More interesting events around the area: Cemetery walks, ghost hunts!
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(6 votes, average: 4.33 out of 5) Loading ...By Angela Howser
Published: October 16, 2011
Michael at the book signing table, 10.15.11, Charleston
In keeping with the ‘spirit’ of things, we attended an event Saturday (10.15.11) in Charleston that was the kick-off of a week-long series of appearances for our columnist and friend, author/publisher Michael Kleen…he was downstate and continues to be a bit south of his stomping grounds of Rockford promoting his books of the paranormal and local history and legends.
Kleen will be giving cemetery tours and presentations as they pertains to local legends and reports of hauntings; later this week, October 22 ,he’ll be in Piatt County with our friend Angie Johnson, who is conducting a tour of a local cemetery, Peck, which she’s leading the way in restoration of. In order to fund restoration, Angie is also conducting a ghost hunt, and has raised quite a bit of money with this fun and successful venture, all for the good of the cemetery preservation. Angie is emerging as a state leader in the Association for Gravestone Studies,a fascinating venture.
Angie Johnson, with Bruce Cline at Bruce's book signing, Elizabethtown, July 2011
Angie has been super busy lately, as she has been asked to produce a column for her weekly newspaper in Piatt County (central Illinois) regarding the work with and walks in the area cemeteries, and while her work is predominantly focused on cemetery restoration, she is also involved in learning the history and meaning of stones, teaching how to collect rubbings, restoration, cleaning of stones, genealogy and/or photographing them. Many don’t know that there are several burial grounds throughout the state that, having gone untended, are now having the headstones removed, the graveyard dismantled as such, and the land being farmed. Angie and her group, a national organization, are dedicated to trying to preserve as much of our history as possible, which means keeping these cemeteries and burial spots, no matter how small, from being removed and thus forgotten.
Angie is also a cemetery photographer, and does incredible work. She was featured in an interview on his website, Legends and Lore of Illinois. We are very proud of the work these two do, and are looking to promote them to those of you in the southern portion of Illinois who have such interests. If you can make it to the Peck Cemetery event, do try; otherwise email Angie at walkamongthedead@gmail.com to see what you can do to become involved, to assist in any way you can, or help fund this worthwhile effort to preserve forgotten history in our state!
Here are Michael’s events for the week; for our central/upstate readers, be sure to check them out; the books are fascinating and it’s always helpful to read material from local writers!
The Michael Koolidge Show
WROK 1440 AM, WLBK 1360 AM, WRHL 1060 AM
October 19, 2011 – (Times may vary)
Lincolnland College in Springfield, IL
October 19, 2011 – 6:30pm
WILL Radio Urbana
October 20, 2011 – 12:40pm
Camargo Township Library in Villa Grove, IL
October 20, 2011 – 6:00pm – 8:00pm
Beads N Botanicals in Urbana, IL
October 21, 2011 – 4:30pm – 6:30pm
Barnes & Noble in Champaign, IL
October 21, 2011 – 7:00pm – 9:00pm
Book Warehouse in Tuscola, IL
October 22, 2011 – 1 to 3pm
“Legends and Lore” at Peck Cemetery
October 22, 2011 – 5:00pm – 8:00pm
WIKK 103.5 Newton
October 27, 2011 – 10:10am
The Brick Cafe & Art Gallery in Belvidere, IL
October 29, 2011 – 11am to 2pm
Peck Cemetery is located in Macon County…give Angie a call if you want to join in on the ghost hunt this weekend!
Tagged with: Angie Johnson, Association for Gravestone Studies, Charleston, Legends and Lore of Illinois, Michael Kleen, Paranormal Illinois, Peck Cemetery, Piatt County
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It was just a few years ago when someone from the Lawrence County Historical Society asked me “How many cemeteries do you suppose are in Lawrence County?” I said “Well, I reckon maybe 15 to 20, I don’t know.” As it turned out, there are 127 although some may only have two or three people buried in them. There are many graveyards out in the woods that have been left unattended for so long that they are overgrown and not many people know that they are even there.
I remember as a child seeing a small group of headstones in a field near Sumner that you couldn’t see when the corn was high, then they were gone, the land-owner denied that they were ever there.
I’m sorry…but I think all cemetaries should be “honored” and no one should be tearing down headstones!! There is a place in Raleigh, it was in someone’s backyard…they threw the headstones down a well to get rid of them, or hide the fact, whatever…IDK. They were discovered down there at a later date in time, but IDK if the headstones were recovered or not. We were having a get together…weiner roast..sitting around eating. Friend’s mom drove up, starting yelling we were desecrating Holy ground…had NO idea what was going on!! Kind of ruined the “mood” for sure…but really she was right. We just didnt know.
I have often wondered if things were ever made right for that little cemetary…and the ppl buried there. Sad. If I had bought that property, I would of just fenced it off and cared for it out of respect as all should do…not destroy it.
Angie Johnson is VERY dedicated to preserving the cemeteries….we’ve never seen anything like it. She’s trying to get chapters started downstate….anyone interested, be sure you email her and see what you can do.
Would you be talking about Barton Cemetery, by chance?
We have a church less than a mile away that has a cemetary named after it and one across the road from the church that are properly taken care of. However we have one which is possibly a little older that is due north of the church off to the side of an abandoned county Road and it is so bad that you cant even tell a road used to exist. This is in Wayne County IL and I imagine there are a bunch more just like it in the area. I would hate to guess how many cemetaries there are in this county. Like Dennis I only know of the kept up ones not all the older ones where things are unkept and well overgrown. What a shame to see someones ancestors graves with fallen trees, overgrown brush and everything else as well as toppled tombstones that are barely legible!
She might want to look into the grave of Elizabeth Reed on Rt. 33 near Heathsville, in Crawford County, she was the first woman to be executed in Illinois. She was hanged in Lawrence County in 1845 for murdering her hubby.