Photos by Kim Pritt – Kyle Thaine portrays his great-uncle, Eugene Barnum, who was killed during World War II after shooting down two German planes.

Alyce Miller served as one of the speaking tour guides who lead each group through the walk offering historic references.

Zach Shaffer portrays John G. Rice, the Orleans County sheriff in 1894 who organized a posse to find murderer William Lake.

Riley Seielstad portrays Emma Ingersoll, who upon her death bequeathed the monument pictured here, as well as the beautiful Ingersoll Fountain and bench located near the entrance of Mount Albion Cemetery.

Nate Trembley portrays Charles Howard as Santa with Valerie Rush as Mrs. Claus.

By Kim Pritt, Contributor

ALBION – Gray skies and a strong wind in the trees helped set the ghostly atmosphere for the seventh annual Mount Albion Ghost Walk on Saturday night. Rain threatened earlier in the day, but moved on just in time for approximately 425 people to enjoy the popular annual event.

The Ghost Walk is a Service Learning project of the Albion High School Drama and Music Departments. A total of 55 students work to put the program together by researching a variety of residents of Mt. Albion Cemetery, writing their own scripts, and performing roles as ghosts, tour guides, singers, and tech crew. This year, 13 ghosts were featured, including war heroes, prominent citizens, two nationally publicized murders, and even Santa Claus.

“I am very interested in all the people and what they’ve done for the community – all the great inventions, suggestions, and impact they have made,” said Miller during rehearsal earlier in the day.

Several war heroes were highlighted along the tour, including Eugene Barnum, 1917-1944. Barnum was killed in action during World War II after shooting down two German planes. He died just months after his brother, William, was also killed in action.

Kyle Thaine proudly portrayed Barnum and was understandably knowledgeable about his subject – Barnum is Kyle’s great uncle.

“It was an honor playing my Great Uncle Gene,” Thaine said. “I didn’t know him, but I’ve heard many stories about him from the time I was a little kid from my grandmother. I love history and I love my family and it was so cool to put them both together in one place.”

Other notable ghosts were James Sheret, war hero that Albion’s American Legion Sheret Post is named for; Orleans County District Attorney and County Judge, Isaac S. Signor; and Emma Ingersoll, daughter-in-law of Nehemiah Ingersoll, one of Albion’s founding fathers, among others.

The tour ended at the grave site of Charles W. Howard, 1896-1966. Howard was world renowned as Santa Claus. Howard opened his Santa Claus School in 1937 on Phipps Road in Albion, where he trained people from all over the world how to be a proper Santa. Howard also ran his Christmas Park and toy shop.

He was also the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Santa and a consultant on the movie Miracle on 34th Street. Howard’s legacy lives on with his Santa Claus School now located in Michigan.

On Oct. 1, an interpretive panel was placed near his grave site commemorating his life. The panel was designed by last year’s Ghost Walk students and paid for with proceeds from that event.

Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Mount Albion Cemetery employees this morning installed a 2-foot by 3-foot interpretive panel that shares the story of one of the cemetery’s most prominent residents: Charles Howard.

Howard is best known as the man who started a Santa Claus School. He ran it from 1937 until his death in 1966. The school has been moved to Midland, Michigan, and still bears Charles Howard’s name.

Howard also was a farmer and a toymaker with a flair for the dramatic. He was part of community efforts to build a model of Niagara Falls with 10,000 gallons of sweet cider in 1928. He also helped make a 12-foot-wide apple pie in 1929 and a create a 14-foot-high cake that weighed 3.5 tons.

Howard developed the Santa School after noticing many Santas didn’t have training, and didn’t always interact with children well or meet a standard for dress. He established decorum for Santas and his Santa Claus suits became popular.

He remains a revered figure in the Santa Claus community. This past April more than 250 Santas were in Albion for several days for a Santa Claus convention.

The Santa community created a Santa Claus Hall of Fame in 2010 and Howard was inducted in the first class.

