By BARBARA BARBIERI

On Sunday afternoon the Wells County Historical Society hosted the annual My Town and Cemetery Walk at the Historical Museum’s Annex as Craigville and the Oakland Cemetery were visited.

Telling about the lives of some of the folks buried in Oakland Cemetary by Craigville are pictured in front of the Wells County Historical Museum. Left to right are David Reed, Eliza Jane Reed, Connie Brubaker, Dave Schultz and Mike Downey while behind them are Alan Daugherty, Ryan Crismore and Ben Jones. (Photos by Barbara Barbieri)

Connie Brubaker gave a brief history of the Oakland Cemetery, which was  established on Jan. 17, 1877 and Lynn Elliott introduced the enactors representing folks buried there. David and Eliza Jane Reed  were portrayed by Larry and Elaine McAfee; Hiram and Charity Drum by Jim and Jen Sturgeon; Peter Hetrick by Alan Daugherty and Rev. Daniel Abbott by Mike Downey.

Other program presenters included left to right in the front row Lynn Elliott, John Gerber. Arvilla Rodenbeck, Josalyn Alford, Amanda Brubaker, Connie Brubaker and Claire Alford whle behind them are Christine Hunt and Tammy Schaffer.

Next the program turned attention to the town of Craigville with Brubaker telling of its founding on Aug. 21, 1879, at the time of the completion of the Cloverleaf Railroad. The town was named after William J. Craig, who with his brother Robert were the first white settlers in the township in 1837. Also noted by Brubaker was that Craigville was the first small town in the county to have street lights.

Folks making history in Craigville included William Hartman (Dave Schultz) and Fred Fuhrman (Ben Jones). Craigville Schools were talked about by Amanda Brubaker assisted by “students” Claire Alfred and Josalyn Alford. Ryan Crismore told about the importance of the Chicago and Atlantic Railroad.

Discussing the Craigville Telephone Company were Arvilla Rodenbeck and Carla VonGunten.

Next Craigville businesses were featured  with the businesses and speakers being: Craigville Post Office (Christine Hunt with a poem), Craigville Garage (Josh Hunt), Farmers & Merchants Bank (John Gerber), Craigville Telephone (Arvilla Rodenbeck and Carla Von Gunten) and  Craigville Locker (Tammy Schaffer for the Willis Pritchard family).

Amanda Brubaker with “students” Josalyn Alford and Claire Alford, at left, told stories about the schools in Craigville.

Additional speakers adding comments included Tom Moser, Arlene Stoller and Larry Heckber.

Heckber explained that county trustees are in charge  of keeping cemeteries in good repair and that the next cemetery to be looked into will be the cemetery beside the former county Poor Farm just south of Bluffton.                                 

Attendees were given a small brochure with  photos of some of the       Oakland Cemetery’s tombstones and the Craigville businesses.                                                             

barb@news-banner.com

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