Honoring the dead, ‘teaching a little history’

Published 2:10 am Thursday, June 17, 2010

Caught in a street renaming controversy earlier this year, poet and former Daltonian Robert Loveman’s surname was regularly in the news.

But outside of his quintessential poem “The Rain Song,” few knew much about the man who is buried in Dalton and whose last name adorns the road just west of his final resting place in West Hill Cemetery.

Area residents will have the chance to learn more about Loveman and other well-known people buried in the cemetery. The stories of eight famous Daltonians and one anonymous Confederate soldier will be told during the Dalton Little Theatre’s “Spirit Walk” through West Hill Cemetery on June 25 and 26. The walking tour highlights Dalton’s rich history and introduces attendees to some of the town’s more interesting characters who were born or lived here, director George Davies said.

“We want to share with a lot of people who really aren’t aware of what some of these people did, their accomplishments,” Davies said. “Really, it’s honoring these people and teaching a little history.”

Davies disagrees with the assertion the walking tour is disrespectful to the dead.

“It’s anything but that,” he said. “A lot of people who live in Dalton today are just not aware of the history of the city and we’ve got a good cross section of people, I think, that conveys that history.”

The tour includes the stories of Catherine Evans Whitener, a bedspread business pioneer who is credited with founding the carpet industry; Major League Baseball player Harry “Suitcase” Simpson, one of the sport’s first black athletes; and A.J. Showalter, a composer noted for writing “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms.”

The production has been a history lesson for some of the actors and actresses.

Before agreeing to the role, Joey Parrott didn’t know anything about Gen. Duff Green. Parrott, who was born in Chatsworth and moved to Dalton in 1978, has been intrigued by Green’s vivd past as a member of President Andrew Jackson’s “Kitchen Cabinet,” a group purported to have more influence than the former commander in chief’s official advisers. Green, who passed away on June 10, 1874, was also instrumental in helping lay out Dalton in its early years and donated land for the first section of West Hill Cemetery. Parrott said Green was known as “kind of a good old boy before it was popular.”

“I think it’s really interesting how many people that we have buried in West Hill Cemetery who are real characters,” Parrott said. “They have a lot to offer to North Georgia, so that was an interesting thing to start with.”

Davies said a number of hours went into researching the individuals. The Whitfield-Murray Historical Society was especially helpful, he said.

The theatrical production also ties into the city’s cemetery walking tour unveiled last year. The Dalton Historic Preservation Commission, along with several other groups, assembled an information brochure and map for self-guided tours through the cemetery of notable people buried there.

The Spirit Walks begin at 7 each night. Tickets are $20 and can be reserved through the Creative Arts Guild by calling (706) 226-6618. Since it is a walking tour, organizers recommend comfortable clothing and shoes. Five groups each night will walk to each grave where an actor or actress will deliver a brief monologue. There will also be a tour for people with limited mobility. The city’s trolley will be used for transportation. Parking is available at nearby Harmon Field. Refreshments will be available after the tour at the cemetery chapel.

Tour subjects

• Walter Bohannon (portrayed by Ron Blaylock): He was the leader of the “Bohannon Gang,” a group that robbed freight trains as they came through Dalton in the 1890s.

• Confederate soldier (portrayed by McLean Davies): Dalton was an active area during the Civil War and some 421 Confederate soldiers and four Federal soldiers from “The War Between the States” are buried here.

• Gen. Duff Green (portrayed by Joey Parrott): Green was a member of President Andrew Jackson’s “Kitchen Cabinet,” a group of confidants regarded as more influential than the president’s official advisers.

• Robert Loveman (portrayed by Todd Callaway): Known for his poem “The Rain Song,” Loveman was a popular poet and wrote the first official state song, “Georgia.”

• The Rev. Charles Maples (portrayed by Chase Parker): The beloved Dalton minister presided over thousands of baptisms, funerals and weddings while preaching at nine churches in the area.

• Emilie Peacock’s mother (portrayed by Bethany Richmond): Little Emilie Peacock died at 23 months. Soon after her death, her family moved and left no one to tend her grave. A small iron fence marks the grave and is kept up by Dalton residents.

• A.J. Showalter (portrayed by Craig Smith): He is considered one of the pioneers of Southern gospel music and wrote “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms.”

• Harry “Suitcase” Simpson (portrayed by Rod Weaver): One of Major League Baseball’s first black athletes, Simpson enjoyed a lengthy professional career and played for five MLB teams, including in the 1957 World Series with the New York Yankees.

• Catherine Evans Whitener (portrayed by Cynthia P. Wilson): From humble beginnings in the bedspread business in the late 1800s, Whitener laid the groundwork for the carpet industry, the economic engine of North Georgia.