He was the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Santa and a consultant on the movie Miracle on 34th Street.

Bill Lattin, retired Orleans County Historian, looks over the new interpretive panel. Lattin worked with Albion students in creating the panel. Lattin, current Historian Matt Ballard, and local Charles Howard expert Ken McPherson all were consultants on the panel, providing inofrmation and sharing photos.

The panel was created by the AP US History students in Rich Gannnon’s class. More than half of the class has taken part in the Ghost Walk at Mount Albion Cemetery.

Albion students used money raised from past Ghost Walks to pay for the panel.

There will be another Ghost Walk on Saturday that will conclude at Howard’s grave.

To inquire about the Ghost Walk, call Susan Starkweather Miller at the school, (585) 589-2087 for reservations.

One of the photos includes Charles Howard with his wife, Ruth.

Takeform Architectural Graphics in Medina made the panel.

The panel is located next to the terrace where Howard is buried on the west side of the cemetery, south of the Civil War section.

Photo by Tom Rivers – The Ingersoll Memorial Fountain, which was added to Mount Albion Cemetery in 1914, is pictured in the historic cemetery in this file photo. Mount Albion will host Albion students on their annual Ghost Walk on Oct. 3. Students will portray Emma Ingersoll, who bequeathed the fountain and a bench to the community.

ALBION – Students at Albion High School will highlight prominent residents at Mount Albion Cemetery on Oct. 3 during the annual Ghost Walk, which typically attracts 500 people to the historic cemetery on Route 31.

The students try to feature a different section of the cemetery with each Ghost Walk. This year’s tour will highlight war heroes, distinguished citizens and two murders that made national news and ended with the death penalty.

People must make reservations for the tour by calling the school office at (585) 589-2087. Tours start every 15 minutes, beginning at 5 p.m. with the last tour at 9:30 p.m. The tours go for about 45 minutes.

The tour will include the following:

JAMES SHERET (WWI) 1892-1918
James was honored for heroism in several single handed attacks against the enemy. He and his brother Egbert were both killed in action on September 29, 1918 in Rossnoy, France. Their unit broke through the Hindenburg Line. Their other brother, Andrew, was severely wounded. Albion’s American Legion Sheret Post #35 is named in their honor.

EUGENE BARNUM (WWII) 1917-1944
Cpt. Eugene E. Barnum Jr. was killed in action during World War II. He was responsible for shooting down two German planes during the war. On December 2nd the squadron was sweeping the airspace ahead of bombers heading towards Cologne and Frankfurt on what was called a “Ramrod Mission” (short range attack on ground targets). Eugene’s plane went down due to a mid-air collision. His brother, William Barnum, was also killed in action July 14, 1944.

ALICE WILSON 1853-1887
Alice will tell the story from the grave of Ben Williams, attorney for her husband, George Willson. Willson was convicted of murdering his wife, Alice. He was the only man executed in Orleans County. He was hanged outside the courthouse in 1888.

ROBERT CANHAM (Civil War) 1837-1938
Robert Canham lived to be 101 years old. He fought in the Civil War and was a member of Battery F, 3rd U.S. Heavy Artillery and was allegedly present for Gettysburg, Cold Harbor, and Fredericksburg. “Big Grandpa” was well known in the area given the fact that he was the oldest and last surviving Civil War vet “wearer of the blue.”

JOHN G. RICE 1849-1917
John Rice was the Orleans County Sheriff during the 1894 murder of Emma Hunt by William Lake. Sheriff Rice organized a posse to find Lake, who hid after the murder. He evaded police for a few days, but was eventually caught in a barn and confessed willingly. He was one of first in NYS to be executed by electrocution.

SIDNEY EDDY (WWI) 1894-1989
Sidney was a member of the ambulance corps during the First World War. He was stationed in France and kept a diary from 1917-1919 that shared his experiences during the War until his return home.

