Rose Hill Cemetery Tour Set For October Grady County, Oklahoma Submitted by: Sandy Carter 13 Sep 2003 Return to Grady County Archives: http://www.usgwarchives.net/ok/grady/gradynewshtml ========================================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm ========================================================================== The Chickasha Express-Star 3 September 2003 ROSE HILL CEMETERY TOUR SET FOR OCTOBER The past will live again this October, when the Chickasha Area Arts Council presents the second annual Rose Hill Historic Cemetery Tour. The Rose Hill Cemetery Tour celebrates Chickasha's rich heritage. Based on models in other states, the tour brings together the arts and local history in an interactive audience experience. Local actors and local historians research former citizens, now resting in Rose Hill Cemetery, write scripts, and bring these figures back to life, down to the costumes, hairstyles, and even mannerisms. Individuals, the City of Chickasha, the University of Science of Arts of Oklahoma (USAO), Chickasha Community Theatre, the Grady County Historical Society, businesses, and churches all join forces to make this project historically accurate and enjoyable. Among this year's featured citizens are Dr. Daniel Matheson Johnston and Estella Rees Johnston. Dr. Johnston was born at Mt. Vernon, Iowa, in 1856. He studied medicine at Ann Arbor, Mich., and attended the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Keokuk Iowa. While there, on March 4, 1878, he married Estella Rees. Mrs. Johnston was born at Newton, Iowa, on Sept. 2, 1859, and attended school at Hazel Dell Academy in Newton, Iowa. The couple moved to Roskwell City, where their only daughter, Blanche, was born. In 1888, the family moved to Purcell, Okla., and Dr. Johnston practiced medicine in Erin Springs. When the Rock Island Railroad extended through what became Grady County, the Johnstons moved first to Pensee and finally to Chickasha, in April 1892. Mrs. Johnston is reportedly the first white woman to have settled on the Chickasha townsite. Dr. Johnston opened his practice in Chickasha on the day that it officially became a town. His wife opened a floral business in 1863. Mrs. Johnston was also active in several organizations, including the first women's society in town, the Women's Presbyterian Society, the Women's Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church, and the Rebecca Lodge - on both a local and state level. The couple had two grandchildren, Maude and Jana Jo Dews. Mrs. Johnston died of pneumonia on Feb. 26, 1922. Dr. Johnston later remarried, and finally passed away following a lengthy illness on June 23, 1949. Other citizens on the 2003 tour include Ada Lois Sipuel, Jessie Dearing Kinley and Myron Kinley, Max Rowntree, a Civil War veteran, Frank T. (Nick) Nichols and Pearcy E. Nichols, and Eva Martin and son. Tour dates are set for the evenings of Oct. 2, 3, and 4. Two tours will be held each night. In case of inclement weather, the tours will be moved to the USAO Alumni Chapel. Tour spaces are limited. Tickets for the tour cost $5 for adults and $2 for children aged 12 and under. Children under the age of 2 enter for free. Tickets go on sale beginning Monday, Sept. 22, at Chickasha Bank and Trust Company, Chickasha Chamber of Commerce, and the USAO Business Office. Anyone interested in supporting or volunteering for the Rose Hill Historic Cemetery Tour may contact Jeff Periman, research chairman, at 224-6476. Chickasha Area Arts Council (CAAC) was reorganized in 2001 with the renewed mission of supporting, encouraging, coordinating, and promoting high-quality activities and programs in the arts and humanities for the Chickasha area. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to Grady County Archives: http://www.usgwarchives.net/ok/grady/gradynews.html