09/19/2017
As the Monuments on Main Street Cemetery Tour is quickly approaching, people will ask me, "is the cemetery haunted?" Well, if you are thinking that there are evil spirits lurking behind every headstone and tree waiting to scare the "be-jeebies" out of you, then NO, the cemetery is not haunted. However, back in 2012 when I first started researching characters for the tour, I learned of a man named Charles Heard who was murdered in 1892. Mr. Heard had owned a restaurant at the train depot in Leland, MS, and was working there the day he was shot and killed. He was a father of 3 young children who witnessed the shooting and he himself was a young man of 36 years old. I was reading about Mr. Heard's life and death while sitting in my car right next to his headstone there in the Greenville cemetery. While reading his story, the sensor alarm went off on my car as if another car was too close behind me. Or perhaps someone was walking in the cemetery and set the alarm off on my car. Neither was the case. No one was around. I was sitting there all alone. I dismissed the alarm and continued to read. The alarm goes off again. I looked over at Heard's headstone and told him, "ok, Mr. Heard, I'll move on." And I did. But we decided to include him on the tour that year. A week before the tour, the Heard headstone had shifted off its base. It is too heavy for a gentle push to cause it to move or even an intended force to move it so the shifting of the headstone remained a mystery but an obvious change in the stone. Since that tour, Mr. Heard has become my "friendly spirit" in the cemetery. He continues to play tricks on me. For instance, his headstone has moved completely off its base and we have no idea how that happened. It is too heavy for the average man or several men to move it. But move, it does. A friend of mine photographed several monuments one day. I took her to Mr. Heard's site and photos were taken. Later that evening as she downloaded photos, Mr. Heard's were the ONLY photos that were NOT there. We had to reshoot. I frequently "feel" someone watching me when I am working in the cemetery. I am always looking up, but no one is there. I spotted a man walking in the cemetery one day--walking towards me, but he was at a distance. I waited for him to arrive as I continued to rake and cut, but he never did. I can't help but think that Mr. Heard allowed me a glimpse of himself that day as he kept a watchful eye on me. The latest "encounter" happened just last Friday. My mother and I were riding through the cemetery and I was reading various tour scripts to her. We were sitting at Heard's headstone although I was reading the script of Mary Sheldon House. My phone is on the console resting quietly. Then Siri turns on out of the clear blue and says "what can I help you with?" I rarely use Siri and really fumble with turning it on when I do. I stopped, turned to Mr. Heard's headstone and said, "hello, Mr. Heard. I wasn't ignoring you, but hello! I'm glad you are here." I have other "happenings" with Mr. Heard, but these are just a few for now. I know all these occurrences can have logical explanations and I am a life long student of the sciences so I am always looking at logical explanations. In this situation, I am choosing to believe that I have a new friend in the Greenville Cemetery and his name is Charles Heard. The Cemetery tour is October 6 - 8, 2017. Plan to attend. I always take one tour out each evening of the tour. As an added bonus on "my" tour, I will make a quick stop at Mr. Heard's headstone and tell you about his life. Mark your calendars for the tour. Come out to support Delta Center Stage and to benefit the Greenville Cemetery -- and to say hello to Mr. Heard. Thanks for all the support! Kathy Davis Day
