Andi Jones played a “wandering urchin” during the 2021 Olney Cemetery Tours.

PENDLETON — Some “quiet neighbors” will have a voice for three nights this October during the second annual Historic Cemetery Tour at Olney Cemetery in Pendleton.

Dubbed the “Quiet Neighbors Tour,” the free event brings cemetery residents to life. It runs from 3-7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 6, Friday, Oct. 7, and Saturday, Oct. 8. One tour will take place each half hour. Although the tour is free, pre-registration is requested so organizers can manage tour group sizes.

“We have actors, performers, who take on the role of different characters from Pendleton’s past,” organizer Heather Culley said. “They aren’t quite re-enactors but more historical interpreters who tell the life story of the person they’re playing.”

Quiet Neighbors is a joint venture between Pendleton Public Library, Olney Cemetery and the Umatilla County Historical Society.

Each interpreter is costumed to represent the person they are portraying and will have a station near the individual’s burial site. From that station, the actors will tell tour participants about the individual’s life. Actors will also interact with the groups and be available to answer questions.

In its inaugural event, the historic cemetery tour started with prominent early residents who organizers knew were buried in the cemetery. The tour featured important figures from Pendleton’s past, including Aura Goodwin Raley, the “mother of Pendleton,” whose graves would be easily accessible from the paved tour path.

In addition to the return of the some of the Pendleton pioneers from last year, Culley has added a few new characters she found while researching uncommon Pendleton history. These colorful characters had noteworthy lives — or deaths — before they were buried at Olney Cemetery. Culley said the characters and their stories are all drawn from published history and records of the time period.

Once organizers determine they have enough information about the individual to bring them to life, volunteer actors are found who agree to take on the role for the event. Staff at the Pendleton Public Library create fact sheets and information for the actors about the historic character, and most of the costumes are provided by the Umatilla County Historical Society. Some costumes are attire from the appropriate time period — including some pieces that belonged to the actual historic figures being represented.

When the characters and actors are set, Culley puts together a route for the tour to take through the cemetery. Last year, the tour cut across one area of grass, but Culley said they are working to take that out this year to make the tour more handicap and mobility accessible.

With the success of last year’s event, they are also expanding the tour this year to three days instead of two.

Register online or by phone at 541-966-0380. Find more information in the Facebook event or at pendleton.or.us/library/page/quiet-neighbors-olney- cemetery-tour.