A Review of the Cemetery Walk
Let’s start with the Rutherford family plot. Oneta said it wasn’t her fault. Grif Rutherford just sat in the rocking chair straddling his grave. He was wearing a Stetson summer weight straw hat (he still hasn’t grown any hair since they put him away bald). He looked smug.
Miss Lillian (Cynthia Loftis), his first wife, sat on his left and rocked away. She was dressed in rather formal mourning wear; all black; a veil; and a fan. She seemed mighty sad. A few passersby drew her out. She talked of the weariness of her long illness; and the sorrow at leaving her young son without a mother. But then the audience got the chance to quiz Miss Jimmie Kate as to why she married Grif so soon after Miss Lillian’s death. There was speculation of arsenic poisoning; he was a pharmacist after all. Miss Lillian said: “Well, yes, he did bring me medicine but I am sure it was all for my good.” She looked a bit put out though with Miss Jimmie Kate perched over on the far right of Grif. And Miss Lillian shook her head over the three-month wait. Miss Lillian allowed that Grif should have grieved for a year or two before he really left the house for anything other than going to work and to church… Miss Jimmie Kate said she just filled a void. And Grif remained stoic and said nothing.
The audience took quite a dislike to Miss Jimmie Kate; a sad turn of events. She said she had had enough trouble and people should just leave her be. That she brought her young cousin to her home to get a good education and the next thing she knew Grif had taken up with the youngster and wanted a divorce. Jimmie Kate, dressed up in a party frock, said she went to Dallas and married a rich man. Audience members asked why she was back here. Someone told her to go back to her mausoleum in Dallas but she said she was buried at Hagansport with her family and had only come back to defend her reputation in Mt. Vernon. All eyes turned to Oneta (Pat Wright) who shrugged her shoulders and said: “It was not my fault.” Oneta seemed clueless although she was dressed in a handsome suit and sat proudly erect.
All three wives commenced rocking and sat back as a young Pet Rutherford (Mr. Grif’s sister who died young) wandered about.
Lucille Rutherford Horton (Tina Fountain) whose father was born into slavery under the Rutherfords came out to explain how that it was surely not her cooking that caused any problems for Miss Lillian. That she had grieved and grieved over Miss Lillian’s death. Lucille claimed that she could turn out the best soul food.
That led to some serious problems when wind of the presence of the Rutherford cook reached the Wilkinson family cook. Virginia Doss sent word back that her food was more refined. Miss Lucille just huffed and said she served the Rutherfords cornbread and greens and Virginia was so high falutin that she was serving up white bread rolls and biscuits. Miss Agnes marched over to defend Virginia’s reputation but a fight was avoided since the arrival was posed at the end of the one hour cemetery tour.
Very fortunate ending. It might have gone to a religious debate. In 1907 when the Church of Christ split on the issue of music in church, the Wilkinsons (neighbors to the Rutherfords) left the Church of Christ for the Central Christian Church over on Leftwich Street (still standing as Mt Vernon Music Hall). Miss Agnes taught piano for about 75 years and was playing the piano when the Rutherfords and their allies decided it was not appropriate in the church. As it was, Miss Agnes (Jean Ann Marshall in severe black and white) marched off and said that she would work harder in the coming year to remove the smear on her companion’s reputation.
Ron Milton as Sheriff Leftwich exhorted the crowd to join him in searching for the outlaws who gunned down young Robert Morgan in the jailbreak of 1878. Young Morgan, frozen for eternity at the age of 22, seems still shaken from the jail break. Col. Dan Bolin (Bob McFarland) said that next year he intended to stroll about a bit more and see some of his friends. Laura Petty (Donna McFarland) was thoroughly outdone that Col. Joshua Johnson did not step over to pay respects since their antebellum homes stood as neighbors out east of town. Lael Stephenson (Hadley Sears) appeared with an actual draped body. Heaven help us if she starts bringing in more bodies. There will have to be an inquest. Lael explained that the town had no formal funeral home and she, armed with taffeta and pins, could do a marvelous job on a body. She said that several members of her family had wanted to join her, including the grocer, Jack, and the son who was lost at sea. Her sister Miss Mary, the milliner at Edwards store was not permitted out but hoped to appear in 2014.
Iris Baumgardner depicted Miss Vera Mitchell. Iris said she had no sense of where the spirit might actually have been (was probably pouting because Iris failed to bring a pet parrot to the grave; not even a stuffed parrot). Iris did offer free copies of the history of Mt. Vernon for people who would just hear Miss Vera’s story out.
Everyone enjoyed the appearance of Lucia Brooks who proudly showed off the artist pallet and brushes engraved on her tomb. Mrs. Brooks said (a) she had eight sons and she grieved still over her unfortunate departure when the train hit her in 1946 but (b) the fact that her paintings were still displayed gave her much comfort.
Most social calls were among present day visitors who heard out the spirits as they reported of their life’s work. Bob McFarland, the affable Col. Dan Bolin was dressed in a complete sportsman’s outfit with both a rifle and a fishing rod. Col. Dan was a great sportsman and his spirit had not lost any interest in sports. Harry Smith (J.D. Baumgardner) did all the he could to stir up some enthusiasm for local politics but other spirits reminded him that he may have been Mt. Vernon’s second mayor back in 1912 but that was long past and they were not interested in revisiting his days of glory. Harry had brought his own rocker and he sat and whittled while visiting with the passersby; by the end of the evening he had whittled down one stick to a sharp pointed end. Reports were that he intended to jab Col. Henry Clay Thruston who had been a great practical joker in his day but the Col. did not travel over from the Mt. Pleasant cemetery and, in the end, Harry gave the stick to a passing farm boy with advice to use it as a tomato stake.
Miss Eva Rountree (Pat Hudson) left the field with a promise to return next year with the understanding that, social conduct and standards aside, she would go calling on a few of her friends. If that is what it takes to have her back in 2014, then so be it. It was a wonderful evening. It offers our youth the opportunity to learn about life in our town. We’ll reconvene on May 5, 2014. Martha Hare is already lining up reports as to those whose stories will be told once more.
