We'll have a diverse and very interesting lineup for this year's Chariton Cemetery Heritage Tour, "Neighbors in Section I," scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 24. The tour will begin at 4 p.m. and we'll gather at the Cemetery Shelter House, or chapel, where seating will be provided and --- after the program --- refreshments provided.
There is a charge, $5 per ticket, for this, the only fund-raising event of the Chariton Historic Preservation Commission. We're raising funds to commission an appropriate marker for Potters Field, where last year's tour was held, so proceeds will be applied to that project.
Five occupants of Section I, the area of the cemetery immediately northeast of the Shelter House, will tell us something of their lives during the tour. Here's the lineup:
William Benjamin Martin (buried under his slave name, Benjamin Alexander). Martin was born in slavery about 1845 in the "Little Dixie" region of northeast Missouri, but ran away during 1863 to fight for his own freedom and that of others in the Union's 1st Missouri Regiment of Colored Infantry (later the 62nd). After his discharge in 1866, he settled in Kirksville, where he married. The family came to Chariton during the early 1880s and he died here during 1929, one of the most revered members of Lucas County's black community.
Capt. Helen Malony Talboy. A 1927 graduate of Chariton High School, Helen devoted her life to caring for others in one capacity or another. Trained as a nurse, she was working in Des Moines when she answered her country's call during 1942. Attached to the 95th Evacuation Hospital, she earned nationwide acclaim for her heroism while caring for her boys on the frontline in North Africa and Italy.
Sgt. Forrest D. Youtsey. Forrest was a young man of great promise who, when his father became seriously ill in 1913, gave up his plans at age 20 to take over the family farm. But exactly a century ago, during September of 1917, he was among the first young men from Lucas County to answer the World War I call to duty and report for service to Camp Dodge. Early the next spring, however, still serving at Camp Dodge, he became critically ill as influenza swept the installation and died.
Freda Simon Oppenheimer. Simon Oppenheimer was one of Chariton's most widely respected merchants during the late 19th and early 20th century, but some have suggested that it was Freda who kept him on track. A native of Germany, she came to Albia at age 18 to live with the Max Loeb family and there met, then married, Simon. They came to Chariton during 1884. She was a community leader, involved in many of the city's women's organizations including, because her own congregation at Temple B'nai Jeshurun in Des Moines was a considerable distance away, the women's organizations of at least two Chariton churches.
Templeton R. Percifield. It's hard to say if Temp Percifield was better known in Chariton as one of the mainstays of the Chariton Volunteer Fire Department or because of his reputation as the city's most talented "barker." A native of Arkansas who moved to Chariton as a young man, Temp was the man to call if you wanted to promote an event or a business. He would appear with his megaphone, start up a lively line of patter and soon the crowds were flocking in.
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