Cemetery tour brings Oil Springs history to light

Jacob Sproule was well known at the turn of the century in Oil Springs.
But the butcher was to many only a name on a headstone in the local cemetery – until Saturday that is.
Over 100 people came to the historic site on Plank Road to hear the story of Sproule and seven others come to life thanks to the Petrolia Community Theatre.
Petrolia Heritage began a cemetery tour at Hillsdale in 2014 and it was an instant hit.
So the Oil Springs Cemetery Board, in need of some revenue to fix up stones in danger of tipping over, decided to work with the theatre group to create their own tour.
Suzy Gonerman was one of the organizers. She says the beautiful weather lead to people from across Lambton County coming to Oil Springs for the tour.
“This brought so much good publicity to our cemetery,” she says.
Not only will the tour spark interest in Oil Springs history and raise money to improve the monuments, Gonerman says it may lead to more local people choosing to buy a plot.
“People didn’t realize it was here, that we show our due diligence and that we want to repair the monuments.
“There is community involvement and people are responsible to this cemetery. That is something people who are picking their plots like to know,” Gonerman added.