DAVID JONES / MAUSOLEUM 1842-1898
David and Claudius Jones patented the mouse trap and manufactured them in large numbers. In 1878 they contracted for two million to be made at a rate of 1,000 each day.

ISAAC S. SIGNOR 1842-1935
Signor was Orleans County District Attorney and County Judge. He wrote the book, Landmarks of Orleans County, which is still widely used today as a local historic resource. He was co-executor of William Swan’s will and instrumental in establishing the Swan Library as a public library. He was a member of the Albion Central School District Board of Education and created the Signor Prize, which awards high school students for excellence in rhetorical work.

Lt. Col. C. ROYCE SAWYER (WWI) 1871-1924
Sawyer was a 30-year member of the Dye Hose Company (Albion Fire Department). As Fire Chief, he worked to have the entire company motorized. Sawyer was a cashier at Citizen’s National Bank. He served as County Treasurer and was a delegate to the Republican Convention in Rochester. During WWI, Sawyer was commissioned by the War Department in the Quartermaster Officer’s Reserve Corps. There he served as finance officer of Camp Sheridan in Alabama.

JEROME GUMAER (Civil War) 1843-1913
Gumaer served as a Union soldier in the Civil War. He was a sergeant in the 8th NY Heavy Artillery. He fought at Cold Harbor, Petersburg, and was wounded at Hatcher’s Run. At one point during the war he was captured and spent five months in Libby Prison.

Photo courtesy of Orleans County Department of History – Charles Howard is pictured by the sign of his famous Santa Claus School in Albion. The school has since been relocated to Michigan, but still bears Howard’s name.

EMMA INGERSOLL (1839-1911)
Mrs. Ingersoll’s husband, Francis, was the son of Nehemiah Ingersoll. Upon her death, she bequeathed the beautiful Ingersoll Fountain and bench, located near the entrance of Mount Albion Cemetery, to the Village of Albion with the stipulation that they must pay for the water to run the fountain.

ROBERT CAPSTICK (Civil War) 1834-1907
Robert Capstick fought in the Civil War. He was present at the second battle of Bull Run, Antietam, and Fredericksburg and was wounded at Chancellorsville. He was also imprisoned in Andersonville Prison. He returned to the Albion area destitute and was taken in by Sarah Harling who nursed him back to health. He gave her a George Washington button -his prized possession – as a thank you for her kindness.

CHARLES HOWARD 1896-1966
World renowned as Santa Claus, Howard opened his Santa Claus School in 1937. There he taught people from all over the world how to play Santa. In addition, he opened Christmas Park which included many attractions and a toy shop. The park attracted over 80,000 people each year. He was the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Santa and a consultant on the movie Miracle on 34th Street. Howard’s legacy continues to this day with his Santa School (now located in Michigan.)

Seventh-graders will also research Civil War vets in county

Photos by Tom Rivers – Many of the markers for Civil War soldiers at Mount Albion Cemetery are rusted. Albion seventh-graders and teacher Tim Archer will restore the markers as part of a service-learning project.

ALBION The cast-iron markers are sprinkled around Mount Albion Cemetery, and many of them, put in years ago to honor Civil War soldiers, have turned to rust.

Albion teacher Tim Archer and seventh-graders want to restore the shine to the markers, put at graves by the Grand Army of the Republic. Students in Archer’s service-learning class will create a map and database of the marker locations.

They will use wiry brushes to remove rust and Archer will coat the markers with Rust-Oleum.

File photo – These bronze markers by the Civil War cannon at the cemetery haven’t rusted, but they have oxidized. Archer said students won’t be working on these ones. Nearby cast-iron markers, however, will be given a new shine.

Students have other Civil War initiatives planned for the school year. They are going to research the names of every Orleans County resident who died in the Civil War and compare that with the 463 names carved in marble slabs inside the tower at Mount Albion Cemetery.

