The Greenwood Cemetery in Oceanville, home to many leading lights of the Stonington and Deer Isle communities, will be the site of the Stonington Public Library’s third annual “Gone But Not Forgotten” cemetery tour.
Featured this year are Gordon MacKay, founding editor and publisher of the “Island Ad-vantages;” D. Jewett Noyes, owner and operator of Noyes Pharmacy in Stonington; Helma N. Bush, who founded the renowned Les Chalets Francais summer camp for girls with her sister, Elsa; Vernon Gotwals, organist and professor of music; Vesta Webb, a postmistress and telephone operator in Oceanville; George “Med” Dunham, an electrician, town leader, and longtime Opera House projectionist; Reginald “Reggie” Greenlaw, an entrepreneur best known as the founder of R.L. Greenlaw & Son oil company and owner and skipper of the Palmer Day charter boats; and Henry Freedman, who was co-owner of Freedman’s Department Store along with his brother Izzie.
The tour will take place Saturday, July 7, from 1-4 p.m. at the cemetery, rain or shine. Light refreshments will be available at the site. Volunteer “gravediggers” will accompany attendees through the cemetery and provide additional information.
Tickets are $20 and may be purchased at the Stonington Public Library in advance or on the day of the event. Tickets will also be available at the Turtle Gallery in Deer Isle and at Dockside Books in Stonington.
In conjunction with the cemetery tour, the SPL will host a panel discussion on the history of the “French Camp,” which will include former campers, counselors, and family members of the founding sisters, Friday, July 6 from 4-6 p.m. at the library.
The “Gone But Not Forgotten” tour received special acclaim this year as the Community Advisory Board of the Stonington Opera House staged a version of our first two tours in March as part of its winter programming lineup.
The cemetery tour is the SPL’s main fundraising event for the year. We are grateful for your continued support as we rely on donations and grants for the majority of our funding. Please help us make this year’s tour the best yet.
