Misc. Cemetery
Association Records:
1897
At the annual meeting of the Ladies Cemetery
Association last Thursday at the Court House the
following officers were elected:
Pres. - Mrs. J. C. Stemmer
Vice Pres. - Mrs. H. W. Wilke
Secretary - Mrs. H. S. Merritt
Treasurer - Mrs. L. F. Gossman
~Elkader Register, Fri. morning, 27 Aug. 1897.
Local Scrap Bag columns
~contributed by Reid R. Johnson
1902
The Ladies Cemetery Association recently
decided to incorporate, in order that their work migh be
more satisfactorily performed. In the seven years of its
existence this association has done noble work, and we
doubt if many of our readers realize its extent. Then
they took hold of the East Side Cemtery it was in a
deporable condition, fences down and no special care
taken of the grounds more than to hae the grass cut once
a year, just before Memorial day. But what a change, a
good durable fence has been put about the grounds,
additional lots were purchased, trees and shrubs planted,
gravestones repaired and reset, water extended to the
grounds and the lots carefully cared for and kept in
order. This year they have put in over 800 feet of
roadway, curbed and macadamized to that all parts of the
cemetery can be reached without driving upon the grass.
This roadway was put in by John Stoops and is an
excellent piece of work, the cost being $668.00. The city
water works have been extended about this roadway with
four hydrants at intervals so that water is easy to be
had from all parts of the grounds.
No person who was familiar with the
appearance of the cemetery a few years ago, can visit it
now without expressing hearty words of commendation to
the ladies who have worked so hard to accomplish what has
taken place. It has not always been smooth or pleasant.
Now that they have been incorporated and given the
authority to control the cemetery, they propose to
continue in the good work, and that this may be done
pleasantly and with the least amount of misunderstanding
they have promulgated a set of rules and regulations.
These have been approved by the town council and are now
the laws governing the cemetery.
Articles of Incorporation - By
Laws - Rules & Regulations
Ladies Cemetery Association
We, the undersigned citizens of Clayton
county, Iowa, do by this act form ourselves into a body
corporate for cemetery purposes and do adopt the
following Article of Incorporation:
Article I
This corporation shall be known under the style and name
of The Ladies Cemetery Association of Elkader, Iowa, with
its principal place of business at Elkader, Iowa.
Article II
The object of this corporation shall be to look after and
care for the cemetery known as the East Side Cemetery at
Elkader, Iowa, to ornament and keep the same clean and in
good order, to regulate the burial of the dead, to extend
the limits from time to time, and to make all such
necessary regulations and improvements as may be
required, also to acquire, take, hae, and hold real
estate and personal property for cemetery purposes, to
make rules and regulations concerning the said property
and to dispose of the same.
Article III
The officers of this corporation shall be a President,
Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer and five
directors.
Article IV
The duties of the President, Vice President, Sectrtary
and Treasurer shall be such as usually pertain to said
offices.
Article V
The Directors shall have general charge of the cemetery
or cemeteries and of the sale of lots by themselves as
directors and to have charge of the expenditure of all
monies belonging to said corporation and to expend the
same for cemetery purposes only.
Article VI
Any lady who is interested in this work may become a
member of this Association by paying a membership fee of
fifty ceents and may withdraw from said Association by
giving written notice to the president to that efect and
a member so withdrawing shall lose all rights and
interests in the property of said corporation.
Article VII
The election of officers shall be held on the first
Thursday of April of each year and on the first Thursday
of April, 1903, there shall be elected a president, vice
president, secretary and treasurer, who shall each hold
office for one year or until their successors are elected
and qualified, also on said date there shall be elected
two directors for one year each, two directors for two
years each, and one director for three years, who shall
hold office until their successors are elected and
qualified. All officers shall be elected on the first
Thursday of April and shall hold office for one year and
until their successors are elected and qualified, except
that the term of office of the directors shall be three
years and until their successors shall be elected and
qualified.
Article VIII
Until the first annual election, the officers of this
corporation shall be Mrs. Lizzie Stemmer, Pres.; Mrs.
Emma Ruegnitz, Vice Pres.; Mrs. Emma Gossmann, Treas.;
Mrs. Ella Merritt, Secy.; and Mrs. Caroline Becker, Mrs.
Anna Wilke, Mrs. Kate Falkenheiner, Mrs. Julia Preston
and Mrs. Mary Griffith, Directors.
Article IX
This corporation shall not have power to incur indebted
ness to exceed two hundred dollars and all individual
property of its members shall be exempt fomr corporation
debts.
Article X
This corporation may, at its annual meeting on the first
Thursday of April, or at any meeting called for that
purpose, adopt any by-laws for its government not
inconsistent with these articles of the Code of Iowa.
