It’s nearly time to ‘Walk with the Spirits’

SOUTHWICK — With 255 years of mostly benevolent, but a few malevolent, spirits floating through the Old Cemetery, several will speak from the grave during the town’s Historical Society’s 13th annual “Walk with the Southwick Spirits” on Saturday, Oct. 25.

“We’ll have two Revolutionary War veterans, including a new one, David Ives, a Revolutionary War soldier, will be presented by Dennis Picard, based on his own research,” said Patricia Odiorne, the treasurer of the society and volunteer historian.

Picard was a museum professional in the “living history” field for over 30 years starting his career at Old Sturbridge Village where he eventually spent over a decade filling various positions including “lead interpreter” where he researched and designed many public programs that are still offered by the village today.

The town’s Historical Society will also feature a “real daughter of the American Revolution,” whose father served during the Revolutionary War and was still alive in 1900, said Odiorne.

The guided walks take place from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 25, in the Old Cemetery on College Highway, just south of Klaus Anderson Road. If it rains, the event will move to 1-4 p.m. on Sunday. Volunteers will portray notable people buried in the cemetery, and share facts about them.

“I want to remind everyone who is planning on making a reservation for the walk that it is being held in the morning instead of the afternoon, as we have in previous years,” Odiorne said.

For the past 13 years, Odiorne has uncovered the history of many of the people buried at the cemetery since it was established in 1770 and has collected many stories to choose from when planning the event.

A victim of one of the several powder mill explosions will again appear, she said.

And there the spirit of a woman who would not marry her second husband unless he signed a pre-nuptial agreement that all her property would still be hers and a sad story of a woman whose jealousy caused her husband to hurt her severely, she said.

The town’s “Renaissance Man,” Amasa Holcomb, a world-famous inventor and state representative, an the author of the town’s history, and Roger Moore, owner of the society’s Joseph Moore House, who also fought in the Revolutionary War.

And Lester Vining’s daughter will make her 13th appearance and be portrayed by the same person this year.

Not only does she pick the most interesting stories from those whose final resting place is in the cemetery, she writes the scripts for the actors who portray them.

She researches each role using sources like Ancestry.com , the Church of Latter-day Saints’ genealogy bank, and written histories of Southwick, including a book written by a Maud Etta Gillett Davis titled “Historical Facts and Stories About Southwick.”

While the event is free, donations of $5 are encouraged for attendees over age 12. There are a limited number of slots for those who wish to attend. There will be four performances on Saturday, each about an hour in length, and the actors will answer questions.

To make a reservation, call Historical Society President Denise Muldrew at 413-569-0275. Muldrew is also portraying one of the characters, as is her husband and their child.

The Historical Society also maintains the Joseph Moore House and the Gillett Cigar Factory, where women in town wrapped cigars with the much-sought-after leaves of shade tobacco grown in the area’s sandy soils.

The society is always asking for help to tell the history of Southwick.

For more information, visit www.southwickhistoricalsociety.org .

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