Tag Archive for: #oakwoodcemetery

The Local Skinny! Oakwood Cemetery To Host ‘Sip And Stroll With Souls’

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The second annual “Sip and Stroll With Souls” in Louisburg’s historic Oakwood Cemetery promises to shed some light on some of the dearly departed who find their eternal rest there.

Dorothy Cooper is one of the event organizers, and she told WIZS’s Bill Harris on Tuesday’s segment of The Local Skinny! that the Oct. 29 tour is shaping up to be another success.

There’s an online registration on the Louisburg Historic District’s website, Cooper said. Find the link here: https://www.louisburghistoricdistrict.com/ and click on Events/Tickets.

A $10 donation per person helps the group with its ongoing efforts to clean, restore and repair gravestones in the cemetery, one of two owned by the Town of Louisburg.

From 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., participants will have the opportunity to visit a dozen or so different gravesites, with docents on hand to provide some history on the person buried there.

In some cases, the docent is a relative of the deceased; expect to see some docents in period dress and others with family portraits on display.

“We had a really great time last year,” Cooper said, adding that a good number of participants were from outside Franklin County. She said it’s always interesting to uncover new family connections and learn more about distant relatives.

“Some people are find out about family that they didn’t know before,” she said.

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TownTalk: Upcoming Events For Louisburg Historic District

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Unless you’re a history buff, you may be surprised to learn that cemeteries once were considered like parks are today, where people could come and visit the graves of their dearly departed and then stay and enjoy the outdoor space.

Dorothy Cooper, and her fellow board members on the Louisburg Historic District, have embraced this concept and have planned some events that will take place in Oakwood Cemetery in Louisburg.

Local historian Joe Pearce will present a “Graveside Chat” on Saturday, Sept. 9 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. This is a free event, but participants are asked to register. Pearce will be discussing the Davis / Allen family. Bring a lawn chair, a blanket to spread on the ground and even a cooler to enjoy the afternoon’s program.

“I’ve always had a love and fascination for cemeteries,” Cooper told WIZS co-host Bill Harris on Wednesday’s TownTalk. When she and her family bought an old home on Main Street 17 years ago, she visited Oakwood to learn about the family that had built the home.

“We wanted to know more about the home before we did anything,” she said. Not only did she locate the family plot, but also located descendants of the original owners.

Cemeteries can provide valuable information about the people whose births and deaths are recorded on headstones, which range from simple, flat markers to elaborate works of art carved from marble.

Over time, however, headstones require maintenance and sometimes repair. And the Louisburg Historic District helps to raise funds for that work.

The city-owned cemetery is in better shape now than in the recent past, Cooper said, adding that an arborist has been called in to assess the health of the trees that dot the cemetery.

Taking care of the landscape is as important as taking care of the grounds, she added.

The group will sponsor a headstone cleaning and monument preservation workshop on Saturday, Sept. 30 from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

This workshop costs $50 and will be limited to 20 participants, but all supplies and materials will be provided.

“You come away with hands-on experience” in cleaning gravestones. “It’s amazing what water and a soft brush can do,” Cooper said.

The cemetery also will be the site for the second “Sip and Stroll with Souls” on Oct. 29 from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Docents will be on site, some in period dress, to discuss various noteworthy individuals buried in Oakwood. This event is a fundraiser for the group; proceeds go toward cemetery upkeep.

Visit www.louisburghistoricdistrict.com to learn more or find the group on Facebook.

 

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The Local Skinny! Sip And Stroll With The Souls

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Looking for a way to get into the “spirit” of All Hallows Eve?

Drop by Louisburg’s historic Oakwood Cemetery Sunday afternoon for “Sip and Stroll with the Souls.”

Dorothy Cooper, one of the organizers of the event, said it should be a fun way to learn more about some of the famous – and not-so-famous – people who are buried there.

It kicks off at 2:30 p.m. and there will be numerous docents on hand to talk about particular people, from Gov. Thomas Walter Bickett to Richard Fenner Yarborough, whose son donated the land that became cemetery property.

“We thought it would be a nice idea to get people into the cemeteries,” Cooper told Bill Harris and Mark Pace on Thursday’s segment of The Local Skinny!

Both Harris and Pace will be participating as docents – Pace will discuss the elder Yarborough and Harris will talk about his Foster family ancestors that are buried in the cemetery. It’s not a ghost tour, or a spiritual tour, Cooper explained, but it’s just a happy coincidence that the tour falls the day before Halloween.

Tickets are $10, and there will be complimentary beverages and baked goodies for those who attend. Proceeds will be used to help with restoration and preservation of the headstones, some of which date back to the Revolutionary War era.

Over time, things do happen in cemeteries – stones fall or are turned over, Cooper said.

Getting people to come to the cemetery and learning about the lives of those whose graves are now marked with beautiful stones is a way to reconnect – and rekindle interest – in the cemetery.

The Oakwood Cemetery is located on N.C. Hwy 39 just outside Louisburg.

 

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