Forest Home Cemetery walking tour

Tale of the Tombstones at 20

 On Sunday October 16, The Historical Society of Oak Park and River Forest will host its 20th annual walking tour through Forest Home Cemetery in Forest Park, last resting spot of many notable residents of the area and martyred labor leaders.  This year's theme Conversations and Confrontations allows for dramatic interplay between actors who will shed light on issues ripped from the headlines in 2011 like:  Is it a good or bad thing for a community to have many taverns and a pro-alcohol public policy?  What role should organized labor play in our economy?  And can modern forensic science help solve murders that happened a century ago?

The walk has brought dramatic interpretations of real history to thousands of visitors on the third Sunday of each October since 1992; visitors come to see the performances from the local area and all parts of the Chicago metropolitan area.  In addition to the 20th anniversary of the walk itself, there are some other milestones that will be marked at the 2011 walk:  the 50th anniversary of Ernest Hemingway's death; the 125th anniversary of the Haymarket Square bombing that fueled the U.S. labor movement, and the 160th anniversary of the arrival of Ferdinand Haase, Forest Park pioneer and founder of Forest Home Cemetery.

 Questions?  www.oprfhistory.org  or call 708.848.6755