Article XI
The duration of this corporation shall be forever unless
sooner terminated by some act of itself or by the General
Assembly of Iowa.
Article XII
These articles of incorporation may be amended at the
annual meeting on the first Thursday of April, or at any
special meeting called for that purpose by a two-thirds
votes of the members present.
Dated at Elkader, Iowa, this 20th day of June, 1902, A.D.
Lizzie Stemmer
Ella H. Merritt
Carolin Becker
Mrs. Wm. W. Wilke
Julia L. Preston
Mary A. Griffith
Katie Falenhainer
Minnie Kleinpell
Ella Schmidt
Louise Leibrock
Emma Ruegnitz
Josephine E. Leonard
Mrs. L.F Gossmann
Be it remembered that on this 20th day of June, 1902,
before me, G.H. Schulte, a Notary Public within and for
said county and state personally came [not re-typed,
named were the same women who signed the Articles of
Incorporation..sg] known to me to be the identical
persons whose names are affixed to the foregoing.
[Seal] G.H. Schulte, Notary Public
Resolution
Be it resolved by the Town Council of Elkader,
Iowa, that the Ladies Cemetery Association of Elkader,
Iowa, be and the same is hereby appointed Superintendent
of the East side Cemetery of Elkader, Iowa, to look
after, care for, and govern said cemetery under the
Articles of Incorporation, By-Laws, Rules and Regulations
adopted by said association up to this date.
July 17, 1902
G.H. Schulte, Mayor
Wm. F. Reinecke, Clerk
By Laws, Rules & Regulations
[trancription note: the following have been
abstracted or paraphrased by the transcriber]
I.
...duty of every member to advance the interests
& enlarge membership in all legitimate ways.
II.
...annual dues are $0.50; no dues in yr.
membership is taken
III.
...members deliquent for 1 yr. will not be
allowed to vote & may be suspended
IV.
...President will preside at meetings, call
special meetings, appoint committees & sign
all orders on the treasurer. Vice president will
assume same duties in absence of president
V.
...Secretary to do all record-keeping,
corresponding, keep minutes, sign orders on the
treasurer & receive all monies and pay it
into the hands of treasurer
VI.
...Treasurer to receive monies belonging to
association, pay all orders drawn, report monies
received & expended semi-annually, and give
bonds as fixed by associaiton
VII.
...Secretary & Treasurer's books open for
inspection at all times |
VIII.
...meetings 1st Thurs. of each month
IX.
...auditing committee to be appointed by
president in April & Oct. to examine &
audit books
X.
...lots sold for cash except in special cases
approv. by association; extension of payment,
sale or conveyance of lot or part of lot (that
part not occupied by a burial) can be made by
association on lots not fully paid or a burial
made in a lot not fully paid.
XI.
...lots to be properly seeded, kept mowed, graves
filled & trimmed
XII.
...no person will be allowed to trample on, pick
flowers from or remove plants except the owner of
a lot.
XIII.
...floral decorations, wire frame works, shells,
tin cans, glass cases & like objects that are
considered injurious to the beauty, dignity &
repose of the cemetery will be removed by the
assoc. if not by the owner
XIV.
...after full settlement, no grave will be
allowed to remain over 3 inches above the general
lot surface, no abrupt sides and no enclosure of
lot without the direction and supervision of the
association.
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XV.
...horses & teams not allowed in cemetery
except on draveways and not allowed to be hitched
to anything except hitching posts
XVI.
...graves will be dug by the employed sexton of
the association unless permission is obtained
from the directors
XVII.
...foundations from 16-24 inches square may be
laid with dry stone & not less than 3 ft.
deep, those from 24-36 in. sq. must be 4 ft. deep
& any over 36 in. will be not less than 5 ft.
deep and concrete. Any exposed part of foundation
to be cut stone. All work must be under approval
and supervision of directors.
XVIII.
...a quorum for transaction of assoc. business is
7
XIX - XX - XXI - XXII.
...special meetings can be called anytime by
pres. or by 3 members ...vacancies of office will
be filled by appointment to be held until next
annual meeting ... by-laws & regulations can
be amended at any regular meeting by 2/3 vote of
those present and the concurrence of the town
council ... violators of the above rules &
regulations are liable to a fine of $5.00 for
each offense.
