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The Talking Tombstones program previously scheduled but postponed due to the extreme heat has been rescheduled for September 23, 2010.  The event, sponsored by the Wed/Dry Routes Chapter of the Santa Fe Trail Association in conjunction with the Larned Convention and Tourism Committee, will be presented at the Larned Cemetery beginning at 7:00PM.

The program will feature four Larned citizens who were on hand for the organization of Pawnee County in November 1872 and the City of Larned in the following year.  Those prominent people, all buried in the Larned Cemetery, are D.A. Bright, Timothy McCarthy, Henry Booth, and Lucia Booth.  Bright, to be interpreted by Tom Seltmann, was elected to three separate offices at the time of Pawnee County’s organization, including that of county attorney.  In 1873, he traveled to the U.S. Land Office in Wichita where he negotiated for the 160-acre town site of Larned.  Timothy McCarthy, to be represented by Jerry Buxton, was an Irish immigrant and a veteran of a distinguished military career.  He was appointed Brigadier General of the Kansas National Guard, two companies of which were established at Larned in 1885.  Henry Booth, the principal founder of both Pawnee County and the City of Larned, to be portrayed by David Clapsaddle, served four separate terms in the Kansas Legislature.  During the last term, he was unanimously elected Speaker of the House.  Lucia Booth, to be depicted by Alice Clapsaddle, lived in the shadow of a famous husband and a noted father, the Reverend N.O. Preston.  Yet, she was a remarkable person in her own right, being the first President of the Larned Equal Suffrage Association.

Attendees will be escorted in small groups from tombstone to tombstone to hear the presentation of the above named re-enactors.  The groups will be scheduled at fifteen-minute intervals.  Following each tour, refreshments will be served.  Each tour will last forty-five minutes.  As the grave sites area in close proximity, only about ten minutes of walking will be required.

Attendees should park near the cemetery’s east entrance.  Pawnee County Sherriff Office personnel will assist with the parking.

Pre-registration is required and attendance will be limited.  Please call the Larned Chamber of Commerce (620-285-6916) or (800-747-6919 out of area) to reserve a space.  Reservations will be made on a first come – first serve basis.

The Larned Convention and Tourism Committee will sponsor a coffee hour at 9:30AM on September 16 at the Jordaan Room at the Chamber of Commerce located at 502 Broadway, Larned Kansas 67550.  Present will be the above listed re-enactors.  Each will give a brief preview of his/her presentation.