Peoria Folklore Theater expands cemetery living history tours

Elise Zwicky For Chronicle Media

Actress Kim Holdham will sing the glories of Peoria’s whiskey barons and the blues of Prohibition as Emmy Leisy from Leisy Brewing Co. during Prairie Folklore Theater’s first Springdale Cemetery Summer Snippet history tour on June 4. (Photo courtesy of Prairie Folklore Theater)

Prairie Folklore Theater is offering up a dose of local history in its first Springdale Cemetery Summer Snippet Tour June 4.

The Peoria-based theater has long been known for offering living history tours in the iconic cemetery in the fall and is hoping the one-day summer program will become an annual event.

“This is our 15th year for the fall tour, and the cemetery board approached us about doing another program, so we thought this would be a win-win. We can raise some money for some summer flowers and landscaping with native prairie perennials at the cemetery and also raise awareness about the fall tour,” said Brian “Fox” Ellis, tour founder and artistic director.

Ellis is one of three actors who will be portraying Peorians buried in the cemetery.

The fall tour usually features six actors each playing one character, but for the fall event three actors will each portray two characters.

“This makes it a little more efficient for us, so we don’t have

Barry Cloyd will portray Joseph Henry Munroe, known during the Civil War as “the Drummer Boy of Shiloh,” in an upcoming history tour at the iconic Springdale Cemetery in Peoria. (Photo courtesy of Prairie Folklore Theater)

the overhead since it’s just a one-day tour,” Ellis said.

Since most fall tours feature new characters from the cemetery every year, Prairie Folklore Theater actors have portrayed more than 80 people over the years. The Summer Snippet will be akin to a “greatest hits” event, Ellis said.

“We’re replaying a few of the characters we did in our earlier years that have not been seen again. We’ve put a lot of work into the research and writing of some of these folks from Peoria’s past, so it’s exciting to us as performers to bring them to life again. These are important voices from our local history,” Ellis said.

Ellis will portray German immigrant Louis Phillip Wolf, who published a newspaper during World War 1. He will then step forward in time to play state Sen. Prescott Bloom, who posed as a jobless drifter in an undercover investigation of Medicaid fraud. Bloom suffered an untimely death at the age of 43 in 1986 after a fire at his Peoria home.

Barry Cloyd, co-founder of the Prairie Folklore Theater, will portray Joseph Henry Munroe, known as “the Drummer Boy of Shiloh” during the Civil War and who went on to become a music teacher at Peoria High. Cloyd will also revive the life of Frank Hitchcock, a Peoria County sheriff who was one of the first to use physical evidence to track down a local serial killer.

Brian “Fox” Ellis will tell the story of state Sen. Prescott Bloom, who posed as a jobless drifter in an undercover investigation of Medicaid fraud, during Prairie Folklore Theater’s first Springdale Cemetery Summer Snippet on June 4. The event is a fundraiser for the cemetery. (Photo courtesy of Prairie Folklore Theater)

Kim Holdham will sing the glories of Peoria’s whiskey barons and the blues of Prohibition as Emmy Leisy from Leisy Brewing Co. Holdham will also step into the shoes of Julie Williams, a Civil War nurse.

“It’s kind of a double bonus for people who have been on the tour before to see some of their favorite characters that they haven’t seen in a long time. And for people who’ve never been, it’s really a great introduction to what a joy the cemetery tour is,” Ellis said.

The actors, who research their characters with help from the Peoria Historical Society, have no trouble finding new people to portray each year, Ellis said.

“There are more than 70,000 people buried in Springdale Cemetery, and every one has a great story,” he said.

The 227-acre cemetery, founded in 1855, was designed to be a park-like setting with more than six miles of roadways winding through its hills and valleys.

“The tour celebrates not only Peoria history, but many of these players were immigrants or involved in state, national or international events,” Ellis said. “It’s a personal encounter with history, and it shows people that being born and living in Peoria is something to celebrate.”

Mary Knaak of Bartonville is planning to attend the Summer Snippet with several friends and relatives.

“I have gone to the tour they do in the fall. I enjoyed learning about Peoria history through the stories told by the actors,” Knaak said. “The actors portray a person buried in the cemetery with stories of the person’s personal life. It brings history alive.”

The walking tour will cover about a mile and will last about an hour. Tour start times are at 3 and 5 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children. Reservations are recommended and may be made by emailing your name, phone number and number of people attending to springdalecemeterytours@gmail.com or by calling Laurel Ellis at (309) 696-0956.

Those attending are asked to arrive at least 15 minutes early at the cemetery’s main entrance at 3014 N. Prospect Road in Peoria. People should bring a folding chair or stool to sit on during each character performance.