Soon to be an autumn tradition in Brown County, the Greenleaf Cemetery will present its first historic cemetery walk, called Talking Tombstones, which will be held on Sunday, November 6th from 2:30-5:30pm.
Visitors to the scenic Greenleaf Cemetery will be guided to the gravesites of “former” residents, portrayed by actors in period costumes, who will share something of their lives and times. Transportation will be available from site to site during his tour of the lives historical people buried in Greenleaf Cemetery. Stew and cornbread will be served after the tour.
This year’s Talking Tombstones tour, will feature among others, a Brownwood pioneer, an early doctor, a war hero, a crafty journalist and politician, an author and a banker. Plans are for the cast of characters to change each year. The featured vignettes will provide a glimpse of Brownwood’s rich heritage through the lives of its citizens.
Featured in this year’s tour will be:
- Wendell Mayes, Sr., a journalist and founder of the first radio station in Brownwood
- Robert E. Howard, noted author of the Conan series of adventures
- Dr. Mollie Armstrong, first female optometrist in Texas
- Henry Ford, Brownwood banker
- Mattie Coggin, wife of Samuel R. Coggin and benefactor of the creation of the Perpetual Care Fund at Greenleaf
- Frank Caldwell, Buffalo Soldier
- Noah T. Byars, first pastor of First Baptist Church Brownwood and owner of the blacksmith shop in Washington on the Brazos, where the Declaration of Texas Independence was signed
- Weston Lafayette Williams, son-in-law of Sam Houston
Actors for the event include: Bill Fishback, Priscilla Monson, Ann Bucy Willard, Don Morelock, William Reese, Wendell Mayes III, Danny Willingham and others to be announced.
Tickets are $5 per person and are available at the Brownwood Chamber of Commerce (600 E. Depot Street) or Greenleaf Cemetery (2701 Hwy 377S). For more information about the Talking Tombstones Tour, please call Patti Jordan at 325-200-7224.
The major sponsor for this event is Blaylock Funeral Home. Additional support is provided by Citizen’s National Bank, Insurance Specialists, Heartland Funeral Home, Smith and Sharpe Insurance, Moore Printing, Learning Fitness Center and others.
Volunteers are being coordinated by Connie Wyatt and are members of the Friends and Relatives of Greenleaf (FROG) group.