Editorial
Front Page - Monday, October 26, 2009
A lively history lesson told at “Tales of the Crypt”
Rebecca Brockman
Seeing a line of people eager to get inside a cemetery is not a normal sight. Yet, that was the case on the evening of Oct. 19. The large group was waiting outside the Mt. Holly Cemetery on Broadway to see the live production of “Tales of the Crypt.”
For the past 14 years, the Mount Holly Cemetery Association, Parkview Magnet High School and the First Presbyterian Church have collaborated to present the unique history lesson.
Students from Parkview researched prominent Arkansans who have been buried at Mt. Holly. Based on their research, each student wrote their own two- to four- minute script that briefly tells the person’s story. Each person is dressed in period costume and positioned in front of the character they are portraying’s headstone.
According to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture, the cemetery is often called the Westminster Abbey of Arkansas. The nickname is due to the 11 Arkansas governors who are interred there, as well as 13 state supreme court justices, four United States senators, four Confederate generals and 21 Little Rock mayors.
There are two different production tours – the north and the south side. Somehow I got in the south side tour and after waiting about 45 minutes, was escorted into Mt. Holly. Thankfully, the event is organized and the large crowd of people dissipated quicker than I expected. Knowledgeable Parkview students lead groups to 16 characters that are scattered throughout the 20-acre cemetery.
The first person on the tour was Augustus A. Garland (1832-1899), played by Stephen Eiffling. Eiffling wore a light grey top hat, three-piece suit and casually leaned on the headstone. As the audience (group) approached, each character would come alive.
Augustus A. Garland was governor in 1874, U.S. senator from 1876 to 1885 and U.S. attorney general in 1885 under President Grover Cleveland. He is also the namesake for Garland County, which was created on April 5, 1873.
After Garland, the group was introduced to John N. Heiskell (1872-1972), played by Stephen Jones. Donned in a dark blue pin- stripped suit, Jones was pacing and back and forth and holding a newspaper. “I don’t really have a lot of time to talk,” he said as he checked his pocket watch. He eventually agreed to chat a while and due to his excellent acting, I thought we had actually interrupted his evening.
John N. Heiskell lived to be 100 years old and was known for being the editor of the Arkansas Gazette from 1902-1972. During his tenure, he headed the newspaper during two world wars, the Roaring Twenties, the Great Depression, the civil rights movement, the war in Vietnam and thousands of other events.
Charlie May Simon (1897-1977), played by Shannon Rookey and John Gould Fletcher (1886-1950) played by Tas Zinck were the next stop in the play. Both characters were famous literary figures and married to one another. Simon was known primarily for her children’s literature. Fletcher was a poet and essayist and is widely acknowledged as one of the state’s most notable literary figures.
As we winded our way through the historic cemetery, we were next introduced to David O. Dodd (1846-1864), portrayed by Joshua Watkins. According to The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture, Dodd has been called the “boy hero of Arkansas” as well as “boy martyr of the Confederacy.” At 17 years old, he was accused of
being spy and was hanged by the Union army.
John Logan (no birth or death date), played by Jeremy Grandison was the next character introduced during the “Tales of the Crypt” production. Logan was a slave and took care of the household after his master was killed.
A lovely girl in a big hoop skirt named Sallie Faulkner (1831-1881), played by Kerry Richmond greeted the audience after our visit with Logan. Faulkner was a Little Rock socialite and was known for being one of the prettiest girls in the Capital City. Her father was the author of the “Arkansas Traveler.”
After visiting with the bubbly Sallie Faulkner, we met Quatie Ross (1790-1839), played by Samantha Butler. Ross’ story was much more grim than the previous one. Ross was part of the Trail of Tears and died a sad death after giving her shawl to a shivering child.
The last history maker we met was Mary Louise Trapnall (no birth or death dates), played by Kedecia Neyland. Of course the name sounds familiar due to Trapnall Hall downtown, which is named after Frederic Trapnall. Mary Louise cooked and cleaned for the Trapnall family. After Frederic’s death, he granted her freedom in his will. Instead of leaving the family, she decided to stay, but was no longer treated like a servant.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to take the other tour. Here are the characters I would have met: Catherine Wilshire, Frank Miller and Eliza Miller, Lallie Reardon Dibrell and James Dibrell, Henry and Susan Spring, Walter Chappel, Cephas Washburn, Marion Rose and Booker Worthen.
This year, the rain postponed the production, but the “Tales of the Crypt” is (usually) held the second Tuesday in October.
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