Casterlin School Students Presenting Lives of 12 Former Blocksburg Residents at ‘Grave Matters’

[Photo from the 2016 Grave Matters featuring Nadia Minikel and Joe Bilandzija]

A group of Casterlin School students researched the lives of 12 former Blocksburg residents, and they will dress up in costumes and tell their stories at Blocksburg Cemetery on Halloween as a part of the “Grave Matters” event.

“They will be dressed in costumes reflective of the life of the person they are bringing to life,” Casterlin School teacher Susan O’Hara said. “The students raised money for the costumes as well as doing the research to learn about the people’s [life] stories they are presenting.”

O’Hara said the students chose to research “people from the 1870s to the 1970s,” which range from early settlers William Blocksburger, Henry Hyde Tichnor and William Henry Barnwell to more recent residents Joseph Willey, Leland Gardner and June Muir.

“Murder victim Avery Keezer will tell his tale of how his dog alerted people to the site of his murder,” O’Hara said.

Other people who will be featured include Lucy Young, Henry Hoagland, Mary Mathieson, Emily Hope, and Flora Curless Perry.

This is the second year O’Hara’s students have taken part in the “Grave Matters” event.

“Join us on October 31st at the Blocksburg Cemetery at 10:30 [a.m.] to hear some of the stories that make up the local history of southeastern Humboldt,” O’Hara said.

 

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Dot
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Dot
6 years ago

What a great project! Do you have a map to where Blocksburg Cemetary is? Or is it visible from the road?

Covelo or busted
Guest
Covelo or busted
6 years ago

10:30 ????? AM ? PM? Cemetery is on Cematery road, in the middle of BB.Park above and walk down?Short walk through scenic
BB.

HistoryMatters
Guest
HistoryMatters
6 years ago

It is 10:30 in the morning, and yes, parking is tight, so if you are willing to park by the Post Office and walk down, that would be great.

lorrie neuenfeldt
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lorrie neuenfeldt
6 years ago

What great kids! Would love to see it.

Jorge Cervantes
Guest
Jorge Cervantes
6 years ago

This sounds incredible! Glad no one chose Henry P. Larabee he has such an unsavory history in that area with regards to treatment of local indigenous tribes. I remember that great article the north coast journal did some years back.

Perspective
Guest
Perspective
6 years ago

One of the Larabee brothers? Wasn’t one of them a pedophile? They both massacred the local tribes

Heather Jirka
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Heather Jirka
6 years ago

What a neat project.

Humkid
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Humkid
6 years ago

Went last year .What a great show they put on.Looks like great weather for this event.

Katrina
Guest
Katrina
6 years ago

What a great project!
For some reason it seems that my siblings and I spent alot of time at the cemetery when we were little.
I remember as a teen going there and trying to find all the graves on the hill. It always has a tendency to overgrow and hide the markers.