By Dennis Volkert
The fifth annual history walking tour takes place this weekend at Oak Lawn Cemetery.
It takes place on two days: 4-5:20 p.m. Sept. 6 and 2-3:20 p.m. Sept. 7. Tour groups leave every 20 minutes. Ticket cost is $15, available for purchase at bit.ly/4mL6qkE.
Theme for the 2025 tour is “Highlighting Sturgis Businesses.”
The event is presented by Sturgis Historical Society, in collaboration with Sturgis Civic Players and Sturges-Young Center for the Arts. Sturgis Bank is sponsor.
Here’s a roundup of historical figures featured on the tour.
E.C. Wright (1860-1948). Ford dealer in the area beginning in 1908 until his death. The dealership site is now home of TC Appliance. Portrayed by Chris Horn.
Hazel Prince Foglesong Spence (1892-1957). First female funeral director who took over the business after her husband died. Later, she married Charles Spence. The business eventually was purchased by Bob Hackman. Portrayed by Kristi Smith.
Daniel Gerow (1862-1950). Owner of Hotel Elliott, current site of Sigrist’s. Portrayed by Julian Kennedy.
Lillie Ethel Clark Tribbett (1876-1942). Wife of owner of Tribbett’s, which was located in downtown Sturgis for 100 years. Portrayed by Chantel Horn.
History of Patterson’s Supper Club from perspective of longtime bartender Jimmy Smith (1944-2002). Portrayed by Paul Rooyakkers.
History of Carl Rehm’s from Walter “Susie” Gerchow (1906-1982), who worked at Rehm’s for more than 50 years. Portrayed by Colin Eastman.
Robert O. Widdel (1926-2010), an owner of Central Meat Market. Descended family continues to operate the business today. Portrayed by his great-grandson, Seth Falkenstein.
Florence Hagen (1895-1998). Beautician who worked for 66 years, retiring in her 90s. Portrayed by Barb Neff
Jessie Schaeffer (1908-2009). First female real estate broker in St. Joseph County. Portrayed by Schaffer’s daughter Sue.
Marshall Parham (1874-1949) of Parham Photography. He captured many Sturgis historical moments on film. Portrayed by Steve Runyon.
According to Rosalie Currier at Sturgis Historical Museum, organizers selected downtown Sturgis merchants and businesses as the focus for this year’s tour to align with Mike Mort’s “Windows to Our Past” documentary, “Downtown,” set to debut in spring 2026.
“Highlighting Sturgis Businesses” features the fifth appearance for Rooyakkers. Previous roles were Jonathan Wait, an entrepreneur, industrialist and politician; Frank Wait, son of Jonathan; Newell Franks of Burr Oak Tool; and Budd Munson, legendary coach at Sturgis High School.
For another Civic Players member, Chris Horn, it’s the first appearance in the annual series. Horn had been involved with the Sturgis theater group in the 1990s and early 2000s, and recently returned to the loop.
In advance of the tour, Horn took part in a Q&A with Sturgis Sentinel. He outlined details of his role and how he views value of the event.
Sturgis Sentinel: You are portraying E.C. Wright. What do you find most fascinating about his legacy and his business in general?
Chris Horn: He was just a small-town man that joined the family hardware business after high school. After three decades of that business venture, he just up and decided to try and become a Ford Auto Dealer when autos started becoming popular.
SS: Do you have perspective of other historic figures featured on this year’s tour, some you find most intriguing?
Horn: I am particularly interested in the photographer, (Marshall) Parham, as he captured the majority of our city’s history on film in its early days.
SS: About much time is needed for research, developing scripts and rehearsing?
Horn: As an actor, the research was done well before I saw the first draft of the script. After the initial audition process with Rosalie (Currier), Mary Sutter and Colin Eastman, some of us had a read-through at the museum to help fine-tune our script, talk about wardrobe and make sure our scripts were clocked within a certain time, to fit the framework of the walking tour. It is mostly dependent on the actor to rehearse on their own.
SS: What aspects of the cemetery tour series do you appreciate the most?
Horn: I love that it highlights those individuals that helped shape the future of Sturgis and what it is today. They were just regular, everyday folks living and working in the community, whether they were teachers, business owners or just the hard-working people that make up the community.
For additional details about the tour, visit Sturgis Historical Museum — At the Depot on Facebook, bit.ly/462laVj
