Aug 25th
Living History Day
Wood County history comes alive each year at the annual Living History Day held at the Oak Grove Cemetery on the BGSU campus. The Living History program is made possible by a subcommittee of the Wood County Historical Society's Education Committee which organizes and presents the annual event.
The mission of the Living History Day program is to promote local history through the preservation of the life stories of individuals who have called Wood county home. The concept began in 2004 by the Wood County Genealogical Society and after a few years the Wood County Historical Society was asked to take charge of the event. Originally those being portrayed had to be buried in Oak Grove Cemetery, but the event now selects individuals who are buried in other cemeteries in Wood county.
Local residents portray the deceased citizens in five minute re-enactments that give an overview of the life and times of the individual. The selection process for who to portray starts each year in March with the committee making suggestions. Research is done on each individual starting with interviewing family members and then progressing as needed into archival information located at the Wood County Library.
The 2010 event, held on Sunday, Aug. 29, was the seventh annual presentation of the program. Video clips from the presentations for the fifth, sixth and seventh annual Living History Day events are available in the History section of BG File.