Voices From the Past Cemetery Walk
Admission: $10 Adults, $5 Students, $3 Youth 12 to 4 years old.
Take a walk into the past with our autumn fundraiser event that brings stories of Winona County to life with community actors. Join us in beautiful Woodlawn Cemetery to learn more about local history in a fun and unique way. Each year highlights a different historic theme and different people whose stories are told by actors at sites throughout the cemetery. For 2023 we will hear from the workers, entrepreneurs, and business leaders about the vast amount of items "Made in Winona!"
Allow about 1.5 to 2 hours to take the self guided tour through Woodlawn Cemetery. Maps and guide booklets are given at the admission table. Community actors are found by graves portraying people of our past and the stories they share. Guides will also be found along the route to answer questions and offer additional stories and fun facts. Seating for those that need to rest along the route is provided, but your own easy to carry camp chairs or stools are welcome.
Cannot make The Walk? Then join us for an indoor accessible performance of all the sites at the History Center on October 5 at 6 p.m. Registration is not required for the Indoor Performance but you can sign-up for a reserved seat by stopping at the History Center or call 507.454.2723 ext. 0.
Take a walk into the past with our autumn fundraiser event that brings stories of Winona County to life with community actors. Join us in beautiful Woodlawn Cemetery to learn more about local history in a fun and unique way. Each year highlights a different historic theme and different people whose stories are told by actors at sites throughout the cemetery. For 2023 we will hear from the workers, entrepreneurs, and business leaders about the vast amount of items "Made in Winona!"
Allow about 1.5 to 2 hours to take the self guided tour through Woodlawn Cemetery. Maps and guide booklets are given at the admission table. Community actors are found by graves portraying people of our past and the stories they share. Guides will also be found along the route to answer questions and offer additional stories and fun facts. Seating for those that need to rest along the route is provided, but your own easy to carry camp chairs or stools are welcome.
Cannot make The Walk? Then join us for an indoor accessible performance of all the sites at the History Center on October 5 at 6 p.m. Registration is not required for the Indoor Performance but you can sign-up for a reserved seat by stopping at the History Center or call 507.454.2723 ext. 0.
The theme for the 2023 Cemetery Walk will explore the lives of people who were creative creators, beverage brewers, agricultural equipment inventors, sweet-tooth feeders, community builders, and more. Chat with Hannibal Choate about his famous department store, along with some milliners and dressmakers. Hear about making remedies from Emily Goltz and Jeanette MCConnon. The Weisbrod and Schellas families will talk about their breweries. Presidents of the Winona Wagon and Pioneer Tractor Companies will talk about their work. Find out more about how Winona became the stained glass capitol from Larry Conway, Genevieve Hauser, and Bill Reinharts Sr. Mary McVey, Elmer “Charley” Boerst, Agnes Westman, and Charles Schuler will have some sweet stories to share too. Cynthia Biesanz, Lucrectia Norton, and Mary Laird had the building materials to make Winona. And the Hillyers and Breitlows will share memories of making furniture and the darker side of that business in the 1800s. |
Voices From the Past is proudly sponsored by:
Create A Character and More!

Hey, kids of all ages, who were some of your favorite Winonans that you saw at Voices From the Past? Print and color the person and make them into someone you saw at the Walk. What would they wear? Would they have any accessories that relate to the stories they told?
Other Family Fun & Home School Activities:
Draw a comic strip based on one of the people portrayed. They can depict one of the stories the person told or draw a series of pictures that tell about who that person was.
Find an object in your home that could represent one or more of the people portrayed. Discuss why you chose that object. How does it relate to the historical person or a story they told?
Create a journal entry for one or more of the people you saw portrayed. What would they date their entry? What 2-3 facts could that person tell about themselves? Was there a significant event that happened to them or a larger historical event that happened while they were alive?
Draw a comic strip based on one of the people portrayed. They can depict one of the stories the person told or draw a series of pictures that tell about who that person was.
Find an object in your home that could represent one or more of the people portrayed. Discuss why you chose that object. How does it relate to the historical person or a story they told?
Create a journal entry for one or more of the people you saw portrayed. What would they date their entry? What 2-3 facts could that person tell about themselves? Was there a significant event that happened to them or a larger historical event that happened while they were alive?