CMS students learn of Arkansas' Haunted History

Third-grade students at Cutter Morning Star Elementary School learned about Arkansas' Historic Haunted Cemeteries Friday as part of a program presented by the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program.

The AHPP is the agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage responsible for identifying, evaluating, registering and preserving the state's cultural resources.

The department's other agencies are the Arts Council, the Delta Cultural Center, the Old State House Museum, the Natural Heritage Commission, the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center and the Historic Arkansas Museum.

Shelle Stormoe, education coordinator for the AHPP, presents from 60 to 100 programs per year almost exclusively in Arkansas schools, including Friday's program at Cutter Morning Star. Other programs involve walking tours in communities.

Arkansas' Haunted History programs compile about half of Stormoe's presentations every year.

"It is by far the most popular presentation we have," Stormoe said. "They really, really love it."

Stormoe has worked to develop Haunted History programs with a theme instead of discussing random haunted locations in Arkansas. She focused on historic cemeteries for this year's program.

"Every year we write a new one," Stormoe said. "Next year, just getting ready this summer, is going to be Haunted Schools, mostly colleges."

Students from Jessica Lafferty's class joined with students in Tracy Pratt's classroom to observe Stormoe's presentation on Friday.

Stormoe told the classes that ghost stories are a special kind of folklore. She said she shared the stories on Friday with the assumption that they believe in ghosts.

Stormoe discussed Arkansas historic cemeteries, such as the Fort Smith National Cemetery, Maple Hill Cemetery in Helena-West Helena and Linwood Cemetery in Paragould.

Students learned about the execution of "Cherokee Bill" and other hangings in Fort Smith due to sentences from Judge Isaac Parker. Witnesses reportedly still see swinging nooses, hear the sounds of a gavel in a courtroom and see ghosts at the cemetery.

Stormoe found the tombstone with three epitaphs of a dog at Maple Hill. She shared a story about a dog that stayed with its deceased former owner until the dog eventually passed away.

The dog was buried in the same grave as the former owner. Stormoe told of people reportedly hearing a dog whining and barking in the cemetery.

"The kids get really excited about the information about Fort Smith and Judge Parker," Stormoe said. "They also get really excited about the Maple Hill Cemetery in Helena, which is what I talk about at the very end of the presentation."

Stormoe said she enjoys the stories and background about Linwood Cemetery and the death of Frank "Jelly" Nash because it is relatively new information to her.

Friday's program also included information about the differences between cemeteries and graveyards, common symbols found in cemeteries and the different reasons for which locations are named to the National Register of Historic Places.

Local on 05/10/2014

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