Shrewsbury – Some of Shrewsbury's notables from the past appeared in Mountain View Cemetery Oct. 5.? Dressed in period costumes, the characters stood among fallen colored leaves and over 10,000 gravesites.?Luminarias and flashlights guided the way of approximately 100 guests to hear about the tales of some Shrewsbury residents of long ago.
According to Co-chairs Linda Davis and Lauren Davis Finacom, “”The Walk Through History” has been an annual fundraiser for the past eight years.?The history of Shrewsbury not only reflects the history of America, it has had influence upon it.?An appreciation for this history and a sense of community pride impel the Shrewsbury Historical Society to honor the past and the role that Shrewsbury people have played in it.”
Historical Society Museum Curator Linda Davis explained that Mountain View Cemetery is so named because on a clear day, when looking to the north, you can see Mount Wachusett.
The cast of characters included Erik Larson, as Samuel I. Howe, a storekeeper who ran the first town postal service out of his store; Linda Davis, as Harriet Buck, an unfortunate victim of one of the largest fires in Shrewsbury's history, the 1902 Buck Fire; Jim Kane, as Alvin Henshaw, chief engineer at the town's leather tannery and prominent member of the community who was maimed in a factory accident; Christopher Kirk, as Silas Allen Jr., a Shrewsbury resident credited as “one of the most skillful gunsmiths in the Commonwealth” before his retirement at age 60 in 1845; Nathan Richardson, as Rev. George Allen, pastor of the First Congregational Church in Shrewsbury following the death of Rev. Joseph Sumner in 1825; George Bergstrom, as Jacob Rice, a founder and driving force behind the development of the Shrewsbury Rifle Company; and John Lebeaux, as F.H. Perkins, owner and operator of Perkins Home Bakery and Groceries, which was the first bakery established in Shrewsbury in 1897.
The Historical Society Museum and Store in the Brick Schoolhouse on the Common is open Saturdays from September through May, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. (closed on holiday weekends) and is free of charge.
