Goodrich- The dead will speak this September, at least if the Goodrich Cemetery Association gets their way.
Association Boardmember Jane Richards said she wants the voices of the village founders to be heard, in a cemetery tour planned to take place Sept. 15 in conjunction with Good Times in Goodrich. In the tour, visitors would see the graves of some prominent former residents, with actors and actresses playing the roles of the deceased and telling their life stories.
‘It’s kind of a history lesson about the community,? said Richards.
Tentatively included in the tour are the graves of village founding father Levi Goodrich; founders of Wheelock Hospital, Dr. and Mrs. Wheelock; a Civil War soldier who was killed in the siege of Atlanta named Oscar Cummings; a member of the early family for which Hegel Road is named, Stephen Hegel; and the former owners of Dalby’s Market.
Aside from teaching the community a little history, Richards said the cemetery association is hoping to drum up new interest in the old burial grounds. The association needs to sell lots in the site to continue to generate the necessary revenue to maintain the historic graveyard. Unfortunately, there’s no particularly charming way to sell grave sites, said Richards. However, the association hopes that if people come out to the cemetery, they will see first-hand the beauty of the grounds and consider it as a burial place for themselves or loved ones. The association is even offering a 15 percent discount on the $600 lots prior to the day of the tour.
‘It’s a beautiful, old fashioned cemetery’a lot of history there,? said Richards.
The earliest grave in the cemetery dates back to 1850, and belongs to blacksmith Nathaniel Fairchild, who died on May 26 from tetanus after pricking his hand with a nail on a horse shoe. Fairchild was 54.
According to the Goodrich Cemetery Association by-laws, soldiers from the Civil and Mexican Wars as well the War of 1812 are inturned on the grounds. Additionally, the by-laws claim a Native American Chief and his war weapons are buried nearby in an unmarked grave, as are a Native American mother and her child.
Richards said she has recently been interested in the Cummings grave. Cummings was 23 in 1893 when he was killed in the Civil War’s siege of Atlanta. His body was never recovered, but his family placed a marker engraved with the words ‘Nobly he fell while fighting for liberty? in the cemetery to honor his memory. It is stories like his Richards hopes to share.
Richards is still looking for volunteers to help with the cemetery tour, including actors and actresses to play the roles of historical figures.