Educational tours set at cemetery

Flowers at one aging monument are regularly replaced.
By D.A. WILKINSON
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
SALEM -- The fallen angel and her monument have both fared poorly on this earth.
Goldie Bell Taylor died as a young child in the late 1800s after her twin sister had also passed.
But her father spent $2,000 to buy the Italian marble for Goldie's monument and another $2,000 to ship it to Hope Cemetery.
Wind and rain have melted the feminine figure atop the monument into a ghostly image. But it still holds a basket in which colorful flowers are constantly refreshed by a person or people unknown, according to Arlene K. Schwartz, president of Salem Preservation Society.
Goldie's story is one of many that the society will tell during a series of educational tours. Students will help dramatize some of the stories.
Goldie's father is buried at the foot of her monument. Goldie's mother remarried, and it is said she had more sets of twins -- as many as 12 -- but only one child survived, according to Schwartz.
It's difficult to trace Goldie's half-brothers or sisters because her mother's new married name isn't clear.
Richard Theiss of Salem and his wife, Hope, are the ghost walk conductors and organizers.
Richard said Goldie's father paid for the costly monument by selling a large tract to the Sebrings, whose family gave its name to the village west of Salem.
The famous
The best known person laid to rest in the cemetery is Edwin Coppock, who was hanged after taking part in John Brown's Raid on Harpers Ferry, Va., in 1859. Salem's strong abolitionist community would not let him be forgotten, Schwartz said.
The biggest mausoleum belongs to the Grove family, and will be open during the walk. The company was the first producer of chewing gum, according to Theiss.
Each stone block in the mausoleum weighed 6 tons. Two blocks fell during construction and almost killed two workers, he added.
As another story goes, children returning home from school decided to climb the Civil War monument beside Parks Floral and Greenhouse, 835 N. Lincoln Ave., where the tour will begin.
Schwartz said the boys decided to remove the soldier's stone hat. Snap went the hat's brim and the leg of a would-be thief, who tumbled to the ground.
The stone soldier was replaced with an identical figure. The figure with the broken brim was moved to a less prominent spot in the cemetery.
There are veterans of wars dating to the war of 1812 buried in the cemetery, Theiss noted.
One of the most interesting monuments is that of Strotter Brown, who died Jan. 21, 1913.
Brown made baskets, but so little is known about him, his monument states he was "about one hundred years old."
His monument includes a small stone basket in which people have left a few coins.
The walk is billed as being suitable for all ages.
Tours will be at 2 and 4 p.m. Saturday and Oct. 29.
The cost is event is $5 for adults and $3 for students. Those interested should call (330) 337-6829 to make reservations. Proceeds will benefit the society.
wilkinson@vindy.com