MARGARETVILLE – Reservations for the Historical Society of Middletown’s 10th Living History Cemetery Tour are now open.
The popular tour will be held Saturday, June 17, 2023 at Margaretville Cemetery. Rain date is June 18.
In addition to the one-hour walking tour, offered six times between 4 and 6 p.m., there will be a special early bird performance at 2 p.m. on stage at the Open Eye Theater on Main Street to accommodate those with mobility issues.
Reservations for both staged and on-site performances are required and can be made by calling 845-586-4736.
Tickets are $20; those 15 or under get in free.
This year’s tour will feature portrayals of six people from Middletown’s past. Tour goers led by costumed guides will meet these spirits and learn about their lives.
They include German immigrant wagonmaker Herman Henry Rotermund, portrayed by Gary Falk; farmer and creamery manager Calvin Davis, played by Ken Taylor; Huldah Allison Austin, who witnessed the coming of the railroad age as a farm wife and mother, played by Sheila Ayres; author and college professor Mary Elizabeth Osborn, portrayed by Rebecca Newman; Howard Baker, who served in the cavalry in Cuba, played by Kevin Bewersdorf; and Amos Sperling, a cook aboard circus man Charles Ringling’s yacht, played by John Bernhardt.
Connie Jeffers will roam the grounds as a mysterious Roma (‘gypsy’), and Dan Ayres, as photographer Ward Carman, camera in hand, will document the event.
Returning as directors of this year’s production are Frank Canavan and Joyce St. George. Script writers were Erwin Karl, Amy Taylor, Diane Galusha, Sue DeBruin, Ellen Stewart and Mary Barile.
Tour guides will be Eli Taylor, Emily Vieyra and Sally Scrimshaw.
For more information on HSM events and to become a member, visit mtownhistory.org.