Come and Meet the Dead People

I wanted to let locals know about an event MVD Ghostchasers is putting on in conjunction with the Pioneer Cemetery Association to help raise funds for the Association. It's a walking tour of the Pioneer Cemetery in downtown Phoenix. Us members of the MVD Ghostchasers will be in costume speaking as the deceased characters of Phoenix's founding families. Standing at our own graves, we will tell you about our lives and contributions to The Valley. I'm playing the part Phoenix's first mayor's wife, Anna Alsap. This will be Sunday the 31st. I'll be sure and give you a reminder just before then too. (info below)

A Historical Walk in Phoenix’s Early Cemeteries
“Where Phoenix’s Past Comes Alive”

Sunday March 29, 2009 11:30 am to 2:30 pm

Pioneer & Military Memorial Park 14th Ave. and Jefferson St.Phoenix, AZ 85007
602-534-1262

For more information contact:www.azhistcemeteries.org
Sponsored by the Pioneers’ Cemetery Association.
Thank you for joining us!

$10 donation for adults$5 donation for students 12 and under Children under 5 free

Join us after the walk for refreshments

“Show me your cemeteries, And I will tell you what kind of people you have." Benjamin Franklin

Meet Our Cast of Featured Characters:

James Henry Broomell 1837-1896 He was born in Pennsylvania. He served as a Union soldier in the Civil War and fought in two of the most significant battles: Antietam and Chancellorsville.

Anna D. Alsap 1855-1902 She was married to the first mayor of Phoenix. Praised as a dedicated Sunday school teacher, a stained glass window was placed in her honor at Methodist Episcopal Church South.

Elizabeth Gardiner 1841-1895 Sailed to America 20 years after the husband she thought had perished returned to England to find her alive and well, too! The Gardiner Hotel was a family-run business in early Phoenix.

Sam Korrick 1871-1903 This enterprising young Russian came to America and established a dry goods store in the valley called the New York Store—later Korrick's Department Store—and revolutionized the mercantile business in Phoenix.

Bryan Philip Darrell Duppa 1832-1892 "Lord" Duppa, as he was called, is accredited with naming both Phoenix and Tempe. He was known to quote Shakespeare passages daily. This eccentric man was buried not once, but twice in the cemetery.

Sarah Ella Hill McElhaney 1872-1911 Wife of one of the best-known ranchers in the valley, Ella helped move their cattle and horses from Holbrook to the Salt River Valley. She raised their six children in the growing Arizona Territory.

Leona Wooldridge Wilson 1874 -1899 She was the daughter of Wooldridge, and wife of Wilson—the owners of the Wilson and Wooldridge shoe business in Phoenix. She was the first person buried in the Wooldridge specially-constructed vault.

Czar J. Dyer 1846-1903 Dyer was an acting mayor and a city councilman. He was the draftsman who drew most of the plats of the City of Phoenix still in use today. Dyer drew a Bird's Eye View Map of Phoenix. A copy of the map is located in the Smurthwaite House.