Linda Buchanan and George Getschman

As members of the Friends of the Birmingham Museum, history buffs Linda Buchanan and George Getschman are bringing local history to life in an unlikely place – the Greenwood Cemetery.

”My brother and I began doing the Greenwood Cemetery tours twenty years ago, and during that time George joined us, helping to bring these history tours to the community,” said Buchanan, a lifelong Birmingham resident and former elementary history teacher. “The cemetery on Oak Avenue, founded in 1825, tells us in the most interesting way about the rich history of our city and it’s residents- like all cemeteries do.”

Dressed in full Victorian regalia, they give the hour-long tours twice a year, in September and May. Of the cemeteries 3,800 gravesites, 650 date back from the 19th century and occasionally include tales fit for a spine-chilling movie.

“The oldest section of the cemetery is land purchased by Dr. Ziba Swan in 1821 for the burial of a mother and daughter murdered by one of their boarders, since there was no cemetery in town at the time. It was later run by Martha Baldwin and the Greenwood Cemetery Association and finally taken over by the city of Birmingham in 1946,” said tour guide Getschman, Bloomfield Hills resident.

The tour concentrates on those who founded the settlement of Birmingham and ends with an even longer walk through the many famous people buried there.

Greenwood represents a microcosm of ‘Who’s Who” for the city, with notables interred such as Martha and Edwin Baldwin, library founder; John West Hunter, first settler to Birmingham; Elijah Willets, first land owner; Olive Hamilton second land owner; Harry and Marion Allen, first mayor of Birmingham and his wife; and George Booth and his wife, who established Cranbrook Educational Community.

As for artists, there is renowned American sculptor, Marshall Fredericks, known for his art deco works such as the Spirit of Detroit and the Peace Memorial, located in Shain Park in downtown Birmingham. He is buried with a dramatic sculpture of his famous Leaping Gazelle atop his headstone. Celebrated ceramic artist and founder of Pewabic Pottery, Mary Chase Perry Stratton is also there, as is the more recently interred novelist, Elmore Leonard, with a headstone that labels him the “Dickens of Detroit.”

The historian duo call their work with the Friends of the Birmingham Museum (previously the Birmingham Historical Society) a labor of love.

“I’m passionate about doing research and have been reading all of the old copies of The Birmingham Eccentric at the library, so I can add points of interest to the tour content as we go along,” said Getschman, a dentist in Birmingham for over 40 years. “It’s all about keeping a connection to one another, and our collective history helps do that.” He also plays trombone in the Birmingham Concert Band as well as speaks each year at the Memorial Day commemorative ceremonies. Buchanan feels likewise and volunteers at The Community House when she’s not traveling to historical places that include memorable cemeteries like the New Orleans cemetery, built in 1854.

They are proud of the other projects their organization has been part of – raising funds for monuments for enslaved people who had no markers, educational tours to all Birmingham schools, and encouraging preservation of the city’s stories and architectural heritage.

“Every life is a part of history and important,” said Buchanan. Her tour teammate Getschman added, ”My grandfather taught me that if you know history, you see things other people can’t see.”

They both agree these are the philosophies that keep their passion project alive and give their tours lasting meaning.

Story: Susan Peck

Photo: Sam Berger