Resting underneath the Georgia dirt at Oak City Cemetery lies countless stories from men and women from Bainbridge’s past.

A handful of those tales were brought to life last Friday in the Living History Tour.

An annual tradition, visitors were able to tour the cemetery on the warm spring evening and see local actors bring the unique and interesting characters to life.

Tours were launched every 15 minutes with 15-20 viewers per group. Each group moved from grave to grave, where a local actor stood dressed as the Bainbridge icon they were portraying. Each actor spent around 10 minutes, in character, speaking to the group about their life, their achievements and their legacy.

Toby Dowdy and his wife were portrayed by Johnny Dowdy and Mardi McRae. Spencer “Onion” Davis, acted by Richard Whitehead, relayed his history with Bearcat football. The couple of Edgar and Irene Priest were portrayed by Joe Livingston and Stephanie Jones. Ida Cooksey showed her acting skills while representing Helen Simpson. T.E. Rich was portrayed by Mark Jones. W.M. Coyle finished the tour off with a newspaper in hand, acted by Clayton Penhallegon.

Tour guides for the event were Ray Chambers, Gloria Coppinger, Sam Emmons, Amanda Glover, Adrienne Harrison, Gail Jones, Kathryn Lillithun, Chuck Lynn, Nyles Odom and J.B. Swicord.

The Living History Tour is developed and put on every year by the Downtown Development Authority and the City of Bainbridge.