Library creates guided tour app that brings to light stories at Evergreen Cemetery
(Photo Courtesy/Mike Beiermeister) Download the izi.travel app and search 'Evergreen Cemetery' to get a guided tour by Alpena County Librarian Bob Lingos.
Alpena, Mich. — For almost every function nowadays, there’s an app for it.
The Alpena County George N. Fletcher Library released their walking tour app for the Evergreen Cemetery this week, a place that is full of rich history and interesting people. 39 different stories are right at your fingertips. As you walk through the Evergreen Cemetery, you can marvel at the different headstones and learn about the people that are on them.
“There has always been a tremendous the cemetery,” said Bob Lingos, special collections librarian at the Alpena County Library.
Lingos helped research and bring to life each story you can hear on the app. Some of the most unique stories that you wouldn’t believe lie behind these headstones.
“One of them happened to be a man who was a wrestler in the 1930s, and he was Michigan’s state champion for ten years,” said Lingos. “He retired undefeated, and he also defeated in his career the wrestling champion of Great Britain and France.”
It’s more than just people. You can learn the history of different objects and even nature like a special Camperdown Elm that is believed to be the only one in the area.
There is also a special anchor in the middle of cemetery, honoring a former captain.
“The anchor itself is carved out of one piece of stone,” said Lingos. “It was done here in the Crow Memorial building when it was located in downtown Alpena.”
Lingos is continuing to find more stories and help preserve these pieces of history for many years to come.
“A great number of these graves are people that no one has been aware of, and we’ve uncovered some great things about their past,” said Lingos.
Download the app by typing in izi.travel in the app store for free. Search ‘Evergreen Cemetery’ once you download the app to get a guided tour by Lingos. You can start at any point and stop at any point.
If you have a story behind a tombstone that you would like to share, visit the Alpena County Library’s Special Collection’s section.
