(Seguin) — Seguin’s history takes center stage once more as the Saints Alive Riverside Cemetery Tour returns this October, inviting residents to walk among the city’s earliest pioneers and meet the women whose strength and vision helped shape the community that thrives today.
The tour, presented by the Affiliation for the Preservation of Shakespeare and Federated Club Rooms in partnership with the city of Seguin, raises funds for the historic clubhouse on River Street. The clubhouse was built in 1902 as the first facility in Texas designed specifically for women’s clubs to gather.
Elizabeth Martin, club member and the coordinator for this year’s group fundraiser, says Saints Alive transforms the 19th-century cemetery into a living stage. She says visitors stroll through winding paths, pausing at gravesites where local actors portray the city’s founders, visionaries, and everyday citizens who helped shape Seguin’s story.
“You arrive there and you have a real short welcome and then we all divide into eight groups because we go to eight different places and for 10 minutes, we will have someone dressed in the period clothes and they will portray and act as if they are the very same person and talk about their interesting lives and so it’s really fun. It lasts from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. When you arrive, you can either park in the area or go down to the Coliseum and catch the shuttle,” said Martin.
Founded in 2012 by members Sudi Bruns and Pat Hoppe, the cemetery tour began as a creative way to support the building’s upkeep. Over the years, the production has evolved into one of the city’s most anticipated cultural experiences.
Unlike other years, this year’s production will shine a light on the women who built and sustained the community, from civic leaders to homemakers and teachers who guided the city through generations of change.
Marin says leading the cast of the past is one familiar person to the local organization.
“These people were chosen because we found them interesting when we were looking at all of the different people that were buried there and especially Ms. Ella Dibrell because she is like the mother of our clubhouse. She really got all the women interested in building a new clubhouse and that was back in 1902 when they put it in one of the spaces. It has been moved four times, but we thank her for doing that. She was a mover and a shaker,” said Martin.
The remainder of this year’s cast of historical portrayals includes Eugenia and Harry Burges, Anna Brodt, Evelyn Duggan, Catarina Knodel, Willie Mae Weinert, and Adelaida L. Montanez.
Marint says a special highlight will feature members of the original Shakespeare Club of 1901– recreated by Eleanor Crettenden, Linda Duncan, Peggy Schott, and Mary Jane Windle. She says these actors will gather at a single gravesite to reenact the club’s very first meeting more than a century ago.
Riverside Cemetery itself is a landmark of Texas history. Established in the 1800s on land originally granted to Ezekiel Smith in 1837, it spans 15 acres and holds the remains of more than 2,000 individuals—including soldiers, statesmen, settlers, and former slaves.
The Saints Alive Riverside Cemetery Tour will be held at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 26, at Riverside Cemetery located at 201 E. Klein St. Tickets are $20 and available at Gift and Gourmet, Keepers Interiors, and the Seguin Chamber of Commerce.
Tickets will also be available at the event.