200 North Main St | Bloomington, Illinois | 309-827-0428
200 North Main St | Bloomington, Illinois | 309-827-0428
The McLean County Museum of History is pleased to announce that all students participating in the School Tours of the 2018 Evergreen Cemetery Walk will attend for FREE. We are committed to reaching out to diverse communities and removing barriers so that we can help as many students as possible discover our local history. Through the generosity of this year’s sponsors, Evergreen Memorial Cemetery and Illinois Prairie Community Foundation, and support from our members, admission fees for students and chaperones to attend the 2018 Evergreen Cemetery Walk have been waived.
The Museum offers four days of the Evergreen Cemetery Walk specifically for students in grades 6-8, 9-12, and college (public and private schools, and home school families) in McLean County and Central Illinois. The dates for the 2018 School Tours of the Evergreen Cemetery Walk are October 1, 2, 3, and 4, 2018. Three tours are offered each day (8:45 a.m., 10:30 a.m., and 12:30 p.m.) and are 75 minutes long. This is an excellent opportunity to teach your students about individuals who have contributed to Central Illinois’ rich and colorful history.This program will also help students understand how and why it is important to preserve and respect cemeteries. Bring your classes to participate in this fascinating, award-winning outdoor theatrical program.
Since 1824, when people began settling the land that would later become known as McLean County, the county and its citizens have helped shaped the history of Illinois. From being home to Illinois’s first public university (Illinois State University), aiding Abraham Lincoln’s rise to the nation’s highest office, leading the way in agricultural innovations, to producing and training internationally known circus performers, the citizens of McLean County have made an indelible mark on almost 200 years of Illinois history that is worthy of celebrating.
Below you will find links to pdfs of a variety of information that will be useful in preparing to bring your students to your scheduled tour of the Evergreen Cemetery Walk. These PDFs include:
Download Teacher Information Sheet here
Download Chaperone Information Sheet here
Download Student Information Sheet here
This section includes information for teachers, chaperones, and students to review before attending the Evergreen Cemetery Walk. The handouts below include information on location of event, teacher check in at the event, student and chaperone expectations, appropriate behavior guidelines for students, inclement weather policies, photography policy, parking information, and more.
Teachers, please make sure you copy and distribute the student and chaperone information sheets to all students and chaperones who will be attending the Evergreen Cemetery Walk.
Download the 2018 Cemetery Walk Student Vocabulary Sheet here
This section includes words that may be unfamiliar to students who participate in the Evergreen Cemetery Walk. Words included in this document can be found in the character biographies (found in the teacher packet) and those that will be heard during the performances at the Cemetery Walk. Words are divided by character, including a separate list of cemetery/monument related terms. Words are defined according to Merriam-Webster dictionary unless otherwise noted.
Download Cemetery History, Symbolism, and Monument Information here
This document includes a brief history on the evolution of cemeteries and a history of Evergreen Memorial Cemetery. Also included is information on monument materials, cemetery art and symbolism, monument types, and cemetery structures, of which many can be found in Evergreen Memorial Cemetery. This information will be very useful in helping to prepare students for participation in the Evergreen Cemetery Walk.
Download student version of Adlai E. Stevenson's biography
Download full length annotated character biography here
Stevenson served as Governor of Illinois from 1949-1953. He proved to be a popular public speaker, gaining a national reputation as a spirited intellectual, with a self-deprecating sense of humor to match. Principal among his achievements as governor were reforming the state police, cracking down on illegal gambling, and improving state highways. He sought, with mixed success, to cleanse the Illinois state government of corruption. Stevenson's push for an improved state constitution began the process of constitutional change, which was later realized in 1970, five years after his death. Featured in 1997 and 2014.
Download student version of Henry Funk's biography
Download the full length annotated character biography here
Though not related to the well-known family that founded Funks Grove, Henry Funk had a similar connection to the rich, fertile land of the Prairie State as a well-known horticulturist. Around 1914, Funk came to be in charge of the Lilly Orchard, an established company just outside the town of Mackinaw in Tazewell County that grew high grade fruits and nuts for market. Funk was also a longtime beekeeper and raised prize-winning poultry for a number of years.
Download student version of Emily Vecchi Noble's biography
Download full length annotated character biography here
Featured with Clyde Noble.
Noble showcased her singing and dancing talents as a young girl throughout her homeland of Great Britain. At the age of 14, Noble embarked on the next stage of her career by joining the Kaufman Bicycle Troupe, eventually earning the title of “the world’s most accomplished lady bicyclist.” In 1904, while her troupe was performing with the Ringling Brothers Circus, she met her future husband, Clyde Noble, a fellow circus performer. They were married in 1908 and 15 years later, after having settled in Bloomington, helped found the Bloomington Community Players. First featured in 1997.
Download student version of Clyde Noble's biography
Download the full length annotated character biography here
Featured with Emily Vecchi Noble.
A jeweler’s apprentice as a teenager, Clyde Noble readily took to aerial acrobatics in 1904, following in the footsteps of his older brother Charles. It was in the circus that Noble met and married Emily Vecchi. The couple then embarked on a long career together until their retirement in 1918, when they settled in Bloomington and Noble resumed his work as a jeweler. Noble had a long and honorable record of civic service in Bloomington-Normal, working for the McLean County Chapter of the American Red Cross and helping organize Bloomington’s Community Players Theatre.
Download student version of Jane Hendryx's biography
Download the full length annotated biography here
Jane Hendryx came to Illinois at the age of 17 via a covered wagon, arriving at a two-room log cabin on a farm being carved out of the wilderness. She recalled there were still “plenty of Indians,” and her family traveled 30 to 60 miles for provisions. Hendryx considered her new home “a very wild country.” A devout Methodist, a young Jane often accompanied her father on horseback when he preached his circuit. When she died at the age of 95 years, she was living in a city teeming with industry and commerce.
Download student version of Lue Anna Sanders Clark's biography
Download the full length annotated character biography here
"Anna" Clark was a woman of great pride, independence, and intelligence. Born in Kentucky, her parents died when she was five, leaving her to be raised by her older sister. After coming to Bloomington in 1916 and working first as domestic help, she operated a Workingman’s Social Club with her first husband, followed by 12 years at Livingston and Son’s department store. In the early 1940s, Clark began a 20-year career at the ISSCS.* During that same time, she opened up a boarding house for black men attending Illinois State Normal University, as they were not allowed to reside on campus.
Download Educational Goals and Standards
The Evergreen Cemetery Walk is a great educational program for students to participate in. It is our intention that students will develop an understanding and appreciation for cemeteries as a source for history, that students will begin to understand our local history and its importance, and that students will understand the natural connection between history and the arts. In addition, the Cemetery Walk will help teachers meet a variety of History and English related ISBE Learning Goals and Common Core Standards.
To read biographies of past cemetery walk characters, visit the biographies page of our online resources.