Hayride brings Cottonwood Shores history to life; volunteer actors needed
Fuchs Cemetery will ‘come to life’ during the 'Legends of the Falls' hayride, a Cottonwood Shores history program in October. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro
Cottonwood Shores resident Debbie Holloway believes her community has a tale to tell. She’s organizing the “Legends of the Falls” hayride Oct. 22-23 and needs volunteer actors to portray local historical figures and tell their stories in four minutes or less.
Holloway needs eight people to portray six members of the Fuchs family, which settled in Cottonwood Shores, and two other important figures. Actors would volunteer on both evenings.
Roles include:
- Adolph Fuchs, the family patriarch
- Ino Fuchs, the daughter of Louise and Adolph Fuchs, who should be between the ages of 25-35
- Conrad Fox, who built his home in the area, which became a school and the area’s first post office
- Herman Fuchs, who brought the first Angora goats to the area and was a writer
- Henry Krumm, who was the last person to live in Herman Fuchs’ home after he bought it
- Oscar Fox, a local musician whose songs are still known today
- a Native American in his late 20s, whose life ended near what is now the Cottonwood Shores boat ramp
- Adolph Hoppe, who was in his late 40s and whose body was recovered at the bottom of Dead Man’s Hole
“I’ll make sure (the actors) have the factual information they need,” Holloway said. “It’s their responsibility to bring that character to life.”
The hayride will start at 4 p.m., 5 p.m., and 6 p.m. both nights from the Cottonwood Shores Civic Center and travel to three locations in the city. Six historical figures will be at Fuchs Cemetery and the other two placed elsewhere. Holloway will serve as tour guide.
The idea for the history program came to Holloway while walking through the cemetery with her friend and fellow resident Wendy Wayson.
“I wondered what story goes with that person,” Holloway recalled. “One question led to another and another. I did some research. All of the sudden, a picture began to develop, this beautiful picture in this region. It became intriguing to me. We have to get the word out to others. We have to share these great stories. The more I studied these people, the more they became real to me.”
Call Holloway at 817-680-0541 for more information about “Legends of the Falls.”
For stories from the area’s past, visit the Highland Lakes History Guide at 101HighlandLakes.com.