Pascagoula residents will again get to hear the stories of those located in the Krebs Cemetery and their importance to the local community and its history with the 12th Annual Historic Cemetery Tour at Krebs Cemetery.
The event will be held Thursday, Oct. 25 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. This year’s theme is “Boats, Trains and Planes.” The “boats” scene will give visitors a chance to hear the story of local boat building by Miguel Martin Flechas and Mary Walker Flechas. “Trains” will involve tales of how the railroad changed life on the coast for Sidoine E. Krebs and Josephine Cirlot Krebs, and “planes” will showcase the story of Pascagoula’s only Tuskegee Airman LTC Leonelle A. Bonam. T
he tour also takes visitors through the historic grounds of the LaPointe-Krebs House & Museum as well as the cemetery and will include a number of other historical stories told by local re-enactors. According to James Lee, co-chairman for the committee representing the Jackson County Historical Society, the stories are has historically accurate as they can tell based on the research, including storylines from the descendants of the characters portrayed. Most of the characters are buried in the cemetery or were residents of Jackson County.
“Our storylines try to highlight significant people and events as well as little known facts,” he said. “We feel that it is important for the community to know its history so they can appreciate how our forebears survived and thrived as time and technology changed and how we can then build upon past successes.” The event began a few months after Hurricane Katrina and one year was skipped, but they have been informing the community of the area’s history for the past 12 years. “The tours began as a way to highlight our history to boost the morale of the community,” Lee said.
This event is free to the public, but they do ask for donations to the event. The event is sponsored by the Jackson County Historical and Genealogical Society, LaPointe-Krebs Foundation, Jackson County Board of Supervisors, City of Pascagoula Preservation Commission & Main Street, Singing River Genealogical & Local History Library, Kiwanis Club of Mississippi and Brass Hanger Cleaners. You can join find more information on the Facebook Event page.
