Voices from the Past Cemetery Walk
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About This Event
The Voices From the Past Cemetery Walk explores how “Winonans Just Wanna Have Fun” this year. Community volunteer actors portray people from the past in this popular annual event. Take a walk through beautiful Woodlawn Cemetery and stop at acting sites along the way. You can visit the sites within Woodlawn in any order, and it will take about two hours to see them all. Performances are also offered to a seated audience at the History Center.
Voices From the Past Cemetery Walk
When: Saturday, October 3 & Sunday, October 4
Time: Noon – 4:00 PM (Walk takes about 2 hrs.)
Where: Woodlawn Cemetery
Admission at the Gate/Door:
$15 Adults, $5 Youth (Free for youth 7 and younger)
Hear from Betty Boyum Green about the January 20, 1963 Winter Carnival Parade. Her husband was Jack Frost XIII. The weather was intolerably cold, and the parade was remembered as the “Parade of the Frozen Soldiers.” Band instruments froze so only one band marched, making the parade short. A Winona News reporter stated: ”It may not have been the biggest, but it was the fastest and the coldest in the history of the Winter Carnival!”
Winona is home to many clubs, leagues, and lodges; groups that gather community members not only to support Winona citizens, but to have lots of fun in the process!! Highlighting just one of the long-established clubs is the Winona Athletic Club. Founded in 1898, this club was the heart of Winona’s Polish-American community. It welcomed all of Winona to join. Unions met there and professional sports players made appearances. Unknown to many Winonans today, it’s the only club in town to claim Hubert Humphrey, a United States vice-president as a member! Learn more at Voices From the Past!
Back in the late 1800’s there was a “Grand Army Excursion and Dance.” Participants paid 25 cents, got on a steamboat in Winona, and cruised to Fountain City where there were two barges lashed together. Dancing on the barges went on until midnight with an orchestra. Then the dancers returned to Winona on the steamboat.
Since its inception in 1999, Voices From the Past has been hosted by Woodlawn Cemetery. Woodlawn is a non-profit organization dating back to 1862 and welcomes all faiths. With over 22,358 interments, Woodlawn has commonly been referred to as the silent city along the Mississippi River. You will find many grand, detailed, and interesting gravestones within Woodlawn along with the stories of those interred below them.
Join us for a walk into the past by hearing about the lives of Winonans and how they had some fun during Voices From the Past! This important annual WCHS fundraiser is proudly sponsored by Merchants Bank.
If you cannot make the walk, then join us at the History Center for an accessible performance of the sites on October 1st at 5:00 and 6:30pm.
This event is proudly sponsored by Merchants Bank.