Just a little over a week away, the fundraiser ‘Once Upon A Tomb - Tales From Beyond’ to benefit the Oakdale Citizens Cemetery is drawing huge interest. Originally sold out, organizers added a few more tickets for each of the five ‘show’ times on Saturday, Oct. 5 but get your tickets now for this unique living history lesson.

Presale tickets are on sale for $25 per person. Walking tours of the cemetery will start at dusk and there are five sessions planned for the Oct. 5 event: 6:30 p.m., 7 p.m., 7:30 p.m., 8 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., with each tour visiting the gravesites of six notable residents, assisted by a tour guide.

This week, our profiles focus on Pastor Henry Raven as Mitchell “Shorty” Stanton, Jacob Boss as Joseph Kornmayer and Ray Leverett as Sheriff George Morrison.

Pastor Henry Raven

Stepping in to the persona of Mitchell “Shorty” Stanton for this fundraising event, Pastor Henry Raven said he has learned quite a bit about his character, doing some research so he can provide a well-rounded portrait of the man for those attending the event.

Pastor for both Sierra Foothills Community Church in Oakdale and the Knights Ferry Community Church, Raven said his last involvement with any type of thespian group was when he was in the ninth grade.

“I’m not an actor,” Raven admitted. “But I kind of halfway memorize my sermons.”

So, he said, it was an honor to get involved in Once Upon A Tomb, helping raise funds and awareness for the local cemetery.

“Shorty” Stanton, Raven pointed out, was African-American, like himself. Stanton arrived in Oakdale while working for a family.

“The family moved on but he decided to stay,” Raven explained. “He was well accepted by the community. He was a prominent character in a quiet way.”

Raven said he, along with his fellow actors in the production, will each present about a five-minute monologue to breathe life into their character.

“I’ve been collecting some information here and there,” Raven added. “He had that entrepreneurial spirit.”

He also said he hopes people attending will identify with Stanton.

“It’s an American story; you can achieve anything you want in life if you work hard for it,” Raven said.

Jacob Boss

With a varied background in the arts, Jacob Boss is glad to be a part of the group putting on this fundraiser for the cemetery.

“I got involved with Once Upon A Tomb by reading a post about it on Facebook, I reached out and expressed tentative interest, and was welcomed in to help,” he said. “I have acted and performed for much of my life; while in high school I acted and performed, having many lead roles.”

Some of those productions were Beauty and the Beast, Oklahoma, Grease and Hairspray.

The character he will portray for the cemetery tour is Joseph Kornmayer.

“He was a German man who settled into Oakdale and ran a hotel that hosted many of the local events in Oakdale at the time,” said Boss. “Once Upon A Tomb is allowing me to become more involved with the community here in Oakdale. It is a great opportunity to learn more about its history.”

And while the event is being staged as a fundraiser for the cemetery, Boss said it is much more than that.

“I feel like this is a great community event, it is a way to help us remember the ones who came before us and why we are here. I feel it is a great way to invite people to remember, and think of the future,” he pointed out. “I hope that people will walk away from this event with a greater love for family, a deeper connection to their home, and a greater desire to give and be a part of this wonderful community.”

Ray Leverett

No stranger to performing, Ray Leverett has invested 25 years with the Modesto Performing Arts and been involved with Modesto Opera, as well as portraying Oakdale’s Cowboy Santa since 1994.

He will be in character as Sheriff George Morrison for the Oct. 5 cemetery tour.

“He was interesting … George Morrison was the pharmacist in town and worked at the hospital,” Leverett said of Morrison, who also worked in a butcher shop and later became the marshal in town.

“His father came to the area for the gold mining,” Leverett explained, adding that he actually knows Morrison’s grandson.

Morrison was born in Knights Ferry and served as Oakdale’s lawman in the early 1900s.

“He worked as a marshal at a time when Oakdale had its own prohibition law,” Leverett said.

And though the monologues are relatively brief, Leverett said they definitely hit the highlights and help put history into context.

“It tells a story about some of the history of what Oakdale is, we even get some of the juicy stuff,” Leverett noted. “I hope this will pique everybody’s interest in what happened years and years ago in Oakdale. This is a unique thing so we’ll give it a try.”

Being put on through the Friends of Oakdale Heritage, this evening cemetery walk will serve as a fundraiser for the East J Street cemetery and focus on six residents buried there.

Featured previously, also taking the ‘stage’ at the cemetery for this event will be Kelly Skultety as Grace Wright, Derick Sturke as “Judge” William A. Griffin and Rudy Skultety as Henry Langworthy.

For more information or to purchase tickets, go to the website, oakdalecitizenscemetery.org.