Elizabeth Bailey
A crowd gathered, Sunday, at the Soldiers Circle in South Park Cemetery for a tour by Decatur County Historian Russell Wilhoit.
Each year, Wilhoit explained, he offers such a tour to anyone interested.
“Some people come every year,” he said with a smile.
The tour began with the grave of John and Elizabeth Finnen, a husband and wife who fought together during the Civil War. The grave of Nathan Miller came soon after. Miller lived on McKee Street and died in 1928, the last of the 50 men who were sent to search for Jefferson Davis at the close of the Civil War.
Those on the tour also saw the final resting places of Martin Zorger who published the Decatur Press, one of the four papers in Greensburg at the turn of the 20th century; Will Cumback, Lt. Governor of Indiana who was the reason Abraham Lincoln made a stop here on his inaugural journey; Nelson Mowry, who donated the funds for the YMCA; James Caskey, Daily News owner who began the Cheer Fund, as well as Greensburg founder Thomas Hendricks, first clerk H.H. Talbott, first mayor R.B. Thomson and many others.
Along the way, Wilhoit showed the group pictures of some of those resting at South Park Cemetery, pointing out that the many things that fall between the date of their birth and the date of their death are the things that should be remembered about each one.
Wilhoit also took a moment to explain the role of lodges and other service organizations in American history. Prior to the creation of Social Security and other governmental programs, the lodges were the support system for much of the community. Lodge brethren would care for families in sickness or death of a parent. They would offer support in any time of need. Once other programs fulfilled this need, lodge and group membership no longer held the same importance, reducing their numbers and power.
The 1.5-hour tour took visitors around much of the cemetery, offering glimpses into times past.
