Despite rain, Cemetery Crawl bolsters OCCHS funds
A thunderstorm wiped out the first day of last weekend's Cemetery Crawl, but there was a fair crowd the second day, bolstering
the year's fund-raising efforts for the Old Colorado City Historical Society (OCCHS).
![]() According to OCCHS Treasurer Dave Hughes, the volunteer organization had hoped to make about $1,000 from the event - in which eight costumed, amateur reenactors portrayed historical figures buried at Fairview Cemetery. Instead, thanks to the weather, the overall tally was $441. But adding all its fund-raisers together, the society has done “quite well” this year, said Hughes, who portrayed Colorado City co-founder Anthony Bott. In addition to the Crawl, these consist of the Victorian Tea & Fashion Show, Territory Days, the Garden Fair and Founders' Day. The OCCHS sells items during Territory Days and organizes the other events itself. The Crawl's financial disappointment was basically offset by an upturn in this year's Founders' Day income. A change in strategies (selling baked goods at the History Center instead of the park, thus lowering insurance costs) allowed the society to keep nearly $500 of the earnings from that event this year, according to Hughes' figures. The OCCHS's events have netted more than $3,000 so far this year, with the biggest fund-raiser - December's Bed & Breakfast Tour - still to come, Hughes said. The organization also earns money from book sales at the center, donations and interest from an endowment. The first day of the Cemetery Crawl wasn't a total loss, Hughes pointed out. While the reenactors waited under an open-air tent, hopeful of a weather change, a small group of people came by, saying they couldn't return Sunday. So the performers invited them under the tent, and, ignoring the rain pelting down, provided the audience with their respective spiels. Westside Pioneer article |