Dead come back to tell their tales during cemetery walks

The dead are coming back to life Sunday to tell their stories during two cemetery walks in Cole Camp and Warrensburg.

The Eighth annual Sunset Hill Cemetery Walk will be held from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday in Warrensburg. The walk is sponsored by the West Central Missouri Genealogical Society.

A. J. Heck is vice president of the genealogical society and program chairman.

“We thought it fit in well with our genealogical society,” Heck said.

The walk’s theme this year is “Foreign Born.” Seven people buried at the cemetery will have their stories portrayed for them by theater students from the University of Central Missouri.

“It’s a good family thing and it’s something the family can do together,” Heck said.

Depending on the weather, between 100 and 150 people attend the walk each year. Heck said the walk takes about 45 minutes and afterward people can enjoy refreshments and listen to music by a dulcimer group.

The event is free to attend, but donations are solicited to cover the cost of expenses.

Heck said he originally got the idea from the cemetery walk that is held in Cole Camp, which also takes place Sunday.

The Cole Camp walk will be held from 4 p.m. to dark at Union/Williams Church on Highway F, southwest of Cole Camp.

The church there was built in 1904 and many early pioneers that settled in the Cole Camp area are buried there.
Tour guides dressed in vintage clothing will walk visitors through the cemetery to hear the stories of those buried there.

This is the 13th walk at Union/Williams Cemetery and money raised during the event supports the Cole Camp Museum, which sponsors the event.

Food will be available to purchase and music will be performed in the church during the walk.

The walk is free to attend, but donations are accepted.