by Susan Zehnder, Education Director
Over 500 people joined us for our 18th annual Ghost
Walk in Woodlawn Cemetery. This event has a lot of moving parts, and once
again, we’re grateful for the help and flexibility of everyone involved. In the
years we’ve been doing this, we’ve covered more than 72 stories of people
buried in the 166-year-old cemetery, and we would like to think we’ve helped to
lift up some of the amazing lives from our community. For the curious, previous
scripts are posted on our website under the Ghost Walk heading, and
as a bonus, the staff will be reading this year’s scripts this Wednesday,
October 30th at noon, here at the museum. We encourage anyone interested
to join us for this free event. Maybe you weren’t able to attend, want to hear
the stories again, or have questions about the ghosts or process.
Here is a brief description of this year’s characters.
The Hungerford Brothers - Brothers
Daniel (1886-1967) and Floyd (1888-1963) were fascinated by rockets and
aircraft. They were early enthusiasts of all forms of aviation, and in 1909,
they built their own airplane engine and worked as glider mechanics. To help
make things a little easier for themselves, they invented a rocket powered
soldering iron. As the field of aviation started to grow, they purchased their
own aircraft. Inspired by what was happening overseas, they invented a
rocket-powered automobile and called it the Shirley Lois Moon Girl after
Daniel’s daughter. Unfortunately, they debuted the car in November 1929, just days
after the stock market crash. It never caught people’s interest the way they
had hoped. Actor Joe Edkin played the role of Daniel, and John Olcott was his
brother Floyd.
Floyd and Daniel Hungerford
Leon “Windy” Smith (1889-1960)
Smith was born in Pennsylvania and attended schools in the Elmira area. When he
met Glenn Curtiss, his discovered his true passion was flying. After getting
his pilot’s license, he trained pilots to fly in WWI. When the war ended, the
demand for pilots and flight instructors diminished. He continued to fly, and took
a job with the newly developed Air Corps. What happened next made history. Read
more about Mr. Smith in this recent blog here.
Actor Sam Claypool played Smith.
Leon "Windy" Smith
Alice T. Knapp ((1870-1917) Active in
local politics, Knapp worked quietly behind the scenes to get things done. She took
part in helping to set policies and organize campaigns that supported women’s
suffrage, temperance, and prohibition. Local officials admired her so much that
her name was proposed for the position of Elmira’s city police commissioner. They
collected 800 signatures in her support, but the Common Council voted to delay
their vote. One day later, Knapp fell ill and was rushed to Arnot-Ogden
Hospital. She never recovered and died soon after. Actor Casey Winston played
Knapp.
Alice T. Knapp
Sarah Wey Tompkins (1866-1929)
Socialite Sarah Wey was married to wealthy businessman Ray Tompkins. Their
lives revolved around being part of the community and donating generously to
various causes. When she died, her obituary included a lot of information about
the men in her life, rather than focusing on her accomplishments. Actors Cathy
Wiggs and David Wigs played the socialite and newspaper seller.
Sarah Wey Tompkins and newspaper seller
All twenty-one tours over the three days went smoothly with
the Hunter’s Moon rising to add the perfect atmospheric mood. We hope everyone who
attended enjoyed themselves and we look forward to another collection of
characters for next year.