7/31/2013

Visit with SAPIC experts

On Wednesday, July 31, 2013 ECHS members Ed Vavra, Clary Illian, & Barb Horak, as well as Robert Hach of Ely, met with Steve and Donna Story from Hawkeye, Iowa at Fackler's Grove Cemetery.

The Storys are members of the State Association for the Preservation of Iowa Cemeteries (SAPIC) and have been working in pioneer cemeteries for 30 some years.

The Storys gave us much needed information and advice, showed us how to probe for buried stones and demonstrated dowsing techniques used for finding unmarked burials, where the ground has been disturbed.

As we probed we began to find stones buried anywhere from 4 to 6 inches under the ground. Most of these were bases of gravestones that had fallen and been moved to another location, but we did find a number of foot stones with initials and a couple of buried gravestones.

Thanks so much to Steve and Donna. Your advice and willingness to volunteer your time is very much appreciated!

Below is a photo slide show of what we unearthed today. Click on an image to enlarge it. If you cannot view the slide show, click here.

Info meeting held

An informational meeting about the Fackler's Grove Cemetery Project was held on July 23rd in the lower level of the Ely Community Center with 13 attending.

Barb Horak gave a brief history about how the early Ely area settlers came to Iowa, information on some of the families represented in the cemetery, and a bit of history on the cemetery itself.

Clary Illian talked about how the project started and progress so far. At present we are in the "clean-up" stage, and the entire project may take several years.

A discussion and question period ended the evening.

The owner of the land surrounding the cemetery expressed concern that people may be entering his farmstead and crossing his property without his knowledge or permission. For this reason we have posted directions on how to access the cemetery. Click here for that information.

7/22/2013

Grant received

The Ely Community History Society is pleased to announce that we are the recipient of a $200.00 grant from the State Association for the Preservation of Iowa Cemeteries (SAPIC). The grant is to be used toward the Fackler's Grove Cemetery Project.

SAPIC was formed in 1996 as a result of legislation that allowed for each of Iowa's 99 counties to create a County Cemetery Commission. The focus of these Commissions was to rescue untended pioneer graves and cemeteries and to take responsibility for the upkeep of such sites. Iowa law defines a Pioneer Cemetery as one in which there have been 12 or fewer burials in the past 50 years.

Please visit the SAPIC web site to find out more about this organization.

The last burial at Fackler's Grove Cemetery was in 1917, so it qualifies as a pioneer cemetery. You may view known burials in the cemetery at the Find A Grave web site.

7/15/2013

Information meeting

ECHS will hold an informational meeting in the lower level of the Ely Community Center on Tuesday, July 23, 2013 at 7:00 p.m. The Center is located at 1570 Rowley Street in Ely.

All interested parties are invited to attend to learn about the Fackler's Grove Cemetery Project. For information call Clary Illian at (319) 848-4963 or Barb Horak, 848-4074.

Unknown photos

Attached are two unidentified postcards that have the back that appears to be from the 1907 - 1914 era. One is of a classroom, and the other is of some men who have been working in the fields. You are welcome to share these to see if anyone might have any info on who or where they might have been taken.

The other attachment is a family photo that is not labeled and we do not recognize. Please feel free to share that one also. These were all from photos my grandmother Libbie had, so they are from the Erenberger-Kust-Trpkosh family. The Kust family lived on Jappa Road.

- Julie Brouwer