NOTE: We are in the crowd picture in this ADN article on the Cemetery Walks. Do you see us?
BB discovered Stories at the Cemetery while researching summer solstice activities. Summer solstice fell on June 21 this year. It was the longest day of the year and we wanted to celebrate!
The weather wasn't the best. It was cloudy and drizzly most of the day. However, we've learned not to let that stop us. We put our raingear on and headed for the Cemetery.
The Anchorage Memorial Park Cemetery was established by President Woodrow Wilson by executive order in 1915. The order included several provisions, one being that a portion of the burial plots be made available to the public at no charge and another that sections be sold at auction to qualitied fraternal and religious organizations. Walking through the Cemetery we see sections dedicated to The Pioneers of Alaska, the Free and Accepted Masons and the Loyal Order of the Moose.
There is a good crowd. Tonight's presentation is a reciting of 10 biographies of notable Alaskans buried in the Cemetery. The crowd gathers at a gravesite, one of the hosts, either Bruce or Audrey Kelly, read the person's biography, then on we go to the next grave site.
Horace Nagley: We know the Nagley name from visits to Talkeetna. The Nagley's operated a general store there. Nagley's Store was our first stop during our search for the town's mayor, a cat named Aurora.
Mary Louise Rasmuson: Well, not Mary Louise specifically, but the Rasmuson name. We often encounter this name while exploring Anchorage and Alaska. Proceeds from the sale of the family's business, the National Bank of Alaska, to Wells Fargo seem to be the source of the family's fortune. The majority of the proceeds from the sale were given to the Rasmuson Foundation. The mission of the Rasmuson Foundation is to promote a better life for Alaskans. Main program areas include arts & culture, health, social services, housing and promotion of philanthropy. We have seen that the Foundation is a corporate sponsor of:
The Anchorage Museum
The Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward
The Eagle River Nature Center
The Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center
There are two more Cemetery walks scheduled, one in July and another in August. We enjoyed this one so much we plan to attend the others.
July 9 is a nice, sunny day. No need for raingear tonight. Tonight we learn the stories of 10 additional Alaskans buried in the Cemetery. This time the stories are told by costumed actors at each grave site. All 10 presentations are given at the same time on a continuous loop. We start with the closest presentation, moving on the next nearest one when it is over. Walking between the grave sites gives an opportunity to check out other gravestones in the Cemetary. Tonight we don't recognize any names on the list. However, the stories of these two were favorites:
Mortimore "Moose" Moore: A real character! Also a bush pilot and flight instructor and member of the Alaska State Legislature.
Woodward Vining: Woodward had his leg amputated after a leg injury became infected. He lived on; however his leg didn't and is buried here.
The August 9 presentations repeat the same stories from July. Tonight they are given on a stage. Instead of moving between gravesites, we take chairs and stake out a spot with a nice view of the stage. We recognize one of the names now from our trip to Valdez:
Janice "Tilly" Reeve: A bush pilot and wife of legendary bush pilot Robert Reeve. Together they owned and operated Reeve Aleutian Airlines.
The walks start at the John P Bagoy entrance.
See our red and blue camp chairs. BB's red/blue hat. My grey hair.
