Ghost Walk tells new tales for its 40th, America’s 250th
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WHAT: Trumbull County Ghost Walk
WHEN: 6 to 8:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday through Oct. 24
WHERE: First Presbyterian Church, 256 Mahoning Ave. NW, Warren
HOW MUCH: Admission is $10 for adults, $5 for children ages 6 to 12 and free for children ages 5 and younger. Tickets are available in advance at ghostwalk.trumbullcountyhistory.org and at the church each evening.
As America turns 250, Trumbull County Ghost Walk turns 40, and both anniversaries influenced this year's trek through the county's history.
"Pioneers and Posterity" is the theme of this year's event, which uses the historic sites on and near Mahoning Avenue in Warren as the backdrop as costumed performers share tales from the past.
"It's kind of a walk through time," Ghost Walk co-director and co-writer CJ Adkins said. "We talk about Ephraim Quinby, who is the founder of Warren, and we end with a young lady named Ruth Harvey, who was an artillery worker in Ravenna during World War II. We also talk about Dewey Burr, who was one of the first men from Trumbull County to sign up in World War, and he was the first man from Trumbull County to die in the war.
"We wanted to talk about the firsts in Trumbull County and how different their lives look but also how similar they are to ours as well. They also faced challenges. They also made sacrifices, and they also did so in hopes that they were going to be providing future generations a better starting place, so to speak."
Adkins said she and co-writer/co-director Stephanie Young spent time scouring the country's records at the Warren-Trumbull County Public Library, but they didn't have to do much research on Harvey, who is Young's grandmother.
"The story that she tells is one that had been told to her from her mother, which was told to her by her mother, Ruth Harvey herself," Adkins said. "It’s been passed down generationally in the family."
Young also portrays her grandmother on the Ghost Walk. Other actors include: Rachel Dunn, Stephanie Bear, Martin Whitmore, Patricia Dunbar, Sophia Sakhnovsky, Ron Schoch, Jackie Shannon, Courtney Nelson and Adkins.
This is Adkins' and Young's third year as writers/directors. While an old favorite may make an appearance now and then, their goal is to give walkers a new experience annually. It took some time for others to warm to that approach.
"There was actually quite a bit of pushback when Stephanie and I took over as writers and directors, not just from the rest of the committee, but from the community as a whole," Adkins said. "We love sharing the Perkins (family) stories, but we’ve told them so many times over the years. There’s a lady who comes every single year, and she can recite the Aunt Lizzie story almost word for word, and she’s never done the Ghost Walk."
Their first year helming Ghost Walk, Adkins and Young focused on the Packard family. Despite the family's importance in local history, its stories had been under-explored by Ghost Walk.
"People are still going to enjoy themselves, even if Aunt Lizzie isn’t here anymore," Adkins said. "It was a lot easier to pitch something new again the next year. So we’ve just kind of rolled with that. So many guests who come through are like, 'Oh, I never knew that.' People who have lived here their entire lives (here) and don’t know these things about their own community, now they look forward to hearing the new ideas and the new stories that we have to tell every year."
Returning participants will notice some other changes as well.
"We have a live musician, we have a face painter, and we have some special merch this year," Adkins said. "We have a special little experience going for our guests this year, just to commemorate the 40th anniversary."