Next Sunday, May 6 is Sue Tipton Cemetery Awareness Day. This is the third year the Friends of the Natchez City Cemetery have hosted walking tours, open to the public at no charge. They will begin at 2:00 p.m. ending at 4:00 p.m. The last tour will begin at 3:00 p.m. Refreshments will be provided by volunteers. We are grateful to Donald Estes and Betty Lou Hicks for volunteering their services as guides.

The Friends are a volunteer group that help raise funds to support projects and upkeep of our beautiful cemetery. Volunteers are always welcome, as are contributions. Our next big project is replacing old rose bushes the city destroyed doing necessary earthwork near a ravine. We have one Louis Philippe Rose bush left near Catholic Hill. We would like to line the banks of the ravine with Louis Philippe’s.

I hope all will take an interest in the event. Our cemetery is renown for its beauty and history. If you have not already met our director, come meet Mike Downey and hear our long term plans for the future.

Volunteers work hard to keep the cemetery a special place, of which we can all be proud. The Sue Tipton Cemetery Awareness Day is presented to the public at no charge in gratitude for support throughout the year. Funds made from Angels on the Bluff, presented this Nov. 9 and 10, allow us to continue caring for our beautiful cemetery. Please come and enjoy.

In case of rain, the event will not take place.

Elise Rushing is a member of the Natchez City Cemetery Board