Twenty-seven cities and towns are participating in the Alabama Tourism Department’s April Walking Tours in which community leaders guide free tours through the historic districts of their hometowns.

The Brundidge Historical Society offered a tour with a rather unique twist Saturday. Sixty people and more participated in a “set down” with three of the town’s colorful characters, Joey Strother, Don Renfroe and Don Dickert, who all have a wealth of knowledge about the people and places of home.

Strother, Renfroe and Dickert took center stage at Studio 116 at noon and shared stories of many of the “old-timers” who ran local businesses and their employees.

Dickert’s family owned and operated Dickert Lumber Company during the sawmill heydays in Brundidge. He shared photos and mementoes from the business. The lumberyard workers came to work, ate dinner and called it a day at the signal of the mill whistle, which continues to blow today. Dickert’s granddaughter, Abby Dickert, blew the whistle for the Saturday “walk.”

Renfroe shared stories of the three hardware stores that stocked everything anyone could need from caskets to plow points. He brought back memories of the hardware owners, William Smith, the Haisten brothers and the Jackson family, and employees like Joe Punk and Rip Ray. He talked about the drug stores and the Brundidge Mercantile and Chambers Stockyard, where he fostered his love of animals.

Strother took the gathering on a walk around town that included stops at Jackson Hardware, the “dime store” and the former First National Bank where his grandmother, the late Henrietta Hicks, was a teller when a pencil and paper were the computers of the time.

Across the street, was his granddaddy George Hicks’ general store, which was “generally” a gathering place for weather forecasters and “newscasters.”

Brundidge Mayor Jimmy Ramage participated in the walking/talking tour of his hometown.

“It was great. Really, I was pleasantly surprised that there was so much interest,” he said. “A couple of people, whose relatives had worked at the sawmill, came from Elba. Hopefully, this is an event that the Brundidge Historical Society will continue. I can see it growing every year.”

Kathy Sauer, Pike County Chamber of Commerce president, participated in the April Walking Tour of downtown Troy at 10 a.m. and then the tour in Brundidge.’’

“We had alternating walking tours of the Troy downtown area and historic College Street each Saturday in April, but the walks were “dampened” by rain so we didn’t have as many to participate as we had hoped,” Sauer said. “But, we’re hoping for sunshine on Saturday for the final tour, which will be of both the downtown area and College Street.”

The Troy tour on Saturday will form at the Pike County Chamber office at 10 a.m.

At 2 p.m. Sunday, the Pike County Historical Society will lead a tour of the historic residential district and the downtown area. Everyone is invited to participate in both tours.