OCCHS hosts 'Haunted Histories' at Fairview Cemetery evening of Sept. 17
During the annual Colorado City Founders Day
celebration Aug. 14 in the Old Colorado City History Center, Norman Hughes
and Ryntha Johnson, both with the Frontier Army Band of Colorado, demonstrate
a dance from the Civil War era while the rest of the band performs. Johnson
pointed out that the fashion guideline for hoop skirts in those times was that the
width should equal the height of the woman. The Old Colorado City Historical
Society organizes frequent events, including the Sept. 17 "Haunted Histories" at
Fairview Cemetery.
Westside Pioneer photo
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Scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m., it will feature the story-telling “ghosts” of historical figures who are buried at Fairview Cemetery, 1000 S. 26th St.
The event is a fundraiser to help the volunteer Old Colorado City Historical Society (OCCHS) keep running its Old Colorado City History Center at 1 S. 24th St.
Attendees will be guided to several Fairview Cemetery gravestones, where waiting ghosts (actors in costume) will tell about such people as “a founding father of Colorado City who was murdered, two madams who met untimely and violent deaths and a man who had the most gruesome job on the Midland Railway - going to accidents and pulling out the bodies,” explained event coordinator Susie Schorsch of the OCCHS.
Schorsch said last year's Haunted Histories - which replaced the previous Cemetery Crawl at Fairview - was very successful. But there was the impression that, as twilight turned to night, greater illumination would have been helpful. So this year “we'll have double the lighting,” Schorsch said. In addition, thanks to the event's timing, it will take place one day after the full moon.
Tickets are $20 in advance at the History Center (a museum and bookstore, open Tuesdays to Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.) or by calling 636-1225 during museum hours.
Westside Pioneer article
(Posted 9/8/16;
Community:
Old Colorado City History Center)
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