After a year away from the cemetery due to COVID-19, the SUNY Oswego storytelling class will be back in spooky scenery for the sixth annual Oswego Town Rural Cemetery: Ghost and History Storytelling Tour at 6 p.m. on Oct. 29. 

According to the press release, the event will take place rain or shine. Attendees are recommended to arrive by 5:30 p.m. to either secure parking at Oswego Town Rural Cemetery, which is located at 242 Cemetery Road in Oswego, or be dropped off with enough time to ensure on-time performance. The event will include stories of college founder Edward Austin Sheldon, Dr. Mary Walker, the local women’s rights pioneer and only woman to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor, Underground Railroad hero Harriet Tubman, Queen Lili’uokalni Kamaka’eha and her Oswego connection to Walker, Saint Marianne Cope, Chief Pontiac, college library namesake Lida Penfield and many more. This year will feature the addition of a few new people, including Dr. Richard Shineman and Audrey Munson, who is sometimes known as the “first supermodel.” 

Professor Jonel Langenfeld of SUNY Oswego’s theatre faculty is in charge of the customer-wearing reenactors, who bring the stories to life for the night. The event is meant to be family-friendly and is open to all. 

“I am very proud of the students in the storytelling class and their passion for sharing the stories of famous and not-so-famous historical figures residing in this and other cemeteries,” Langenfeld said. “The students have had a great time researching this area where they are going to school. They have learned a great deal about Oswego, the college, the people, the area and its history.”  

Admission is free and sponsored by the Oswego Town Historical Society. Langenfeld offered a special thanks to Oswego Town Historian George DeMass, who is a 1966 SUNY Oswego alumnus. 

Image via Oswego Office of Communications and Marketing Press Release