Archer thinks not all soldiers who died in the war were included in the memorial. He and his students would like to create a database of all of the soldiers from the county who died in the war. Right now, he said there isn’t an accurate list with all the names.

The Civil War memorial at Mount Albion Cemetery includes the names of 463 residents who were killed during the Civil War. However, the memorial may not have included every local resident who perished in the war.

Archer and his students know one resident who served in the Civil War was buried at St. Joseph’s Cemetery on Brown Road in an unmarked grave.

The service-learning class, which is a requirement for all seventh-graders, has reached out to the Veterans Administration for a headstone for John Frost, who died in 1915.

Archer and the students have also contacted the offices for Congressman Chris Collins and State Assemblyman Steve Hawley about helping with the headstone.

The class has also learned about Herbert Charles Taylor, who is buried at Hillside Cemetery in Holley/Clarendon. Taylor is believed to be the only Orleans County resident who was killed at Gettysburg.

Archer and the class would like to have a historical marker at the cemetery about Taylor, noting his service to his country and death at Gettysburg.

Photo courtesy of Orleans County History Department

ALBION – Albion students have raised money and designed an interpretive panel about one of the community’s most famous residents, the late Charles Howard, who founded the first Santa Claus School.

This photo from about about 60 years ago shows Howard as Santa at Christmas Park, which he developed in Albion at Phipps Road.

Albion students are working with Takeform Architectural Graphics in Medina on the panel, which will share highlights of Howard’s life as a farmer, toymaker and later as the famous Santa who appeared in the Macy’s Thaksgiving Day parades.

Howard ran the school from 1937 until his death in 1966 at age 69. Howard started the school in Albion at the corner of Phipps Road and Route 31. He developed the school after noticing many Santas didn’t have training, and didn’t always interact with children well or meet a standard for dress. He established decorum for Santas and his Santa Claus suits became popular.

The school, now in Midland, Mich., still bears Howard’s name.

The 1948 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade was a huge day for Howard. The parade for the first time was televised nationally and in color for those that had color TV sets. There was also an opening for Santa and Macy’s asked Howard to fill the role. They wanted the man who trained Santas to be part of their parade.

He would do it every year until 1965 and Macy’s took pride in having Howard in the parade. The company would have him play Santa at their stores in New York City and Kansas City.

Howard is buried in Mount Albion not too far from the gazebo at the west entrance of the historic cemetery. Howard is buried on a knoll and his grave is difficult for many people to find.

The panel will be installed in the grass by the corner of the cemetery by the knoll.

The panel may be ready in time to be dedicated as part of the Oct. 3 Ghost Walk, where Albion students portray famous people in the cemetery. This year’s Ghost Walk will conclude with a stop by Howard’s grave.

Photo courtesy of the Santa Claus Oath Foundation – Charlie Howard portrays Santa in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. He served in the role from 1948 to 1965.

Students used proceeds from last year’s Ghost Walk to pay for the interpretive panel. Sue Starkweather Miller, one of the Ghost Walk coordinators, would like to see more panels at the cemetery.

“We would love to turn it into a museum without walls,” she said about adding many more panels.

She didn’t want to share a rendering of the panel publicly until it is unveiled. She said it will be black and white with text and photos, with a silver background. Those are the traditional Victorian mourning colors, she said.

Retired County Historian Bill Lattin helped students with the design of the panel.

Albion hosted about 250 professional Santas during a convention in April. That convention has spearheaded other efforts to honor Howard in his hometown.

The Albion Betterment Committee is working on a welcome sign that notes Albion is the hometown of a world renown Santa who started the first Santa School. The Betterment Committee also is pushing to have a bronze statue of Howard as Santa in front of the Hoag Library near the side walk on Main Street.

The Betterment Committee is working with Brigden Memorials in Albion on a design for that project and would like to have the money raised so it could be installed by the end of 2016, the 50th anniversary of Howard’s death.