The play was developed by Carlton resident Stephanie Astalos-Jones from a collection of stories she gathered in recent months about Madison County, all told and re-enacted by its residents. Many of the stories have been passed down, generation to generation while others were from the more recent memories of those still living.
But whatever time they came from, they were all were part and parcel of the rich, and sometimes colorful, history of the county and its people.
Approximately 37 actors, along with members of the Madison County Community Choir and volunteers, worked over the last few weeks to bring the story to the stage in the form of a play that tells just some of the stories of the people who’ve lived here since the late 1700s.
There were stories from the early days of the Cherokee, of Hill House Forge and Furnace (the first iron foundry south of Virginia), the Paoli (pronounced Pee-oo-lee) settlement, the birthplace of Crawford W. Long, how Pocataligo (or Po-key) got its name, and so on. Some were amusing, some sad, with a few ghost stories sprinkled in the middle.
There were some very special stories, such as the one about Comer resident Howard Sims (told by actor Steven Settles), who dreamed about the stars as a child and grew up to build his own telescopes and observatory.
And there was the story of “Uneeta,” (told by actress LaVonda Fyock) a 96-year old woman who declares she’s had “a good life” farming with her husband, whom she was married to for 74 years, working as a pocket-turner at the Blue Bell factory in Comer and living in the country.
“When (my husband) died, they wanted to move me somewhere else, but I’ve never lived in a town. I just like the country. I was raised in the country. I want to stay here. I’ve had a good life,” Uneeta said, as the light faded from her on stage.
All the stories were told in a folksy style by a narrator, sometimes while others acted out their story. They included the good – like how neighbors worked together and helped one another – and the bad – like the loss of loved ones – and even the ugly – like the Klu Klux Klan and segregation. Whatever the tale, it was all related in a matter of fact way — no blame, no bitterness, just as history, just as a memory of what was.
As the character “Ida,” (played by Frances Green) said at the play’s conclusion, “You know, this is another day. You can’t dwell on that. If you go back there, you gonna lose your upward bound stuff, OK? You gotta move on from where you are. Work on it. Work on it. Try your luck, if it doesn’t work, try, try again.”
