Historical society members John Zwisler and Desiree Smelcer chosen six prominent figures from South Hadley's history for the event.
Young actors from the Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter Public School in South Hadley will enact prominent people from South Hadley's history in the first-ever Village Cemetery Lantern Walk on Oct. 27. From left: Theo Merrill as Ariel Cooley, Isabelle Brinton-Fenlason as Bessie Skinner, Jared Franz as Joseph Carew, Faolain Bobersky as Mary Lyon, Ian Pittsinger as Josiah Bardwell and Aaron Collette as Daniel Lamb.
SOUTH HADLEY — Costumed actors from the Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter Public School will offer a combination of local history, education and the Halloween-friendly thrill of a graveyard in the dark, when the South Hadley Historical Society presents a "'Village Cemetery Lantern Walk" on Oct. 27 from 5 to 8 p.m. at Village Cemetery.
Admission is a donation of $5. First responders and people under 18 are admitted free. Proceeds will benefit the South Hadley Historical Society.
Society members John Zwisler and Desiree Smelcer chose six prominent figures from South Hadley's history for the event, five of whom are buried at Village Cemetery. "We wanted to include people who were instrumental in forming the personality and culture of the town," said Smelcer.
They include Josiah Bardwell, a salt-seller and landowner who awarded the water rights that made possible one of the first paper mills in South Hadley. He was born in 1778.
"He was known as Uncle Josiah," said Ian Pittsinger, of Chesterfield, the Performing Arts student who will play the part of Bardwell. "He was very wealthy but very down-to-earth."
Dressing all the young actors for their parts is Performing Arts student Shawnay Barton, of Springfield, who is studying advanced costume design.
Some of the historical figures in the tour - Joseph Carew, Ariel Cooley, Daniel Lamb, Bessie Skinner - will sound familiar because their names live on through descendants or because streets or landmarks were named after them. The South Hadley Library, for example, is on Bardwell Street.
The only historical personage in the tour not buried at Village Cemetery is Mary Lyon, the founder of Mount Holyoke College. "Her connection to South Hadley is so obviously strong that it would be silly not to include her," said Smelcer.
Student Faolain Bobersky, of South Hadley, will play the role of Lyon, who lived from 1797 to 1849 and also founded Wheaton College.
The students are writing five-minute monologues for their characters to speak as visitors are led through the cemetery by other volunteers. A new "walk" will start every 10-15 minutes
Members of the Historical Society visited Performing Arts and gave presentations about the historical figures. "The students have taken what they said and run with it," James Cox, the faculty member who drew the young actors together. "'They're bringing it to life."
The roles of Revolutionary War veterans Lamb and Cooley will be played by Theo Merrill, of Amherst, and Aaron Collette, of Chicopee, respectively. Jared Franz, of Chicopee, will play Carew, a mill owner and congressman.
The name of Skinner is usually associated with the historic silk mills, but Bessie Skinner is remembered as a school principal and writer. She was born in 1872 and lived to age 86. She will be portayed by Isabelle Brinton-Fenlason, of Northampton.
The first Lantern Walk will also include information about historic Village Cemetery, provided by the cemetery's treasurer, John Camp.
Parking is available at the Beachgrounds on Main Street (land originally donated by Daniel Lamb, who died in 1819), a short walk from Village Cemetery on Cemetery Ave. and Spring Street. Rain date is Nov. 3.