Hundreds walk Fairview Cemetery's 'Stories Beyond the Stones' tour, raising tens of thousands for the railroad museum and cemetery upkeep

Saturday morning's guided tour of Fairview Cemetery drew hundreds of visitors and brought in tens of thousands of dollars, one of its organizers told KXII afterward.

The event, called "Stories Beyond the Stones," led walkers on a loop past graves where costumed reenactors played seven figures from Denison's past, spanning the city's founding through the middle of the last century. Proceeds go to the cemetery and to the Red River Railroad Museum.

Brian Hander, one of the tour's creators, who portrayed James Davenport Garner, told the station that the cemetery's share will help with tree removal and other expenses its regular budget does not cover. With roughly 17,000 people buried at Fairview, he said, choosing only seven was difficult.

Who was featured

According to KXII, the stops included:

• Bernice McDaniel, described as an education pioneer; B. McDaniel Intermediate School carries her name
• William and Mary Munson, from the well-known Munson business family
• Hartley Edwards, a decorated local veteran who sounded taps in France when World War I ended; the bugle he used is now in the Smithsonian

Mavis Bryant, whose research went into both the tour and its companion book, told the station that many of the stories in the book had never been told and that people new to Denison have shown real interest in learning the city's history.

What comes next

Hander said organizers hope to extend the tour into other sections of the cemetery later. No date for a second tour has been announced.

The companion book, also titled "Stories Beyond the Stones," is sold at the Denison Visitor Center, the Main Street Mall and the railroad museum, KXII reported.

Sources

KXII