photo by Hannah Reel

Visitors listen to the life story of Rev. Joseph “Buck” Stratton portrayed by Mark Doyle during the Angels on the Bluff Cemetery Tour Saturday night.

Turning Angel's tale highlights tour

By Jennifer Edwards (Contact) | The Natchez Democrat

Published Sunday, November 8, 2009

NATCHEZ — Clara Lowenburg Moses enjoyed the view of the Mississippi River from Jewish Hill. It was a view she hadn’t seen in nearly 100 years.

Moses was one of the Natchez characters brought to life in the annual Angels on the Bluff cemetery tours at the Natchez City Cemetery.

The two-day event, a fundraiser for the upkeep of the historic cemetery, ended Saturday.

Moses’s grave — she was portrayed by Kathy Stevens — was one of the six stops on the tour.

The annual tours are a favorite for locals and visitors alike.

Along the way guests met Louis Winston who has the distinction of being the only bust in the 100-acre cemetery. Winston was a successful attorney and circuit clerk in Adams County for 20 years. His bust was created by Isaac Hathaway, an accomplished black sculptor who also sculpted the likes of Booker T. Washington and George Washington Carver.

One stop told the story of the Rev. Joseph “Buck” Stratton, who was the minister at First Presbyterian Church in Natchez from 1843 to 1902. Stratton, portrayed by Mark Doyle, kept a diary about daily life in Natchez during the time he served at First Presbyterian.

“I probably spent more time in this cemetery than anyone else except the people who dig the graves,” Doyle said of Stratton.

Doyle recounted a expert from Stratton’s diary that illustrated the number of years Stratton served in Natchez.

“I married a girl in Natchez and after the wedding I realized that I had not only married the girl’s mother but also her grandmother,” he said.

First-time tour goer Dana Walker from Jackson said the event is one she plans to revisit.

“They were all so interesting and informative,” she said. “You were really taken back 150 years in some cases and really experienced these people’s lives.”

Angie Cook of Flowood who said she enjoyed the humor brought to life by veteran Angel’s actor Rusty Jenkins, who played the part of T. Otis Baker, a Civil War veteran.

“We enjoyed his portrayal that took us back to the time of plantations in the South,” she said. “It was his humor that made that one stand out.”

The last stop on the tour was at the Turning Angel, the monument erected to pay homage to the five young girls killed in the Natchez Drug Company explosion in 1908.

There Sam Jones told the story of the explosion from the point of view of S. Quinn Boothe, whose daughter was killed in the explosion.

Walker said that was a particularly touching moment for her.

“It was an emotional journey, and that was the capper,” she said. “I teared up during that stop because it was just a touching and sad story.”

Sally Orgeron of Larose, La., was returning for the second time.

“The first time I came it was rainy and dreary and very cold, but I still loved it,” she said. “I’m a history buff, and at the end of that tour I said, ‘I’m doing this again,’ and here I am.”

This year Orgeron brought with her a group of first timers including her sister-in-law Betty Orgeron.

“She called me and told me she had bought me a ticket for this cemetery tour,” she said. “I didn’t know what she was getting me into, but I’m looking forward to it just from hearing her talk about it.”

Sally said seeing history “brought to life” is the appeal for her and knowing that each year different stories are told makes Natchez a trip she plans to repeat often.

Friend Shirley Naquin from Larose was already ready for her return trip, even before boarding the bus for her first tour.

“At first I was a little leery because I didn’t know if it would be a scary tour,” she said. “But I’m not afraid of dead people. I only afraid of those still living.”