THE DEAD SPEAK: Annual cemetery stroll set for April 23

Published 5:00 am Wednesday, April 12, 2017

By The News Courier

Guide and actor Buzz Estes, left, educates the Smith family from Tyler, Texas, at a previous Cemetery Stroll. The family members are kin to Ewell Smith, former comptroller for Athens State University, and were in town visiting with relatives.

Those wanting to learn about the early history of Athens could learn more from the dead than the living.

That’s the idea behind the annual Athens Cemetery Stroll, which will rely on the acting talents of about 40 area residents to tell the story of the city’s earliest citizens. The free event is set for Sunday, April 23 and is presented by the Athens-Limestone County Tourism, Order of the Confederate Rose and Sons of the Confederate Veterans.

The actors who will take part in the stroll will be dressed in period-appropriate attire. Some are even descendants of the characters they portray.

“(The actors) will either stand beside ‘their’ headstones or wander between the headstones as visiting spirits of people (who) have contributed to Limestone’s history, heritage and culture,” said a press release.

Among those scheduled to participate are Billy Ward, Dr. Robert Glenn, Karen Middleton, Rebekah Davis, Deborah Kohlase, Glenn Hall, Peggy Allen Towns, Frank Travis and more. Each actor has painstakingly made efforts to research their “spirit” and may even entertain a question or two from the public about life in the “olden days.”

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“Citizens throughout north Alabama have answered the call to bring Limestone County’s history to life,” the release said.

The day’s storytelling and history begins at 2 p.m. with tales woven from family history and speckled with stories of the community, work, Civil War and more. The stroll will run through 5 p.m.

Link to bicentennial

The release referred to the stroll as an event to coincide with the ongoing efforts to celebrate the bicentennial of Limestone County and the state of Alabama. Between now and 2019, the state and each municipality within the county will mark their anniversaries of incorporation while celebrating citizens’ contributions.

The 2017 celebration is focused on places, while 2018 will focus on people. In 2019, stories will be celebrated.

“The Athens Cemetery Stroll does all of these simultaneously and will each year as part of the bicentennial activities,” the release said.

For more information, contact the Athens-Limestone Visitors Center at 256-232-5411 or visit the office at 100 N. Beaty St. in Athens.

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