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Reprinted from The Clarion Ledger.
By Sylvain Metz
smetz@clarionledger.com
Former bank official, Don Estes, and colleague, Bee Byrnes, helped rescue Natchez landmark.
Don Estes went from helping run a bank to rescuing a cemetery.
The former vice president/loan officer at Deposit Guaranty National Bank helped transform the 182-year-old Natchez City Cemetery. Tonight, six years after the reclamation began, that effort is being recognized with the overall Municipal Excellence Award from The Clarion-Ledger and the Mississippi Municipal League.
"From the time I came, the cemetery was in a bit of disrepair," Estes said.
With limited funds, Estes, along with Natchez resident and volunteer tour guide Bee Byrnes, came up with the idea for a fund-raising that would transform the 100-acre cemetery to a "must see" stop for visitors and locals alike.
The two devised "Angels on the Bluff," a walking tour of the 182-year-old cemetery using actors depicting notable and flamboyant characters from among the estimated 50,000 people buried there. In some cases, the actors are descendants of the deceased.
"They portray that person telling all about themselves," Estes said. "We use humor and always teach something new about this person."
Past portrayals include Jenny Merrill who was shot to death in 1932 under what was initially believed to be mysterious circumstances. It became known as the Goat Castle Murder.
As it turned out, Merrill was murdered by a vagrant later killed in Hot Springs, Ark., Estes said.
Another was Confederate Maj. Simon Mayer who stood 4-feet 8-inches tall and survived a brutal military assault in Franklin, Tenn., that took the lives of six Confederate generals.
"He was shot through the hat, which proved he was too short to shoot," Estes said.
Mayer returned home a hero and founded Simon Mayer Insurance Agency, which still operates today albeit under the name Noble-Hicks Insurance Co.
A mix of period music, a dancing horse, gypsies and special lighting set around the grounds supports the oratories.
Luminaries, set eight paces apart, line the drive for visitors making the trek from one venue to the next.
That first tour, held in October 2000, drew 1,200 people over its two-night show, Estes said, adding that last year, there were 1,600 visitors.
Somewhere between eight and 10 figures are featured each year. Actors are stationed at the respective gravesites, reciting their lines for tourists who arrive at stations every 10 minutes.
Because of the demands placed on the actors, the event, which up to this year was scheduled in October, is limited to two days between 5:30 p.m. and 9 p.m., Estes said.
The weather has forced the event indoors the past two years, so this year it will be held the first weekend of November.
The event is so popular that tickets are sold in advance through the Natchez Convention and Visitors Bureau beginning in August and usually are sold out well before the program. The event typically raises between $16,000 and $25,000 each year for the restoration of the cemetery.
Ticket prices this year will go up from $10 to $12.
When the cemetery was vandalized two years ago, money raised from the tour was used to restore broken headstones, said Terry Trovato, a volunteer musician and actor for the program.
"It's a really fun, nice event," Trovato said, crediting Estes with its success. |
