Lantern Tour: Stroll back in time Sunday

Barnesville’s historic Greenwood Cemetery will come to life Sunday as costumed characters portraying prominent citizens from long ago present tales of their lives and times. The tours, set for 3 p.m. 4 p.m. and 5 p.m., are sponsored by the Greenwood Cemetery Preservation Association and the Azalea Garden Club.Tour proceeds will go toward creating a second, formal entrance on the south side of the graveyard near the tombs of the late mayor Dewaine T. Bell and county commissioner Gene Hardwick. Advance tickets are on sale at the chamber of commerce office for $25. Tickets will be $30 Sunday.Participants will meet at the Depot for cocktails and hors d’oeuvres before being transported via golf cart to the cemetery.The tour will begin at the Collier mausoleum and plot where descendant Glenn Collier will portray Jena Cuthbert (J.C.) Collier, a wealthy planter. Susan Walter will portray her grandmother, Evelyn Collier Cason.At other burial places, Capt. Dan Rainey will play Col. J.J. Rogers and Judge Byron Smith will portray George L. Summers. Al Medcalf of the SCV will hold forth in the Confederate portion of the cemetery and honor Dr. J.H. Connally.Monica Walters will bring to life Augusta Lambdin while Stafford King Gudenrath of Macon, a direct descendant, will portray Sarah Ann Blalock Stafford, wife of J.W. Stafford.Josiah Holmes gave the original four acres for the cemetery which was established in the 1830s. The cemetery is maintained by the City of Barnesville.Tours will last about an hour. For more information, call the chamber office at 770-358-5884.