By Timothy Sturdivant

Kennesaw City Cemetery hosted an event to raise awareness of the past residents who put Kennesaw on the map.

The event took place thanks to the various sponsors and the wonderful staff of the Kennesaw Cemetery Preservation Foundation and the Kennesaw Cemetery Preservation Commission.

“I love history and love learning about the places that I live in,” said Noelle Lashley, attendee of the cemetery event. “When the opportunity arose to come out and see some actors show me Kennesaw’s history, I was all for it.”

The purpose of the event was to give anyone who would have liked to attend an opportunity to learn more about the history of some of Kennesaw’s past residents. The majority of the people who were discussed had either a road or a building named after them.

“Last year was about a railroad, and the year before that it was about veterans,” said Brian Olovson, attendee of last year’s event and this year’s. “This year is about places and streets that are around.”

A resident who was being portrayed at the event was Thomas Summers. He was portrayed by Jacob Segura. What makes Summers so special is he was the first known burial in the Kennesaw City Cemetery.

“I love seeing how much people still care about history,” Lashley said. “Sometimes we worry that things that have happened will fade away. It’s really encouraging to come out and see events like this where so many people care about the history keeping it alive.”

Another actor who played their role really well was Judi Burrell. Judi played Mary Jiles Skeleton. Burrell did a great job in not only dressing appropriately for the occasion but also changing her speech patterns to reflect the time in which she was playing.

“They [the actors at the event] dig really deep into the details,” said Kelsey Mrkvicka-Olovson when asked about her favorite part of the event. “It’s interesting to see the kind of information they are able to find out.”

The money that was made from the event will be used to support the landscaping for a new information patio on the cemetery. The patio will be used to help families who visit the cemetery aid in finding their loved ones and a place to sit in reflection.

The last resident that was presented to the attendees was Louis Watts. He was a former engineer, and he was also the Mayor of Kennesaw at one point. He was born in 1904 and passed away in 1982. His actor was played beautifully by Michael Everhart.

The experience of visiting and attending a guided tour of the Kennesaw State Cemetery was great. To see some of Kennesaw’s more prominent past residents come to life was a treat to anyone who attended. This event will force whoever attended to think twice about the street name or building name they see every single day.

Timothy Sturdivant is a 4th year student at Kennesaw State University.  He is majoring in Journalism and Emerging Media, with plans to begin a career as a sports journalist or sports analyst after graduation. Timothy is a Cobb County native and spends his free time watching sports and working on his sports podcast.