Hillside Cemetery tour whisks students back in time


SHARON — For Bob Loucks, president of the Historic Sharon Burying Ground, Hillside Cemetery is as close to a time machine as one can get.

"You look around and there are so many stories," Loucks said. "I feel like I know some of these people because I’ve spent so much time learning about them."

Loucks, an electrician by profession, has a passion for the Civil War. He had two great-grandfathers who served in the Union Army and has spent years tracing their history, and the history of several other Sharon veterans, through photographs and books.

Last Monday afternoon, Loucks shared his knowledge with a group of eighth-graders from Sharon Center School, highlighting a handful of Civil War-era graves in the cemetery and exhibiting a wide range of photographs and artifacts he has acquired over the years.

Loucks, who does the walk-through every year, understands that sparking the interest of students fresh from a trip to Washington, D.C., is no simple task.

"They’re over-stimulated," Loucks said. "I think it’s something they’ll appreciate later."

Loucks was not interested in the Civil War when he was young either.

"When I was a kid my grandfather took me up into his attic and showed me a rifle. It was so heavy I could barely pick it up," Loucks told the students. "He said, ‘Your great-grandfather used this rifle in the Civil War.’ I said ‘okay.’ Now I wish I had that rifle."

Loucks began the tour at the Civil War monument, which was erected in 1885 with a $1,000 donation from a longtime Sharon resident. The group then proceeded to tour the cemetery before Loucks took the youngsters to a quiet corner and displayed an array of photographs and other Civil War memorabilia, presenting the war on a local level and then branching out to national figures like Abraham Lincoln and William Tecumseh Sherman.

Loucks caught the attention of several students when he showed them Civil War-era musket balls. He concluded the presentation by offering to look up students’ ancestors who may have served in the war, though nobody could find a definitive connection.

"Do a little research," Loucks suggested. "The same book is available at the local library."

While capturing the attention of students just days away from graduation may be difficult, Loucks demonstrated that it was certainly not impossible.

"It was amazing how much he knew," student Samantha McKenzie said. "And the artifacts were really interesting."

Fellow student Evan Kalogiannis agreed.

"It was pretty cool to learn about what people went through," Kalogiannis said.

Comments like these are the reason that Loucks continues to do the walkthroughs. The cemetery, established soon after the town, has played host to a recent rash of vandalism. More than 70 gravestones have been pushed over in the past three years.

"I really hope they gain a respect for the cemetery," Loucks said.

 

 

 

 

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