Evergreen Cemetery comes alive with Chester history

<span>CHESTER -- Dead people definitely told some tales on Oct. 5 at Evergreen Cemetery in Chester.</span>

<span>Actors, dressed in period attire, portrayed 13 people buried on the cemetery grounds during a four-hour event that was attended by an estimated 100 people on a tour through Chester's past.</span>

<span>Chester Tourism Commission Chairwoman Sandra Starr greeted tour visitors as her grandmother, Luella McBride.</span>

<span>Starr was the only actor with a personal connection to the person they were portraying.</span>

<span>"I never knew my grandparents, any of them actually, but I have a draw to Chester," Starr said. "My siblings and I never grew up here. My father left when I was 16.</span>

<span>"I lived overseas and needed a hometown."</span>

<span>That hometown became Chester and the cemetery tour has helped Starr become closer to her grandmother, who lost three children and a husband to various illnesses by the time she was 46.</span>

<span>"I always wondered how she coped," Starr said. "Not only cope, but how did she survive? When we moved here, I had a temptation to go to the grave and say 'We're here.'"</span>

<span>The other 12 actors on the tour were: Dan Ohlau (Col. Richard B. Servant), Mike Brooks (J. William "Wimpy" Schuchert), Ted Mueller (Charles Cole), Thad Croft (William B. Allen, Civil War soldier), Jack Greer (William Hartzell, U.S. congressman), Mary Beth Whittom (Dora "Olive" Paskel), Patsy Lindsey Hopkins (Jane Thomas Smith), Ed Fisher (Shadrach Bond), Curt Gilpin (Elias Kent Kane), The Rev. Harold Weber (Rev. Siegmund Butterman) and Cecil Dunning (Rev. Nathanial Cleaveland).</span>

<span>"I think it went very well," said event coordinator Lauren Rinne. "I'm very pleased with the turnout and all the feedback I've received has been positive.</span>

<span>"I've had people asking me to make it a recurring event."</span>

<span>Servant was Chester's first mayor, while Jane Thomas Smith was the woman who gave the city its current name. Originally called "Smith's Landing," for founder Samuel Smith, the city name was changed to Chester due to Jane's fondness for her hometown of Chester, England.</span>

<span>"I think everyone did a fantastic job in the way they interacted and the way they played off of each other was great," Rinne said.</span>

<span>Rinne said actors were required to write their own speeches, while costumes were donated by Mike McClure. </span>

<span>"There was a lot of flexibility in what (the actors) wanted to say," Rinne said. "There was no rehearsal before the first tour and all the volunteers that participated took it and ran with it.</span>

<span>"I'm overwhelmed by how creative they were and grateful for their time. Brenda Owen provided the chairs for the actors to sit on between tours."</span>

<span>Future ideas for the tour include offering day and night versions, with the possibility of lanterns beside the actors for ambiance.</span>

<span>"We are very grateful for everyone for coming out, whether they were an actor, a guest or a volunteer," Rinne said.</span>