Semisonic Leaves Jacksonville
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Page 2 October 29, 1998 THE CHANTICLEER Fridav, 10130 Coliseum. Brothers Cadillac Voodoo Choir -Monday, Nov. 2: Aademic advisement begins for Spnng 1999 --'hesday, Nov. 3: JSU Faculty Art Exhibit will open at 7 p.m. HALLOWEEN with a free reception for students and visitors, where refreshments Brothers Second Hand Jive Brothers Halloween Party will be sewed. The show will run Nov. 3-25. For more infofma- - tion, call Steve bucks at 782-5708 or Charles Grover, Art depart- Fridav. 10130 Wednesdav. 1114 ment head, at 782-5625. Retro Club and Cafi Halloween Bash --Wednesday, November 11: Veterans' Day memorial cere- Brothers Tamerlane mony will be held at the flagpoles in front of Bibb Graves Hall. THE CHANTICLEER October 29 1998 Page 3 Sleeping on the hill In Jacksonville?r cemeters sleeps a "living" history Sarah Trotter cemetery. It is called a "garden" cemetery w~tha stick) to very elaborate Staff Writer because it contains elaborate monuments statues and monuments. rather than ground-level markers. The The icons on the tombstones "Where are Elmer, Herman, Bert, Tom and Cemetery IS located on a rolling hill and is are helpful in learning about the Charley, the weak of will, the strong of arm, away from the "populated area." deceased. According to Stone, the clown, the boozer, the fighter? All, all, are The Victorians strove to soften the harsh- "rose wreaths, hewn trees, and sleeping on the hill. ness of death by viewing it in terms of sleep. broken roses" were symbols of "Where are Ella, Kate, Mag, Lizzie and The word "cemetery" implies a place for the "virtue and beauty." Devotion to Edith, the tender heart, the simple soul, the dead to "sleep" and "rest." Many of the one's faith is symbolized by loud, the proud, the happy one9-- All, all, are inscriptions on the markers refer to sleep. Bibles and crosses. Masons were sleeping on the hill. Phrases such as "Asleep in Jesus" are com- identtfied by the Insignia of their "They brought them dead sons from the war, mon epitaphs throughout the Jacksonville organ~zations. Modern and daughters whom life had crushed, and Cemetery. The appearance of many of the old Woodmen of America are identi- their children fatherless crying - All, all, are graves is also suggestive of sleep: they are fied by a tombstone in the shape sleeping, sleeping, sleeping on the hill." encircled with bricks or cement "walls," giv- of "hewn logs." Perhaps you recognize the above lines from ing the grave the appearance of a bed. The importance of religion to "Spoon River Anthology" by Edgar Lee Family values were very important to early early Jacksonville residents is Masters. In "Spoon River," the characters, all residents of Jacksonville. The cemetery con- indicated, not only by Bible and dead, speak from their graves and the reader tains many family plots enclosed by wrought- cross icons, but also by icons reconstructs the town's history from the iron fences with gates. -Usually, the gate bears symbolizing Heaven. Among graveyard. the family name, a date and a manufacturer's these symbols are a finger point- What do the dead have to say to us? We too name and location. The fences were pur- ing upward dnd clasped hands. can construct town history from our very own chased as far away as New York and 0hib. ~hildien's graves are often marked by He was admired for his bravery and devotion Jacksonville Cemetery. The monuments, a permanent tribute to the "lambs, doves, flowers and cherubs." Vases as he fought at First Manassas, Cold Harbor, An initial look at the cemetery reveals much deceased, naturally reveal much about early and weeping willows show the sorrow of Second Manassas, Sharpsburg, about historic Jacksonville. According to an' Jacksonville and its residents. First, the mon- those left behind by the deceased. All of the Fredricksburg, and Kelly's Ford. Stonewall article by Sue Lynn Stone in the Register of uments reveal wealth. The larger the monu- above-mentioned icons can be found in the Jackson commended Pelham, and Robert E. the Kentucky Historical Society, Southern ment, the more money the family probably Jacksonville Cemetery. Lee called Pelham "Gallant Pelham." Gen. Victorian graveyards reveal a lot about the had. The markers in the Jacksonville To learn more about Jacksonville's history, John Pelham died at Kelly's Ford at the age of values and traditions of the people. Cemetery range in size and expense from one can look to individual graves. The names 23. The Jacksonville Cemetery very closely fits field rocks with dates carved into them to on the largest (and most expensive) markers Although Jacksonville's prominent and Stone's description of a Southern Victorian concrete poured over