Nancy Adgent, an independent scholar specializing in cemetery studies, will present two area workshops and a lecture in early October as part of the Preserve America cemetery interpretation project.
The first of the two workshops on identifying grave marker types, styles and motifs will be held from 10:30 a.m. to noon Oct. 1 at the Augus Theater/Museum Theater located at 110 E. Columbia St. in San Augustine. A tour of the San Augustine City Cemetery will be included. The second workshop is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. to noon Oct. 2 at the Heritage Center of Cherokee County located at 208 S. Henderson St. in Rusk. A tour of the Rusk City Cemetery will be part of that workshop.
Adgent's lecture titled "Cemeteries and Heritage Tourism" will be held at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 1 in Room 142 of the Dugas Liberal Arts North building at SFA.
The Preserve America cemetery interpretation project is sponsored jointly by Stephen F. Austin State University and the City of Nacogdoches and is funded through a grant from the National Park Service.
As part of the Preserve America project, Adgent also has written a book titled "Deep East Texas Grave Markers: Types, Styles, and Motifs." The book has more than 200 color images from 76 cemeteries in Houston, Cherokee, Nacogdoches, San Augustine and Sabine counties.
The book is meant to inform people on how to recognize the various types, styles and motifs of grave markers and to raise awareness of the meanings of the various motifs, the author said. The ultimate goal of both the book and the interpretation project is to promote a broader interest in cemeteries as places of educational and historical interpretation, thereby inspiring their preservation.
If the books arrive in time, Adgent will be available to sign free copies at the October workshops and lecture. Otherwise, book orders will be taken for future delivery at no cost to participants. For more information, please e-mail Perky Beisel at pbeisel@sfasu.edu or George Avery at averyg@sfasu.edu.
Axe ’Em, Jacks!