Friends of Wheeling Hosting Greenwood Cemetery Tour Sept. 24
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Some prominent figures of Wheeling's past will come to life to tell their stories when the Friends of Wheeling hosts another Greenwood Cemetery Tour on Sept. 24.
Visitors to the cemetery will see locals in costume portraying 12 notable Wheeling people whose gravesites are in the cemetery.
Walking tours begin at 1 p.m., with the last tour starting at 4:15. The tours are free and open to all ages. Parking is available at Wheeling Park, and Kepner and Altmeyer funeral home limousines will transport visitors to and from the cemetery.
Rival brewers Anton Reymann (portrayed by Dave Barnett) and Henry Schmulbach (Hal Gorby) will relate the individual lives and accomplishments of these two very different men who were contemporaries in time and occupation -- but very different in lifestyles.
Two other successful businessmen highlighted during the tour will be Jacob Thomas and Hanson Waddell. Thomas (portrayed by Kenny Sexton) was the brother-in-law and business partner of Elijah Stone in founding the iconic Wheeling Stone & Thomas Department Store. His grave marker is one of the largest in the cemetery. Waddell (portrayed by his great-grandson Jay Frey) was an innovative glass industry executive whose marker is more modest.
Two doctors will be featured -- Dr. John Eoff and Dr. John Frissell. Eoff (portrayed by Greg Smith) was perhaps the first medically trained doctor in Wheeling, while Frissell (portrayed by Dr. Jim Comerci) was one of the founders of Wheeling Hospital and served as medical superintendent of the military prisoners held in Wheeling during the Civil War. Dr. Eoff's great-granddaughter Helen Tallman (portrayed by Rachel Lewis), a young victim of tuberculosis, rests near his gravesite in a beautiful Victorian style family mausoleum.
Wheeling native Thomas Norton (portrayed by Steve Suhler) served in the Union army during the Civil War and was later military mayor of Jackson, Mississippi, during Reconstruction. His uncle, Edward Norton, is an ancestor of the Hollywood actor by the same name.
In the early 1900s, Ruth Woods (portrayed by Gael Fincham) and her son George divided the large Woods farm into building lots, resulting in the communities of Woodsdale and around Hamilton Avenue - which was named for another son. Around the same time, Henrietta Romine (portrayed by Jenn Lewis) was helping organize the Wheeling Symphony and playing a very active role in the Woman Suffrage movement.
Judi Hendrickson will portray artist Edith Lake Wilkinson, a Wheeling native whose artwork was featured in an HBO special "Packed in a Trunk." Wilkinson spent time in a posh mental institution until her estate was reportedly embezzled by lawyer George Rogers. Many of her paintings were later found -- packed in a trunk and largely forgotten. Jeanne Finstein will portray Rogers' wife, Clara Rogers, who, following her husband's scandal and bankruptcy, left their privileged lifestyle to work at West Liberty State College. She rose to become Dean of Women, and Rogers Hall dormitory was named in her honor.
This tour is the latest in a series of similar tours offered by Friends of Wheeling, the local historic preservation organization. The tours are very well-received, with attendance numbering several hundred in a single afternoon. All ages are welcome and encouraged to attend as interesting parts of Wheeling's history are dramatized.