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Visitors at Oakland Cemetery received a personal welcome from the historic cemetery's designer, Egbert Bagg, Saturday afternoon.

In fact, the real Bagg never saw the cemetery, which he was hired to design for a $150 fee in 1859.

Bagg, portrayed by Fred Kesten, of Fort Dodge, was one of eight notable figures from Fort Dodge's past being depicted in the seventh annual Cemetery Walk, hosted by the Friends of Oakland Cemetery.

Since the cemetery, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was much a product of Bagg's architectural and engineering skills, Bagg is the only individual who is portrayed repeatedly in the walk each year.

Bagg first moved westward to Iowa from Utica County, N.Y., in 1855 when the developing frontier offered many opportunities to build and design, Kesten said.

"He was an accomplished architect, engineer and lawyer," said Kesten. "He started a Masonic Lodge here. He went back to New York to fight in the Civil War with the 117th New York Volunteer Regiment. He was wounded several times, and by the end of the war was a colonel. He didn't return to Fort Dodge, but his officer's saber was sent to the Masonic Lodge in Fort Dodge where it remains today. He never did see this cemetery."

Sidney Bennett, a former mayor, councilman and county supervisor, was brought to life through the insights of John Bonner.

Bennett came to Fort Dodge to open a cigar shop after owning a shop in Boone, believing that the newly constructed railroad would give him more business. He became actively involved in the community, serving as a four-time mayor, three-time county supervisor and four-time city councilman. He caused quite an uproar during his final term as mayor when he suggested that all Fort Dodge bachelors between the ages of 25 and 45 be married or they would face a fine of $10 to $100. Bennett was instrumental in the building of the new courthouse and the Farley Viaduct, which later was renamed in his honor. A flagpole now stands on one of the former posts of the bridge in the Des Moines River, visible from the Karl King Viaduct.

"Sidney was a man who wasn't afraid to take on anything," said Bonner. "He could handle any challenge and was very civic-minded. He had to like public service to spend so much time as a mayor and councilman. He was a can-do kind of person."

Clark Root told stories of stagecoach travel in early Iowa from the point of view of Eleazar H. Albee, the station agent for Northwest Stagecoach Co. and one of Fort Dodge's earliest settlers.

"The Albees were the sixth family to register as a Fort Dodge family," Root told the the nearly 200 in attendance Saturday afternoon. "He picked passengers up on stage wagons, and they often needed a place to stay, so he and his wife began boarding them, eventually establishing the Wahkonsa Inn."

The eight individuals portrayed Saturday are among the nearly 7,000 buried in Oakland, Cemetery Walk coordinator Al Nelson said.

Characters are often chosen by the availability of information on the individual.

"We do research at the Webster County Historical Library, and around Iowa," said Nelson. "Some of our sources are out of state, or are found by happenstance through research and relatives."

Once the research is completed, it is given to cast members to create a script that they present during the walk.

Nelson said plans for next year's Cemetery Walk were under way before this year's took place

"We don't have anyone chosen yet," he said. "But we have some pretty good ideas."

Contact Emilie Nelson at (515)573-2141 or enelson@messengernews.net