ALTON - Vintage Voices will continue their tradition of sharing Alton’s history.
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As part of Vintage Voices, actors portray real people who are buried in the Alton Cemetery. They tell stories about each person’s life and how they impacted the community. This year, the Vintage Voices tours are scheduled for Oct. 5, 6, 12 and 13, 2024. Jody Basola, chair of the Vintage Voices committee, promises another great year for attendees.
“We’re coming down to the wire here. We’re ready. We’re hoping for good weather and big crowds,” Basola said. “History is very important to our legacy, who we are. We can learn from our history. It’s so important to know who you are, where you came from, how we got there and where we’re going.”
The walking tours start at 12 p.m. and run every 15 minutes until 2:30 p.m. at Alton Cemetery. This year’s walk is about a half-mile and will include walking through grass. There will also be a non-walking tour at 5 p.m. on Oct. 6 at St. Mary’s Middle School.
Tickets cost $15 for adults and $10 for students ages 6–18. Children ages 5 and under are free. You can purchase tickets online or at Picture This and More on Broadway, or at the gate.
This is the 23rd year of Vintage Voices, and Basola is proud of how it has grown. They see over 600 attendees over the course of the two weekends, a number that has doubled in recent years.
This year’s actors will portray several Alton residents who are buried at the Alton Cemetery, including an Alton teacher whose money is still benefiting the community today, a member of the Committee of Negro Women and Children who did a lot for Alton’s Black community, and the first person to be entombed in the mausoleum at Alton Cemetery.
“I love history, so naturally I’m passionate about Vintage Voices and the ways it pays tribute to our past,” said Marlene Lewis, who serves the Vintage Voices committee as a costumer. “Some of the decedents portrayed were innovators, some were people who endured hardships and rose above them. They all influenced our history and their accomplishments have impacted our community. Remembering their lives strengthens my sense of what it means to live in the Alton area.”
Basola echoed Lewis, adding that she hopes the Vintage Voices tradition will continue long after she is gone. She noted that they have many more people they hope to feature in the future, and she is excited for another great year of the tradition starting next weekend.
“There is just so much history,” she added. “When this whole thing started back in 2001, they said, ‘Well, how long can you sustain something like this?’ And Donnie Huber, who is the sexton of the cemetery, said, ‘Oh, you’re not going to run out of stories to tell.’ We do eight, nine, sometimes ten stories a year for 23 years, and we still have a list of people that we want to do. We can’t wait.”
Vintage Voices tours run from 12–2:30 p.m. on Oct. 5, 6, 12 and 13, 2024. For more information about Vintage Voices, visit their official Facebook page.
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