MERIDIAN, Miss. (AP) — Veteran storytellers are set to bring the history of the City of Meridian alive through an event being held next month.
The Rose Hill Company of Storytellers and Lauderdale County Archives and History are partnering with the city for a Downtown History Walk that will feature people stepping into the shoes of some of Meridian's most influential figures and teaching local history through drama and storytelling, The Meridian Star reported.
The event is set for 2 p.m. to sunset on Saturday, Feb. 12.
Rose Hill Company Director Anne McKee said the event would be set up similar to the city's annual Halloween Candy Crawl. Maps would be available at every station for residents to walk through downtown and learn about their history.
“This is an experiment. This is to see how many people are really interested and will come out and hear our stories,” she said. “We’ve only picked a few, but as many of you know, Meridian is a dramatic and exciting place.”
Stories planned for the event include the Great Choctaw Chief Pushmataha, who will be portrayed at Dumont Plaza; Mrs. Clara Weidmann at Weidmann’s Restaurant; the Spirits of the Union Hotel; and Mayor Edwin Dial, who served as mayor of Meridian from 1893 to 1901.
In addition, storytellers will be portraying key moments in the city’s history such as the 1864 burning of Meridian during the Civil War and the beginnings of the Meridian railroads and iconic places such as the Threefoot Hotel, Temple Theatre and Wechsler School.
McKee said the walk will be both fun and informative, and residents are encouraged to bring their children to learn their local history.
“We are going to teach history that is documented that they will not get in school,” she said. “They need to know our local history.”
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