Dragoons Jayson Altieri, Tyrone Crowley, Jeff Jones, Bill Myrick, and Rob Schwartz attended a fine and inspiring ceremony Monday evening, April 26th at Confederate Circle in Old Live Oak Cemetery in Selma. Before the ceremony, Tyrone Crowley sat in the Jefferson Davis Chair accompanied by Mrs. Pat Godwin, mistress of ceremonies for the event. Since Compatriot Crowley has portrayed Jefferson Davis at previous events, he was invited to assume that persona and sit in the chair once again. Many pictures were taken at this special occasion, for the following reason. The Jefferson Davis Chair got particular attention this year because it was stolen back in March but thanks to a reward offered was recovered in New Orleans a few weeks later. The whole story was told, as part of the ceremony, by Benny Austin, pictured below, who with Mr. Butch Godwin drove down to New Orleans to return the chair to Confederate Circle.
In addition to Compatriot Austin’s recounting of the theft and recovery of the Jeff Davis Chair, there was a slow version of “Dixie" sung by Dr. Gerald Anderson of the Selma Pegues Camp, a reading of the Dallas County Proclamation for Confederate Memorial Day by Pegues Camp Member Steve Fitts, a Roll Call of Honor whereby all present who had a Confederate ancestor called out the name of the ancestor and heard a bell chime in his memory, rung by Confederate Widow Nicki Walton, at left in picture below. Following the keynote address by Dr. Grover Plunkett of Faulkner University on what it means to be Southern, we all sang "Amazing Grace", before a closing prayer, then finished up as usual with a rousing version of "Dixie”. It was a beautiful and inspiring evening. Old Live Oak may be the most beautiful cemetery in this part of Alabama, and is certainly one of the most historic.
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