The plot thickens: Stories on cemetery tour enlighten frequent visitors

Ed Thomas grew up on North Oakland Avenue, just outside of Oakwood Cemetery.

“You go out the main gate here, the first house on the right is where we grew up,” Thomas said Saturday during the first of two tours of the cemetery by Sharon Historical Society and Oakwood Cemetery Association, which is commemorating the cemetery’s 150th anniversary.

“This was our playground, when you could get away with it,” Thomas said.

Thomas and his friends played tag and hide-and-seek in the cemetery. 

“There’s big field right outside the cemetery, we played ball there, but we tried to play ball up on the hill (in the cemetery),” Thomas said. “Back then, Mr. (Robert) Mason was the caretaker here, and he frowned on that. He usually tried to chase you out when he caught you.”

Thomas’ knowledge of the layout of the cemetery came in handy.

“I shouldn’t say this, but when we were kids we used to like to come in here and throw snowballs at cars over the fence because police had to come in here to chase you, and we knew our way around more than they did,” Thomas said. “We did mischievous stuff back then.”

But, that was years ago. Thomas has become much more respectful of the cemetery. His parents are buried here. So are an aunt and an uncle, a nephew, and friends. He comes frequently to visit their grave sites, and would like to know more about the history of the place.

“Always living here, never knew a lot about it because we were kids, then,” Thomas said. “Never really paid a lot of attention to the cemetery. Now, I want to know what its history is and what it’s about. The reason we came out today was to hear what they had to say about a lot of these famous places with the people of Sharon.”

He was not disappointed, saying he learned, “A lot more than I ever knew.”

Thomas said he liked learning about the Gypsy Queen, Lena Miller, whose funeral and burial at Oakwood in 1921 attracted thousands of mourners and the curious. Even today, people leave coins and beads at her headstone.

“I always wondered where the Gypsy Queen was buried,” Thomas said. “I never knew. All these years of living around here and I never knew. I found that fascinating there was that many people came here to see her back in those days. That would be really interesting to see how they traveled here for a burial.”

Another new thing he learned: “I’ve been in the chapel before, but I never knew the Buhls (Frank and Julia) are buried there. That was interesting, too.”

Mason’s grandson, Bob Leipheimer, also spent a lot of time here as a kid. He said he never knew about the remains moved from the former Baptist/Methodist cemetery on Sharon’s West Hill to Oakwood.

“I’m learning some history that I didn’t know before,” said Leipheimer, now living in Columbiana, Ohio.

Barbara Mild of Hermitage said she enjoyed hearing about the kidnapping of 8-year-old Billy Whitla, Frank Buhl’s nephew, who is buried in the Whitla family plot.

“My church is Covenant (Presbyterian) Church, (which) is just a few doors from where that all happened,” Mild said. “I remember my grandmother talking about that. When you’re a small kid, the thought that someone could capture you, take you away, was just mind-boggling.”

The story of the relocated graves tugged at her heart strings, Mild said.

“I felt so bad when they were talking about moving people from that cemetery in Sharon,” she said. “They’re not even sure if they got them all.”

Mild carries on the teachings of her mother and grandmother to respect cemeteries and the dead.

“My grandmother used to come down here with me and show me special graves,” she said. “I just thought it was so fascinating. She was so respectful of cemeteries, and as I got older my mom was the same way. We would ride around and look at cemeteries, and she would show me different things. I could remember them telling me, ‘Never step on a grave,’ and they disliked anyone who would have anything to do with taking things from the dead. That’s always just been a lifelong interest.”

Now that she’s is researching her family history, cemeteries offer Mild a personal connection to the past.

“As I’m studying things right now with my family ancestry I just feel like they might be proud that four generations away from their death there is a great-great-great-granddaughter looking and trying to find out about them,” Mild said. “Just so much history in a cemetery. I like the fact that lives matter, and people are still being respectful.”

The tour, which the society hopes to offer again next year, earned kudos from many who attended.

“It’s very nostalgic,” Leipheimer said. “It’s very nice. It’s very well-organized. They did a really nice job with it.”

“This is just great,” Mild said. “I really enjoyed this tour.”

She complimented cemetery officials for their upkeep of the place.

“Sometimes cemeteries are kind of forgotten,” she said.