Adopted this 17th day of July, 1902 |
~Elkader Register,
July 24, 1902 ~transcribed by S. Ferrall
~*~*~
1903
The Ladies' Cemetery Association, of
Elkader, held its annual meeting on Thursday last and
elected the following officers:
President,- Mrs. J. C. Stemmer
Vice Pres.,- Mrs. Clara Muegge
Secretary,- Mrs. Ella Merritt
Treasurer,- Mrs. Emma Gossmann
Directors,- For three years, Mrs. M. A. Griffith; for two
years, Mrs. Grace Jack and Mrs. Kate Falkenhainer; for
one year, Mrs. Julia Preston and Mrs. Caroline Becker.
The association proposes to hold its regular annual
dinner on Memorial day, May 30th.
~Elkader Register, Thur., April 9, 1903
~contributed by Reid R. Johnson
~*~*~
1905
The Ladies' Cemetery Association held
their annual meeting at the residence of Mrs. J. C.
Stemmer last Thursday and elected the following officers:
President - Mrs. J. C. Stemmer
Vice Pres. - Mrs. Geo. Muegge
Secretary - Mrs. Ella Merritt
Treasurer - Mrs. Jos. Lamm
Directors for three years - Mrs. R. F. Schmidt, Mrs. H.
W. Wilke
At a subsequent meeting of the directors Mrs. John Becker
was chosen chairman of the Board.
~Elkader Register, Thur., 13 Apr. 1905
~contributed by Reid R. Johnson
~*~*~
1906
The Elkader Ladies Cemetery Association
held its annual meeting at the residence of Mrs. J. C.
Stemmer last Thursday afternoon and elected the following
officers:
President- Mrs. J. C. Stemmer
Vice Pres.- Mrs. Clara Muegge
Sec.- Mrs. H. S. Merritt
Treas.- Mrs. Jos. Lamm
Directors- Mrs. S. V. Jack, Mrs. John Becker, Mrs. H. W.
Wilke and Mrs. R. F. Schmidt
The report of the treasurer showed that the association
had $1,000 in the endowment fund and about $75 in the
contingent fund. It is the hope of the members so to
increase the permanent fund that the interest will take
care of the cemetery. The ladies have worked hard for the
cemetery and deserve every encouragement.
~Elkader Register, Thur., April 12, 1906
~contributed by Reid R. Johnson
~*~*~
1910
The annual meeting of the Ladies Cemetery Association
was held at the home of Mrs. S. V. Jack last Thursday and
the following officers were elected:
President - Mrs. W. A. Preston
Vice-President - Mrs. D. G. Griffith
Secretary - Mrs. Ella Merritt
Treasurer - John F. Becker
Directors - Mrs. S. V. Jack, Mrs. B. F. Falkenhainer,
Mrs. John Becker, Mrs. J. G. Hempel
~Elkader Register & Argus, Thur., 14 Apr.
1910
~contributed by Reid R. Johnson
~*~*~
1929
The annual meeting of the East Side
Cemetery Association was held at the home of Mrs. F. H.
Soll. Officers elected for the ensuing year were as
follows:
Pres. - Mrs. F. H. Soll
Treas. - John Becker
Sec. - Mrs. Grace Jack
Directors - Mrs. Kate Dittmer, Mrs. Emma Bishop
~Clayton County Register, Thur., 11 Apr. 1929
~contributed by Reid R. Johnson
~*~*~
1947
Fifty-second Anniversary of the
Ladies Cemetery association of the East Side cemetery
The Ladies Cemetery association of the
East Side cemetery at Elkader celebrated the 52nd
anniversary of its organization when 20 members met at
the home of Mrs. Kathryn Dittmer Wednesday afternoon.
Present in the group was Mrs. Louise Leibrock of Elkader,
a charter member of the association. She and Mrs. Ella
Merritt of Los Angeles are the only members living of the
original group. Mrs. Grace Jack, a former resident of
Elkader, now of Strawberry Point, who joined in 1896, was
present, Mrs. Kathryn Dittmer joined in 1899, and the two
have been members continuously.
All three women, Mrs. Leibrock, Mrs. Jack and Mrs.
Dittmer gave accounts of the early activity of the
association, the condition of the cemetery when the
association assumed the responsibility of its upkeep and
the progress that has been made in beautifying the
grounds through all the years. A potluck supper was
served at 6 p.m.
The present officers of the association are president,
Mrs. Lena Bente; secretary, Mrs. Kate Wistrick and
treasurer, Mrs. Ada Bandow. The first records of the
association revealed that the following ladies served as
officers when it was organized: president, Mrs. Lizzie
Stemmer, deceased; secretary, Mrs. Ella Merritt now of
Los Angeles, and treasurer, Mrs. Caroline Becker,
deceased.
Mrs. Kathryn Dittmer will celebrate her 86th birthday
anniversary Sunday, and the occasion recognized both
anniversaries.
~Oelwein Daily Register, July 25, 1947
~contributed by S. Ferrall
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