- Legends & Lyrics ... Take 3 will take place twice on Sept. 16, at 11 a.m. or 5 p.m.
- Rae Nell Harbor and Jerrae DeLap choose the significant and/or unique individuals included
- This year's event will include key players in The Retlaw hotel's history, among others
FOND DU LAC - Locals will step in the shoes of departed Fond du Lac residents to tell tales of their lives from beyond the grave during “Legends &Lyrics … Take 3” at Rienzi Cemetery on Saturday, Sept. 16.
Acres of history, thousands of stories
With thousands buried on its 50 acres, Rienzi Cemetery, N6101 Fond du Lac County K, is the final resting place of many interesting Fond du Lac residents. Since opening in the 1840s with a donation of land from the Tallmadge family, Rienzi has welcomed everyone from veterans dating back to the War of 1812, athletesand actors to U.S. Rep.Mason C. Darling, who founded the Masonic lodge in Fond du Lac.
It is this breadth of backgrounds that has given Rienzi Cemetery’s Family Service Counselor Rae Nell Halbur and liaison between Fond du Lac Community Theatre and the cemetery, Jerrae DeLap, the opportunity to collaborate and tell stories of those there for five years.
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To prepare for the event, Halbur combs through the obituaries of those at Rienzi, picking out those who fit the "legends and lyrics theme," having playedroles in Fond du Lac’s history, or havingunique qualities. Those included have also come from recommendations of their family members, including Hiram Bond Sr., who will be in the upcoming program.
“It’s not necessarily famous or notorious things we’re looking for. We’re just looking for unique community people,” said Halbur. “They all had something to contribute the community in a different way.”
With the names approved by family members, Halbur turns the selected obituaries over to DeLap, who takes a dive into local resources, such as old newspapers and the Fond du Lac County Historical Society, as well as the internet, to build a script for each person, running from a minute to three minutes in length.
“Sometimes a paragraph will take me three to four months,” DeLap said of the process that she calls her “mental therapy.”
Working together throughout the year on the project, Halbur and DeLap’s selections may not always make it into the final program, while others may be added on to fit the flow of the event.
The flow isn’t only geographic, but also applies to the connections those featured have to each other.
“We find they'reintertwined. You start to look in certain articles and you find other people, so I’ll call Rae Nell and say, ‘Is so and so buried here, because I have some information on them.’”
The Retlaw retold
This year, a few of those portrayed are not only intertwined with each other, but also current events and DeLap herself.
Among those buried in Rienzi are John Immel, portrayed by Tim Bryson, and Leila Sargent, portrayed by Heather Linstrom, who, along with Lelia’s husband, David, were instrumental in the building of The Retlaw Plaza Hotel.
The Sargents owned The Palmer House Hotel, located on the corner of Division and Main, streets where The Retlaw now stands. In the early 1920s, plans were in the works to transform The Palmer into The Retlaw Plaza Hotel, but was met with resistance from David Sargent.
“DC (David) Sargent, proprietor of The Palmer House, says he would not go through with his plans for a hotel at his time,” the Commonwealth Reporter wrote Feb. 6, 1922.
However, through the work of John Immel, of Immel Construction Company, David was convinced. In less than 15 months, The Retlaw Plaza Hotel was built.
By March 3, 1923, the Daily Reporter’s headline article, “Dinner, dance draws throng to hotel,” stated that “It was through Mr. Immel’s persistence and negotiation the decision to build there was finally made.”
In addition to the current relevance with The Retlaw set to soon undergo a major renovation, for DeLap, the tie to Immel and the Sargents was a personal one. For nearly 20 years, DeLap worked at The Retlaw, running its Health Club.
“I was the longest employed female at the hotel,” she said. “It’s very dear to my heart.”
Among others featured are Charles Coffman, who served as the editor and vice president of the Fond du Lac Commonwealth Reporter, and Abigail Smith Tallmadge, who donate the acres to build Rienzi and will serve as hostess at the walk.
