Good natured spirits give a history lesson

Bryan Nash brought to life, Steven Sayles, a soldier who recruited the first troops from Washington County to serve in the Civil War.

The Washington County Theatre revived their ever-popular cemetery walk, just in time for Halloween, offering tours on Friday, Oct. 16, and Saturday, Oct. 17. The event, normally held during Old Settlers’ Days, was postponed when the annual festival was cancelled in September due to COVID-19 concerns.

Tours launched from the main entrance of Crown Hill Cemetery in Salem. Visitors were able to choose tours on the left side or the right side of the cemetery and some even chose to do both. Guests met 15 different characters, depending on the route they chose. Daniel Main and Lydia Casey are responsible for the scripts after consulting with county historian, Jeremy Elliott, to make sure the accounts were historically accurate.

The first spirit summoned was that of Mary Lusk, who told the crowd, most people just called her “Granny.” She started practicing medicine before women were allowed to be certified as doctors, and she “soothed the pains” of patients in trade for goods. Eventually, Granny was able to attend school and earn her medical degree.

Everett Dean was the next spirit sprung to life. He accredited his 30 year career as a famed coach to having heart. “You got to have heart,” he reiterated numerous times. He also said coming from a small town did not stop him from achieving great things. He was instrumental in the beginning stages of building the John Hay Center.

Of the 11,600 graves encompassing over 70 developed acres, Elias Vorhees, found his place of rest there after a terrible death at the hands of Dennis and Goodwin. “They killed me, severed my head and put it on a stake.” To this day, residents on Cox Ferry Road have reported sightings of a headless apparition.

Soldier Steven DeCator Sayles called the visitors to order as he checked the ranks, “You’re a good bunch of soldiers.” When he wasn’t being a soldier, he was a blacksmith and a mechanic. He recruited the first group of soldiers to leave Washington County for the Civil War. He died in 1907 after fighting in 21 battles.

The most striking stone in Crown Hill is possibly the engraved fence. It is said that little Caddy Naugle waited by the fence each night for her daddy. Some say the fence was struck by lightning causing Caddy’s death, but many accounts say she actually died of bronchitis. Nevertheless, her marker was carved by someone who allegedly worked with her father, who was a reknowned stone carver.

As visitors exited the left side tour, women pulled their men in a little closer, as Martha Schultz, also known as Maddie Gladden, was looking them over. She was the proud proprietor or owner of a house on N. Main Street. The house was a gift from P. T. Barnum, “for all my public service.”

Bringing the characters to life was fun for Main. He said, “There would be just two or three sentences in a book, and I’d take that and flesh it out and develop this character that we could present. 

“The first year we did it, we had 400 people come through. They loved it, and it spread by word of mouth. In 2018, we had almost 1,200 people during the two nights. It’s grown and become a really popular thing here in Washington County.” 

Elliott said it was not hard to find an “interesting cast of characters” for the walk in scouring the county’s 206 years of history. He said he was glad to work with Main on the project because it’s important for county residents to know about their home.

“Understanding the legacy of the place you live can bring about a better appreciation and a greater respect for your community. If our youth do not know the significance of the area their ancestors decided to settle in, they will never understand the significant detriment of their consistent departures to live elsewhere,” said Elliott.