By Sarrah Peters
News Editor
The annual A Walk Through Time will take place on October 11 from 2 to 5 p.m. in Forrest Cemetery located at 700 South 15th Street in Gadsden.
The event is free but donations are encouraged. All donations go to the Forrest Cemetery Foundation, which uses the money to preserve the cemetery. The most recent project is replacing a rare limestone shingle roof.
The historical walk features people dressed up as influential or memorable Gadsden residents from the past. The actors present the story of the character they are playing. This year, 56 people are participating.
“If we can, we find descendants to play ancestors,” said Artie Morgan, one of the event’s organizers.
Nineteen of the characters will be played by descendants.
This year the event is highlighting women. Some of the interesting women of Gadsden’s past include a “Rosie the Riveter,” a 1920s flapper, a folk songwriter, an entrepreneur and a Pulitzer Prize winner.
Teachers who want students to participate in the walk can download a short quiz about the characters from www.forrestcemetery.com/Teachers_Quiz.html.
The historical event acts like a reunion of sorts for many people of Gadsden.
“It’s connecting people from the past,” said Morgan.
Some families take it a step further by actually planning reunions around the event.
One example is the gathering of the descendants of William Cleveland Wells for A Walk Though Time at Forrest Cemetery.
W.C. Wells and his brother Howard Wells owned a bottling business located on the corner of Fifth and Locust streets. It was both the Royal Crown and the Nehi Bottling Company.
For more information about A Walk Through Time, visit www.forrestcemetery.com/A_Walk_Through_Time.html or e-mail awalkthroughtime@comcast.net.