Back In Time

Because they happen at Halloween, Ashley Sayers admits she prefers telling tales of "murder, mischief and tragedy" during the Rogers Historical Museum's Ghost Walks.

"But at the same time, we are presenting them in a respectful way -- because these were real members of our community who oftentimes have descendants still living in the area," adds Sayers, the museum's education assistant. And although the idea came from a previous exhibition titled "Crime Stories," "we are aiming for more historical" than scary.

"We don't really have characters, but rather stories, and they change every year," she explains. "Each story is told from the perspective of a Rogers citizen who would have lived during the time period that the story occurred in. This year there are a total of five stories, and the subjects are accidental gunshot, death of a preacher, robbery gone wrong, murder at the train depot, and death by poison." Actors, a "mix of museum staff and volunteers, write their own stories based on the facts collected from obituaries."

The performances come with a unique set of potential problems, Sayers says.

"Road traffic can be a challenge because we do these outside in downtown Rogers," she says. "Time can be a challenge too, because months of planning and research go into finding the stories and creating the tour route and finding the people to tell the stories and lead the tours. The weather can be a challenge as well because sometimes we have to contend with unseasonably cold temperatures."

But there are also unique rewards -- "reaching members of the community and bringing to light the forgotten stories of members of our community."

"We hope that [participants] will take away a new appreciation for town history and also that they connect to the people they didn't know about previously and keep their memory alive by remembering what we share with them during this event."

-- Becca Martin-Brown

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NAN What's Up on 10/21/2018