The 5th annual Promenade Through History: A Visit with the Past 2020 will take place on March 21 at 2 and 5 p.m. in the Contemporary Chapel of Cannon-Cleveland Funeral Directors. Tickets are $15 each for adults, and $6 for children ages 12 and under.
The characters for this years’ event include Henry Jefferson Copeland, Dr. Lewis McKamie Tye, William ‘Bill’ Orr, Hans Broder, Sr., Nan Gardner Brown, Caroline Weems, and Talitha Smith.
These characters will be featured in “period costume,” with actors portraying “local history through the people who experienced it.”
“Some [characters] have had a wide impact on the county. Some may have played a small impact, but all of them are a part of the life of the county in the past,” said Amanda Beck, President of the Genealogical Society of Henry and Clayton Counties.
Beck spends many months in advance researching and preparing family trees for each character and is most “looking forward to seeing their stories play out on the stage,” she said.
• Henry Jefferson Copeland was the great uncle of Mayor Copeland. He was the founder of the Bank of Henry County and, in 1897, purchased the east side of the McDonough Square. He will be played by Jeff Reeves.
“I did not personally know Henry Jefferson Copeland but the Copeland name has stood the pressure of time. I’m looking forward to playing him. He was a very prominent business man in town,” said Jeff Reeves.
• Dr. Lewis McKamie Tye, a surgeon in the Confederate Army, was a major player in preserving the McDonough that we see today. Tye will be portrayed by Ben Studdard.
“The Brown House was built in 1826. People ask us why it wasn’t burnt down. [Sherman’s Army] only burned down structures of people that caused trouble,” said Beck. “Dr. Tye was trying to help them because he was interested in saving everybody’s lives, their structures and businesses, their homes and their churches.”
• William ‘Bill’ Orr worked for 36 years in Henry County schools and made a significant impact on the lives of those he coached and taught over the years. He is played by Tommy Smith.
“A lot of people will know him as Coach Orr because he coached so many sports for more than one generation,” said Beck. “He impacted these students and young people and he was greatly admired.”
• Hans Broder Sr., an immigrant from Switzerland in 1950, built Horseshoe Dairy Farm on Flippen Road. He is portrayed by his son, Hans Broder, Jr., who was also a part of his father’s immigrant experience, as he is an immigrant himself.
“As you get older, you start thinking about the past; start reminiscing a lot, said Hans Broder, Jr. “I wrote the script from what I remember. There’s 95 years of his life to cover.”
“I tell a little bit about his life back in Switzerland and what it was like to come over. It took a lot of courage for him to come over here. He was one of seven children and he was the only one that left Switzerland. None of us spoke English when we came here,” said Broder, Jr. “He was here to start up a farm operation for someone else, but he ended up buying a big farm and having a big family.”
• Nan Gardener Brown was a well-known piano and voice teacher in Locust Grove. However, before settling down in Locust Grove, she was a Lead Soprano Soloist at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Nan is played by Jane Brown Lute.
“Who would know that? Who would think that right here in Locust Grove that we would have a woman so talented?” said Beck. “She performed in New York and then settled down and got married. Her descendants are very musical people too.”
• Caroline Weems was the wife of Thomas Dixon Weems, the owner of the Weems Plantation. Caroline lived through the War of 1812, American Indian Wars, Mexican-American War and the War Between the States. She is portrayed by Jamie Brown.
“I think her story will be very interesting to see because she lived through a lot and lived for such a long time and through great upheaval in this country,” said Beck.
• Talia Smith was the daughter of Dr. J. G. Smith and worked at the library in McDonough for 11 years. She is played by Denise Sowell.
“She apparently had a progressive disease in one of her eyes that led to her wearing an eyepatch. She had multiple college degrees and she never married, but loved animals,” said Beck. “Locals knew that if they had an animal in need, they could take them to Talitha. She nursed them and took in strays. It’s going to be interesting to see that character because I think she was a bit unique.”
With this year’s eclectic cast of characters, Reeves says this Promenade might be one of the best ones yet.
“I think [the Promenade] is one of the most creative ways of honoring these people that were a big part of our past. If not for them, we don’t know if we’d be here or not,” said Reeves. “For those interested in history, this is the best talking book you can get. You just have to sit and listen.”
Tickets for the Promenade Through History are currently on sale through EventBrite at www.henryclaytongenealogy.com/promenade-through-history-a-visit-with-the-past.html.
Tickets are also available for purchase at the following locations:
- Warren Holder Equipment, Locust Grove
- Moseley Furniture, Stockbridge
- Secret Garden, McDonough
- Cannon Cleveland, Stockbridge
- Brown House, McDonough, Wednesday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
