Boxwood at Night shines different light on Medina’s historic cemetery

Photos by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – A group gathers in the chapel at Boxwood Cemetery on Saturday evening for the third annual Boxwood at Night event.

The Friends of Boxwood Cemetery lighted up many of the monuments, trees and other parts of the cemetery, inviting the public to “see the cemetery in a new light.” More than 200 people attended.

Sandra and Tom Philbrick portray Susan and John Bland at the Bland family plot. The Philbricks now live in the Bland family home on West Center Street.

Mr. Bland owned several businesses in Medina, while Mrs. Bland was known for keeping a beautiful garden and maintaining an active social life. She gave Medina Memorial Hospital a good deal to acquire 10 acres for the hospital.

The event included nine different docents who portrayed people buried in the cemetery.

Miranda Starr portrays George Beach, who was born in 1842 and died in 1902. He was active in a pharmaceutical business and manufactured iron goods in Medina.

Catherine Cooper, Orleans County historian and retired director of the Lee-Whedon Memorial Library, shares the story of Mary Lee-Whedon whose father left money for the community to a public library in the 1920s. Cooper said the library has been a gift of knowledge and has helped strengthen our democracy.

Jessica George of Albion and her daughter Harper, 8, check out the extra large Lite Bright that was part of the event.

The street on the south side of the cemetery was lined with torches to help illumine the path when it got dark.

The cemetery took on a different feel with the colorful display of lights.

Reinhard Rogowski portrays the late Robert Waters, who was an active community booster and the publisher of The Journal-Register. Waters died at age 90 on July 29, 2015. He led the Medina Sandstone Society and helped find a new use for the Medina Armory, among his many community efforts. He also loved to wear a bow tie.

One of the stops included a display with a list of the 107 people buried in the potter’s field. Of those 107, only 28 have head stones. The Friends of Boxwood Cemetery would like to install a plaque in the cemetery listing all 107 people.

Frank Ferri portrayed Robert H. Newell who ran a high-end shirt business in Medina on West Center Street. The business at one time had 100 employees on three floors. Ferri displayed scissors, a thimble and one of the shirts from the factory.

The Orleans County String Band played Appalachian music while people strolled on the north side of the historic cemetery on North Gravel Road.

Shawna Baldwin portrays Harriett Davey and reads a passage from Edgar Allan Poe, the famous writer who died in 1849, the year Boxwood opened.