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Teacher Information

The Evergreen Cemetery Walk is a great educational program for students to participate in. Your students will develop an understanding and appreciation for cemeteries as a source for history. They will begin to understand our local history and its importance, and 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.

The 2024 Virtual Evergreen Cemetery Walk will be viewable starting November 4, 2024.

Download the Viewing Instructions for the Virtual Evergreen Cemetery Walk 2024 here.

How to Prepare For Your Tour

Below are links to PDFs on a variety of information that will be useful in preparing to bring your students to your scheduled tour of the Evergreen Cemetery Walk.

  • Teacher Information 2024

  • Chaperone Information 2024

  • Student Information 2024

Character Packets

These packets include information on each character featured in this year's Evergreen Cemetery Walk. One character, J.J. Mayes, will only be seen by students using the virtual walk as he is a weekend-only performance. Each character's packet has a student biography, a vocabulary list, and a collection of relevant Pieces from our Past articles written by Museum staff and community collaborators.

  • Gus & Edit Belt Character Packet

  • Ange Milner Character Packet

  • Georgina Trotter and Sarah Raymond Fitzwilliam Character Packet

  • June Crandall Character Packet

  • Julius Witherspoon Character Packet

  • Eva Jones Character Packet

Cemetery History, Symbolism, and Monument Information

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.

Standards and Educational Goals

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.

Maps

To see a map of burial locations for this year's characters, please click here.

To see the route map for this year's walk, please click here.

Suggested General Activities

Aside from general discussion, these are activities which teachers who have attended Walks in years past have done with their students that may prove beneficial for you and your students as well.

2024 Featured Characters

We have featured 205 people in the Cemetery Walk since 1995. To read biographies of individuals featured on past Cemetery Walks, visit our biographies page.

Belt, Augustus "Gus"
Augustus "Gus" Belt (1895-1954) and Edith Pressler Belt (1896 – 1973) successfully grew a single Bloomington restaurant into a nationwide chain. The Steak n' Shake proprietors had several failed business ventures before acquiring a Shell Oil station at the corner of Main and Virginia Streets, which they transformed into a successful drive-in serving hamburgers and milkshakes in 1934. The Belts are this year's visiting voices from East Lawn Memorial Cemetery in honor of Steak n' Shake's 90th anniversary.
Belt, Edith Pressler
Edith Pressler Belt (1896 – 1973) and Augustus "Gus" Belt (1895-1954) successfully grew a single Bloomington restaurant into a nationwide chain. The Steak n' Shake proprietors had several failed business ventures before acquiring a Shell Oil station at the corner of Main and Virginia Streets, which they transformed into a successful drive-in serving hamburgers and milkshakes in 1934. The Belts are this year's visiting voices from East Lawn Memorial Cemetery in honor of Steak n' Shake's 90th anniversary.
Milner, Angeline Vernon
Angeline Vernon Milner (1856-1928), known to most as Ange, is one of Illinois' most famous librarians. Milner became Illinois State (Normal) University's first full-time librarian in 1890, serving nearly 40 years. Her passion for library science drew national attention and shaped the university's curriculum. Milner was a founding member of the Illinois branch of the American Library Association and instituted the idea of teaching college students how to use library resources in their studies, a practice she outlined for other teachers' colleges to follow. Fan Favorite
Angie Milner
Trotter, Georgina
Georgina Trotter (1836-1904) and Sarah Raymond Fitzwilliam (1842 – 1918) were advocates and close friends who wanted better for Bloomington. Businesswoman Georgina Trotter was the first woman elected to the Bloomington Board of Education in 1874. She served alongside educator Sarah Raymond Fitzwilliam, who became the first female superintendent of Bloomington Public Schools that same year. These women had an uphill battle to prove they were worthy of these positions. Together, they worked side-by-by-side to improve the quality of education students received in Bloomington Public Schools and to improve the lives of others in the community. 
Fitzwilliam, Sarah Raymond
Sarah Raymond Fitzwilliam (1842 – 1918) and Georgina Trotter (1836-1904) were advocates and close friends who wanted better for Bloomington. Businesswoman Georgina Trotter was the first woman elected to the Bloomington Board of Education in 1874. She served alongside educator Sarah Raymond Fitzwilliam, who became the first female superintendent of Bloomington Public Schools that same year. These women had an uphill battle to prove they were worthy of these positions. Together, they worked side-by-by-side to improve the quality of education students received in Bloomington Public Schools and to improve the lives of others in the community. 
Sarah Raymond Fitzwilliam
Crandall, June W.
June Crandall (1878-1910), a Kentucky native, came to Bloomington in 1898 and began working as a miner at the McLean County Coal Company on the west side of town. He was one of the earliest labor union organizers and Socialist party leaders in Bloomington. Crandall was deeply concerned about the exploitation of the American working class. He fought hard on various platforms, including in the political sphere, to improve the quality of life for his fellow workers and their families.
Witherspoon, Julius
Julius Witherspoon (1859-1906) relocated to Bloomington from Arkansas when he was 24. He worked for the Bloomington Police for eight years before enlisting in the military in 1898. Witherspoon became captain of his regiment, Company G of the Eighth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, which was the only regiment of Black troops officered entirely by Black men. His unit was stationed in Cuba for garrison duty during the Spanish-American War. After returning to Bloomington, Witherspoon worked as a liveryman. However, his poor health (largely due to the war) cut his life short, and he passed away in 1906. Fan Favorite
Julius Witherspoon
Jones, Eva
Eva Jones (1930-1987) was a woman who never turned away from challenging situations or tough decisions. She was the first Black person elected to the Bloomington District 87 Board of Education in 1971 and the Bloomington City Council in 1979. In these leadership roles, her voice amplified the needs of previously underrepresented individuals during a period of increased racial tension in the community and across the country. Outside her elected positions, she also worked with McLean County's YWCA, League of Women Voters, and United Way.
Eva Jones