History Is Honored At Talking Tombstones

Israel Gulley portrayed Owen Brown at Talking Tombstones, a fundraiser for the Osawatomie Historical Preservation Fund.

By Kevin Gray

While trains offered their familiar sounds in the background and those “confounded” horseless carriages flew by Osawatomie’s Oakwood Cemetery Saturday evening, individuals and families, who helped build a small community into a city, returned to tell their stories.

Hosted by none other than the Reverend Samuel Adair (Grady Atwater), visitors learned more about the preservation of cemeteries, as well as how Osawatomie opened their sacred ground to not just the illustrious builders of the town but also those who were considered outlaws and “the insane.”

Going back into his present day personality as the John Brown Museum State Historic Site director, Atwater said Osawatomie was a progressive community for their time. “They just didn’t allow burial of black citizens here, they set aside a location within the cemetery for patients from the Osawatomie State Hospital, although we’re really not sure if anyone from there was ever buried here,” Atwater said.

Talking Tombstones, said Atwater, is an ongoing attempt, presented this year by the Osawatomie Time Machine and the Osawatomie High School Forensics team. “This is our way of educating people about Osawatomie’s history and how to preserve that history. We also want to educate people about cemeteries, the field monuments to the people who built our communities and made their own sacrifices. We don’t want people to think of cemeteries as scary places,” Atwater said.

The $3 ticket price, said Atwater, goes to the Osawatomie Historic Preservation Fund. As the sun set and the cemetery darkened, guests walked alongside or behind Adair himself, as he talked about how he had come to Osawatomie. “Some churches back east said I wasn’t exciting enough in my preaching. I was looking for something to put my heart into and then the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 was passed. This caused a pain in my heart,” Adair said.

Adair explained that he was an abolitionist. “Slavery could fashion itself in Kansas or the new Kansas territory. And, so, this is what brought me to Kansas in 1855.

Under the starlit sky and tiki torches, Adair talked about Adam Kemper, a black man, buried near the cemetery entrance. “Kemper was a wonderful man, a good Christian, and the white’s responded well to him. Osawatomie in some ways was ahead of other towns. A lot of people around here didn’t like it, but I started an integrated school here in 1860,” Adair said.

Even a horse thief and thug, like Marshall Cleveland (Asher Gulley), could be buried here, said Atwater. “I did not approve of Cleveland’s activities in Osawatomie. He would buy drinks for people in the local saloons, but his wife was able to pay for his burial here,” Atwater said.

The evening also included another reminder about Osawatomie’s past, when he told about Teresa, Pottawatomie Woman’s struggles and what her tribe went through in 1830. “We were not the first people here. Nor had I agreed with what President Andrew Jackson did when he signed the Indian Removal Act of 1830 and forced the relocation of aboriginals west of the Mississippi River,” Adair said.

Pottawatomie Woman (Beth Gulley) said her tribe had lived in Indiana. “One morning, our chief awoke to find our village surrounded and we forced to come here. The old and the young began to grow very tired on the journey. Women gave birth along the way. This became known as the Trail of Death because 42 died on the way. I would have much rather have been harvesting my corn and tobacco at home. There was much sadness,” she said.

The evening included Mary Williams Ward (Elizabeth Renner), Sarah Bundy Anderson (Audrey Tate), and Anna Gardner (Savannah White). Members of the Brown family included Florilla Brown Adair (Ida Vertrees), Emma Adair Remington (Amanda Perry), Ada Remington (Jamie Coleman), Mary Gardner Adair (Phyllis Sharp), Owen Brown (Isreal Gulley), and Abbie Brown (Julane Williams).

Talking Tombstones, said Julie Packard, Osawatomie teacher, was enjoyable. “Osawatomie has a rich history and more people should be exposed to that history. This is one way for that to happen. Being thespian myself, I would hope that next year they can expand on a great idea to make it an even more interesting experience for the audience,” Packard said.

Atwater said the Osawatomie Time Machine welcomes new members. All anyone needs to do, if interested, is contact him at the John Brown Museum or around town and then begin attending the meetings. “We also need people to help out,” Atwater said. Call the museum at 755-4384.

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Posted by admin on Nov 3 2010. Filed under News and Updates, Photo Galleries. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry