Susan Helm, director of the Sangamon County Historical Society and chair of the cemetery walk, joins Community Voices to discuss the society’s annual Echoes of Yesteryear: A Walk Through Oak Ridge Cemetery. The free cemetery walk brings local history to life through presentations about people buried at Oak Ridge Cemetery. According to the Historical Society, Oak Ridge is the second-most-visited cemetery in the United States. The event has been held for 21 years and draws hundreds of visitors each year.
A lot of planning and research goes into selecting the people featured in the cemetery walk. Mike Kienzler, former city editor of the State Journal-Register, plays an important role in that process. He walks the cemetery looking for potential subjects, researches their lives through the Sangamon Valley Collection at the library, and writes the scripts for actors to portray the historical figures. The locations of the graves also help determine who is selected, since the historical figures need to be buried relatively close to one another so visitors can walk between sites.
The event begins with visitors following signs to a designated meeting area near the cemetery’s bell tower. From there, shuttle buses take attendees to the first presentation site. Visitors then walk between the different locations to hear each historical figure’s story before a bus brings them back to the starting area.
Community Voices co-host Melissa Snider attended the October 4, 2026, event and recorded excerpts from each of the six presentations featured in this episode, offering listeners a glimpse into the lives and contributions of people who helped shape Sangamon County’s history.
This year’s six historical figures included Elizabeth Graham, a longtime Springfield High School educator closely connected to poet Vachel Lindsay. Graham was inspired by Lindsay’s poetry and later became dedicated to preserving his legacy leading efforts to preserve his family home on South Fifth Street. Graham was portrayed by Deb Vandevoort. The other figures included John Lewis, a labor leader and former president of the United Mine Workers, portrayed by Andy Vandevoort; Augusta Senth, a German immigrant who experienced the loss of four children in infancy, portrayed by Sandra Fritz; Joe Gomez, a Springfield balloonist and entertainer, portrayed by Brody Elder; Josephine Snowden Meek, an educator who faced racial discrimination as a student at Springfield High School, portrayed by Kathryn Harris; and Robert Preston Taylor, the first African American graduate of Lincoln College of Law who spent much of his career at the Illinois State Museum, portrayed by Aaron Pearl.
Planning and discussions for next year’s cemetery walk has already begun and is set to take place Sunday, Oct. 3, 2027. While the lineup has not yet been announced, Aaron Pearl, who portrayed Robert Preston Taylor this year, has already expressed interest in returning to portray Doc Helm, a photographer. It’s an early glimpse of what’s being considered for next year's Echoes of Yesteryear: A Walk Through Oak Ridge Cemetery.
Transcript pending.