Bringing the roles to life
When DeLap and Halbur first started, only four residents were featured;it has increased over the years to nearly 40. Filling those roles are a mix of newbies and veterans, ranging from 9-year-olds to those in their 70s — each given a role that fits their personality.
Those who participate are offered the optionto participate the next year, with some having taken part for five years. For the newbies, DeLap either scouts actors, or is approached, as noted by the 9-year-old girl who asked to be included. To incorporate her, DeLap created a new role: a narrator. For others, recruits come from around the community.
“Many don’t want the commitment of the play,” said DeLap. “The luxury with ours is that they don’t have to memorize. They can read. A lot of them have never done plays and are somewhat more reserved. It’s appealing to them that they can read the script and be a part of something.”
With scripts in hand, the actors are further transformed through the power of costume and makeup. Diana Stadler designs the costumes, referencing the time given to her to make them as accurate as possible. Airbrushing the makeup this year is Bekki Fishelson, with Amy Hunkins, of Amy’s Hair Bar, replicating hairstyles that match the person being portrayed.
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Entertaining and educating
All of this comes together the day of the event. Following a morning dress rehearsal, the volunteers take their positions and put on a show for all those who attend. Offered from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., as well as 5 to 9 p.m. for those who enjoy the nighttime atmosphere, the public is invited to walk the grounds, or can be transported on wagon rides and golf carts to each person marked on their provided maps and programs.
Not only is the event an opportunity for entertainment, but also for education. Each year, hundreds — including teachers, parents and children who are homeschooled — funnel through Rienzi’s gate to learn more about this history of Fond du Lac and those who lived there. Through the stories told, attendees delve into little-known aspects of the city’s past, which many times come as surprise.
“The general comment is the awe. They say, ‘In a city this size, I would’ve never thought we would’ve had these fabulous connections worldwide with the famous, and justthe facts the way of they themselves contributed to society,” said DeLap.
Legends & Lyrics Walk
Community members portraying past Fond du Lac residents include:
- Larry Beachy as Raymond Hall
- Todd Beitz as Jed Perkins
- Lori Breckenridge as understudy
- Tim Bryson as John Immel
- Dale Bush as Albert Hanson
- Hannah Bush as Grace Corwin
- Maddie Bush as Maddie "the Newsie"
- Greg and Molly Biever as Frank and Gladys Yordy
- Nathan Cobb as George Mowbry
- Ann and Gary Culver as Mary Moore Wyatt and Simeon Davis Wyatt
- Brendan and Tiffany Duffy as Charles Coffman and George Ann Birge Coffman
- Bailey Hambrick as Margaretha Brunkhorst
- Parker Hambrick as Lawrence Weksler
- Branden Hernendez as Hiram Bond Sr.
- Amy Hunkins and Cathy Rumbuc as Fan Perkins
- Dan Ireland and David Quesenberry as Louis Syfelt
- Larry Lewis and Tom Wellnitz as Charles Wilke
- Vivian Lucas as Abigail Smith Tallmadge
- Kinzie Maas as Understudy and Emma Helmold
- Paul Mand as George Calderwood
- Maeve Mueller as narrator
- Howie Nault and David Saxton as Otto Helmold
- Melissa Amidon-Norenberg as Louise Loehr
- Wendy Pelletier as Maude Hanson
- Marissa Rahmer as understudy and Minnie Helmold
- Paul Rosenfeltd as Rublee Brown
- Marty Schroeder as David Steenberg
- Marv Thiemer as Samuel Burus Amory
- Peggy Vogds as Anita Anderegg
- Chanel Vopel as understudy and Maude Hanson
If you go:
What: Legends & Lyrics … Take 3
When: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and 5 to9 p.m. Sept. 16
Where: Rienzi Cemetery
Admission: Free for those 6 years and younger
For more: Visit Rienzi Cemetery online or on Facebook; or the eventLegends & Lyrics on Facebook
Grounds transportation and lunch available on grounds.