the grave (and etched belong to the prominent families of early foundlng citizens are important, the "com- J&ksonville. Some of these names can mon" people also have stories t6 share. The be found at JSU. One of the names is cemetery is the final resting place of many Forney (Forney Hall). According to people of various occupations, including that "The Jacksonville Story," a booklet pub- of "soldier." A veteran of the War of 1812, lished. by The First National Bank of several Confederate soldiers (even unknown Jacksonville, Jacob Forney was president soldiers), and World War I veterans are burled of the State Normal School, the prede- In Jacksonville. cessor of Jacksonville State University, The most obscure graves, the ones unno- in 1894. Jacob's father was Gen. John H. ticed by those in awe of the grand monu- Forney, a Civil War general; Jacob's sis- ments, possibly give the most interesting his- ter was Annie Rowan Forney (Rowan tory. One of these headstones is a small rock Hall). Annie married Clarence Daugette with the name "Harriet" carved into it, along (Daugette Hall). with the year 1860. Below the name and date Another name found on some of the is a carved picture of a tree falling on a girl. large markers in the cemetery is Walker. According to an Aug. 1997 Jacksonville According to a September 1977 supple- News article, Harr~etwas a slave girl who was merit to the Jacksonville News, Judge carrying a bucket of water across the present- Thomas A. Walker built the Forney- day square when a gust of wind blew down a Burton home in 1836. Brig. Gen. tree. The tree fell on Harriet, killing her. William H. Forhey, another Jacksonville Each grave in the Jacksonville Cemetery Civil War general, and his wife lived in holds a person who is a part of Jacksonville's the house from 1855 to 1894. history. We gather and construct the charac- The family burial plot with the rusted ter and history of early Jacksonville from the iron gate bearing the name "Francis" layout of the cemetery, the symbolic icons reveals some history as well. Dr. J: C. and markers and the names themselves. The Francis, a . beloved doctor, served Jacksonville Public Library and the Houston ~acksonvillefor more than 50 years. He Cole Library both have copies of a directory came from Tennessee to Jacksonville in to the Jacksonville Cemetery, a good starting 1837. His office, which doubled as a point for finding information about indtvidu- drug store, was located on the square for als buried in the cemetery. From their graves, 130 years before it was moved one block these people give "threads" of information to its current location behind AmSouth that compose the fabric of Jacksonville's his- Bank. The office is now a museum. tory. Gen. John Pelham's grave is located at the front of the cemetery. Pelham, origi- nally from Alexandria, attended West Point. He was a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Jacksonville, the same church that served as a hospital dur- ing the Civil War. In 1861, Pelham left West Point to fight for the Confederacy. Page 4 October 29, 1998 THE CHANTICLEER 1 3 Ghosts Come to Jacksonville Dave Sharp Windham says she doesn't have a favorite or most Staff Writer frightening ghost story to tell. Halloween began early thls year at Jacksonville "Ghost stories aren't told to frighten, those are hor- State Kathryn Tucker Wlndham appeared Tuesday at ror stories. There is something sad and wistful of ghost Houston Cole L~braryto pass along her verslons of stories that shouldn't scare people," says Windham. some spooky tales she has gathered all over the South. This chilling element could be found in her story- As a ghost story collector, Windham was able to cre- telling Tuesday night. Windham also had some good ate an eerle atmosphere for the crowd she drew She advice for those who are being visited by their own had qulte a turnout of fans and students who needed a Jeffrey. She says that if you take a pair of shoes and sp~ne-ch~llingtale place them just under your bed with one toe sticking Wlndham has known she wanted to be a wrlter slnce out and one toe sticking in, nothing bad can get you. when she was seven years old. Her first crack at wrlt- Because Windham has never seen a ghost, she says Ing came as she landed a job at her hometown news- she "feels shorted." Perhaps one day all her hard work Slnce then she has written will pay off and Jeffrey will reward her with a peek at DaoerL, In Thomasv~lle.AL a varlety of Southern folklore, local hlstory and fam~ly what's under the sheet. tales Wlndham moved from Thomasvllle to Selma when she got marr~ed She calls Selma home and th~sIS where she rased her ch~ldren Her Interest In the shadowy folklore of the South began In October of 1966 Th~s1s when Jeffrey appeared .