~by Denise O’Brien Van for the Historical Society
In honor of the nation’s 250th anniverary, the public is invited to a Sunday, June 14, cemetery walk at Pleasant Hill Church at 1794 Redwood Ave., southeast of Jefferson near Squirrel Hollow.
The walk, which begins at 2 pm, will feature local residents re-enacting the lives of several Greene County pioneers who are resting in the cemetery. Oliver Harris, representing a Rippey schoolboy who volunteered for the Civil War, will lead the walk, carrying an American flag.
The white clapboard pioneer Methodist church, erected in 1881, will be open from 1 to 5 pm. Jennifer Davis will provide music, playing the fiddle. Refreshments will be served during the open house.
In period costume, seven local residents will portray men and women buried in the cemetery. Darren Jackson will depict Jesse Perkins; Chloe Powers, Mary Roberts; Yvette Bardole, Harriet McCune Wilson; Ann Frederick, Nancy Tucker; Lucas Daniel, Greene County’s first settlerTruman Davis; and Tim Pound, G.B. Burk, a Civil War veteran. Robby Petersen will represent a Native American.
The event is presented by the Greene County IA Historical Society, Pleasant Hill Memorial, Greene County Genealogical Society and the Pioneer Cemetery Commission. Committee members who planned the event are Margaret Hamilton, Beth Rasmussen, Peggy Heater, Dianne Piepel, Ada Ross, and Jeri Reese, all of Jefferson.
