Elgin native Charlene “Barney” Barnett, who once played baseball for the legendary Rockford Peaches, died in 1979 but her spirit will be resurrected Sept. 24 and 25 during the 2022 Bluff City Cemetery Walk.
Organizers are taking a little license with this year’s event because Barnett is not actually buried in the 123-year-old cemetery but thought her story worth telling given this is the 30th anniversary of “A League of Their Own,” the movie that tells a fictional account of the Peaches and the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.
The idea behind the event is to impart a little history of Elgin in an entertaining way, according to walk co-chairs Rudy and Lillian Galfi.
“I really enjoy watching the guests and seeing the excitement they have, the thrill they get from this insight into history,” Rudy Galfi said.
Barnett did not play with the 1943 Peaches portrayed in the movie, nor did they win the championship that year, but she was a pro league player from 1947 to 1950 and played for Rockford when they took the title in 1949 and 1950.
Barnett, an Elgin High School graduate and an infielder known for her defensive skills, will be portrayed by Erica Wise. The section of the cemetery where she’ll be giving her presentation will be made to look like a baseball diamond.
Hers is just one of several stories that will be told during the event, an Elgin History Museum fundraiser that’s been held annually since 1987. The Galfis have been at the helm for four years.
The process starts in the spring with the couple scoping out the cemetery for locally famous names on gravestones and analyzing the logistics for what would make a reasonable walk length.
After some preliminary research, they give 10 names to museum staffer David Siegenthaler for further study and then whittle down the list to the seven who will be featured, Rudy Galfi said.
Each presentation is created by a professional writer and runs about eight minutes, he said. Everyone involved volunteers their time.
Gail Cannata helps cast the production and rehearses the actors over the summer. All Dressed Up Costumes in Batavia provides the costumes.
The performances start at 3 and 5:30 p.m. Sept. 24 and 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Sept. 25. Tickets are $15 each and must be purchased in advance, Rudy Galfi said. No tickets will be available at the gate.
Each walk takes anywhere from 75 to 90 minutes, he said.
A video version of the walk can be viewed online for $15 beginning Oct. 2, an option that started in 2020 when the event had to be done virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lillian Galfi said the payoff for them is a chance to see people learning about the people buried at Bluff City and the roles they played in building Elgin.
For tickets and more information on the cemetery walk, including the people whose stories will be presented, go to elginhistory.org/events/2022-bluff-city-cemetery-walk.
Mike Danahey is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
