Local Storytelling "Celebrity" Jerry Ford to Tell Tales at the Swapping Ground

If you ask local Cape resident Jerry Ford, he’ll tell you that he’s never told tales in a public forum but he’s had people rolling in the aisles when telling tales at house parties. “I never thought much about my stories, but when they changed the Cape city slogan to 'where the river turns a thousand tales,' I thought I have to remember these." If you dig a little deeper, he’ll tell you that his first book of stories will make its publishing debut September 3rd. His book, The Gardenville Grove: Stories of Tombstones, Tamborines and Tammany Hall (Southeast Missouri State University Press) will feature all of his best stories about moriticans, musicians, and politicians. Ford, along with over a dozen amateur tellers will tell tales at the Cape Girardeau Storytelling Festival this year at the Swapping Ground. The Swapping Ground will be held in the Meriwether Tent on Saturday April 10th, from 12:00-1:00 and again from 3:30-4:30.