The Lawrence County Historical Society said on Wednesday that this year’s Historic Cemetery Walk has been canceled.

The event, which has been running for two decades, takes place each fall at Woodland Cemetery and features community members in costume portraying notables buried in the cemetery, such as World War I flying ace William Lambert, Russian ballerina, Antoinette Sherpetosky Peters, Waterloo Wonders coach Magellan Hairston and famed author and illustrator Edward Gorey. It typically draws hundreds to the cemetery.

“The Lawrence County Historical Society has decided to cancel The Historic Cemetery Walk for the 2020 season due to the risk a large crowd would cause,” the organization said in a news release. “We look forward to this event and greatly regret having to make this decision. We will look forward to again hosting this event in the fall of 2021.”

The event joins others, such as the Lawrence County Fair, Ironton Wizardfest, the West Virginia Pumpkin Festival and the Ceredo-Kenova Autumnfest and Pumpkin House, which were all called off this year due to the pandemic.