The Friends of Lansing’s Historic Cemeteries will host its sixth annual Fall Walking Tour at Mt. Hope Cemetery in Lansing on Sunday, Sept. 30 from 3:00-5:00 p.m.
Titled “Patriots and Politicians of the Civil War Era”, this year’s tour features people who served in the military and/or political arenas during that time; some served in both capacities.
Among those to be highlighted are the first man to volunteer from the Lansing area, who also was the first to fall from here; the man credited with capturing Lincoln’s assassin, John Wilkes Booth; the veteran known as “The Little Drummer Boy”, who died playing the drums in an Armistice Day parade; and Lansing’s second mayor and founder of the city’s tree planting program. Also mentioned will be the young woman who disguised herself as a man in order to serve. In all, twenty-four people will be featured. This year marks the Sesquicentennial of the Civil War.
A golf cart, courtesy of the Parks and Recreation department, will be available to ferry persons with disabilities to the Soldiers Lot section of the cemetery, which is located on a high point with a steep incline. Refreshments will be available at the mid-point of the tour.
This family-friendly event is free of charge and open to the public. It will go on, rain or shine, unless there is lightning.
The Friends group exists to “protect, promote, and prosper” Lansing’s three city-owned cemeteries – Evergreen, Mt. Hope, and North. They meet monthly on the first Thursday at Foster Community Center in room 109 at 7:00 p.m. All are welcome.
For more info, contact Loretta S. Stanaway, Friends president, at 517-648-5730.
This was printed in the September 23, 2012 – October 6, 2012 Edition
