Fact Friday 379 - Voices From the Past
Happy Friday!
Today's Fact Friday comes to you from 'Voices From the Past,' which per their website, is "a unique living history event told by 30 portrayers telling the stories of our founding fathers, civic leaders, pioneering women, and a few interesting characters." Their annual event is coming up so we wanted to give you time to mark your calendars now!
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Spread the news - Voices From the Past returns Saturday, April 1, 2023, 1-4 p.m.
This FREE one-day annual event takes place in Charlotte’s historic cemeteries— Elmwood and Pinewood, located uptown on W. 6th Street.
Included among the 30 costumed portrayers are two descendants who will be telling the story of their ancestors.
There are too many interesting “residents” in Elmwood Cemetery to list them all here, but here are just a few you may want to meet, such as Dr. Annie Alexander, the South’s first female physician. She may be too modest to tell you, but ask her how she did on her exam.
Don’t miss getting your picture with Randolph Scott, the movie star. Although he’s been gone for thirty years, his gravesite is the most visited. And hear about the trip of "Razor Girl." Guilty or not guilty.
Pinewood Cemetery is the resting place of African American builders, businessmen, doctors, educators and community leaders who thrived as Charlotte moved into the 20th century. Meet Dr. McCrorey, president of JCSU, and Thaddeus Tate, the local barber and a powerful leader in the Black community.
This year we are honoring the men and women of the Charlotte Fire Department by telling a few of their amazing stories. The portrayers are current firemen in the CFD. If you are a native Charlottean and lived in the Myers Park area in the 1950’s, you don’t want to miss this rare outing for the restored Neptune pump fire truck that used be in front of the East Blvd. fire station.
Voices From The Past is a FREE family/pet friendly living history event. Parking near Elmwood cemetery will be in the Irwin Academic Center, N.Cedar Street. Handicapped parking is available inside Elmwood. The N. Cedar Street gate will open at 12:00 pm.
Cold bottled water will be available at the Welcome Tent along with information tables manned by Historic Elmwood/Pinewood Inc. (HEPI), Mecklenburg Historical Association and Old Mecklenburg Genealogical Society volunteers.
Go to https://voicesfromthepastcharlotte.com/ to learn more about the day's event, parking and a few tips to make your visit more enjoyable.
Contact: Lynn Mintzer, 980-439-1927 lynn.mintzerVFTP@gmail.com
Thaddeus Tate, barber, businessman, and civic leader in the African American community.
And if you are a regular reader of Voices of the Past, you may recall the article on this very interesting "resident" of Pinewood Cemetery. His name alone makes you want to know more about him. Col. Charles Samuel Lafayette Alexander Taylor, 1859-1905. Which story will he tell us on May 14th? His service to country as a soldier in the Spanish-American war? His service to community as Commander of the Neptune Volunteer Fire Company, an all-black company of volunteers that supplied much of the manpower for Charlotte's fledgling fire department from 1887 to the early 1900s? Or maybe how he served the high society ladies of Charlotte as their ballroom dancing instructor.
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Email chris@704shop.com if you have interesting Charlotte facts you’d like to share or just to provide feedback!
“History is not the past, it is the present. We carry our history with us. We are our history.” - James Baldwin