![\"Overlooking](\"http:\/\/www.morgan-nj.org\/blog\/contentdir\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Overlooking-Christ-Church-Cemetery.jpg\")
<\/a>Overlooking Christ Church Cemetery.<\/p><\/div>\n
I had never heard of such a thing before.\u00a0 Out here in the Los Angeles area, there is a cemetery next to Paramount Pictures in Hollywood, now named Hollywood Forever and where famous people such as Mel Blanc (voice of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Barney Rubble, etc.), Cecil B. DeMille, George Harrison, Mickey Rooney, etc., are buried, and where crowds of people gather to watch concerts and old movies projected on the large white marble west wall of the Cathedral Mausoleum.\u00a0 While not as grand, what the South Amboy Historical Society has done each year since 2014 is actually fascinating and amazing while at the same time not at all being creepy.<\/p>\n
<\/a>George Fuller as \u201cThe Grave Digger.\u201d<\/p><\/div>\n
Each October (so far it has been October), volunteer members of the society each selects one of the permanent residents of Christ Church Cemetery, does as much research as can be done about them, and then before an audience next to where their subject rests eternally, tells of the person\u2019s life story while dressed as that individual would have dressed during their life time.\u00a0 Being Christ Church Cemetery has been a cemetery since 1856, after it was donated by the Conover Family and originally named in honor of the Right Reverend George Washington Doane (the Episcopal Church\u2019s Bishop of New Jersey from 1832 to 1859), some of these wardrobes \u2013 and props \u2013 have been quite elaborate as you can see in some of the photos in this article.<\/p>\n
<\/a>B. Kern as Amelia Furman Howell & George Kern as Jacob Sprague.<\/p><\/div>\n
I was able to attend the second annual Christ Church Cemetery Tour (I prefer the phrase \u201cCemetery Walk\u201d) with my school friend Mike on October 24, 2015 during the week when I made my presentation on the topic of \u201cMorgan in Maps\u201d in the first ever joint presentation hosted by the South Amboy Historical Society and the Sayreville Historical Society.\u00a0 Hopefully someday all the material from that talk will make it to this web site.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Joyce Elyea as Helen Applegate.<\/p><\/div>\n
Mike and I\u00a0weren\u2019t sure what to expect.\u00a0 However what we saw was, in short, awesome \u2013 almost like a\u00a0day at Disneyland \u2013 sort of or perhaps more like a visit to Plimoth Plantation or Colonial Williamsburg.\u00a0 Each volunteer did a fantastic performance portraying the life of some of South Amboy\u2019s biggest wigs (e.g., Mayors Dey & Kerr) and regular wigs (e.g., Helen Applegate).<\/p>\n
Your experience starts out at the meeting place at the entrance to the cemetery for refreshments and group assignments. Just before show time, the Grave Digger gives everyone an overview of what to expect. Each group then goes to their first enactment site at the final resting place of one of that year\u2019s selected individuals.\u00a0 After each tribute, each group then rotates to the next site until every group has seen every reenactment.\u00a0 I am sure that within a few years, there will be so many people in attendance that one day won\u2019t be enough able to handle everyone.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Mike Reilly as South Amboy Mayor Alfred T. Kerr.<\/p><\/div>\n
Learning about the life of someone who lived in the Morgan\/South Amboy area during a different time period was fascinating.\u00a0 The overused phrase, \u201cWhere history comes to life,\u201d is very much applicable here. You learn not only about that individual\u2019s life but also some of the big and little events which occurred during their lifetime.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Joe Coakley as Samuel Parisen.<\/p><\/div>\n
One was dressed as a Civil War soldier.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Tony Sattlaro as Howard Little.<\/p><\/div>\n
One was dressed as a World War II soldier.<\/p>\n
One, Jacob Sprague above, described surviving the Morgan based T. A. Gillespie Loading Company explosion of October 1918<\/a> (a favorite topic of mine and the topic of a number of articles on this web site with more to come) but also described its tragic aftermath.<\/p>\n Jerry Pizzillo as South Amboy Mayor William S. Dey.<\/p><\/div>\n One had a classic Ford Model A car as a prop.<\/p>\n Ken Elyea as John Proctor.<\/p><\/div>\n This site strongly encourages everyone to attend the next instance of this event.\u00a0 Watch the South Amboy Historical Society\u2019s web site<\/a> or their Facebook group<\/a> for the next one.<\/p>\n Click on the links below the photos and you\u2019ll be able to watch the 2015 reenactments.<\/p>\n Click here for a video of George Fuller as \u201cThe Grave Digger.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n Click here for a video of B. Kern portraying Amelia Furman Howell.<\/a><\/p>\n Click here for a video of George Kern as Jacob Sprague.<\/a><\/p>\n Click here for a video of Joyce Elyea as Helen Applegate.<\/a><\/p>\n Click here for a video of Mike Reilly as Mayor Alfred T. Kerr.<\/a><\/p>\n Click here for a video of Joe Coakley as Samuel Parisen.<\/a><\/p>\n Click here for a video of Tony Sattlaro as Howard Little.<\/a><\/p>\n Click here for a video of Jerry Pizzillo as Mayor William S. Dey.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/a>