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

Could this be the old Jappa School since the family lived nearby?

Farm scene near Ely, IA

A wedding - people unknown.  Please help identify.

Read a story about a murder that took place in the Ely area in 1898, from Iowa Unsolved Murders.

Tracks in the Night: Murder of Edward Moore
by Nancy Bowers

 

Progress Report and Upcoming Meeting

June 1, 2013
Boy Scout, Sam Wertz, members & supporting adults of the Red Cedar District, Hawkeye Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America, volunteers and Ely Community History Committee members gathered at Fackler's Grove Cemetery on June 1st to begin the long-needed clean-up of the grounds. Sam Wertz has chosen this to be his Eagle Scout Project.

The scouts and their families and friends did an outstanding job.  They were well organized, prepared for the work that needed to be done, and there was  lot of work!  There may have been some moments of "What did we get ourselves into," when the workers pulled up and saw the chest high grass!

Below are some photos of the work in progress.

Click the images to enlarge them.

A rather daunting look at the lush growth
of weeds and ditch lilies before work started.

 

Work in progress

Lots of foliage to remove!

Above and below:  photos of the "after"

They also removed a lot of brush
and felled one dead tree.

June 15, 2013

The second Eagle Scout work day on June 15th at the cemetery also went very well and a lot of work was accomplished. The scouts and volunteers continued clearing grass and brush and mowed the part they had done June 1st again. They also hauled all the wood from the felled tree to a nearby ravine.

Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR)

The Ely Community History Society will be meeting with an expert on ground penetrating radar to learn about the technology and decide if it will be worthwhile to use his services to do a survey of the grounds. GPR is non-invasive so no graves or stones would be disturbed.  A survey could help us with the following:
- Identify unmarked grave locations
- Locate markers or bases buried under the sod

- Result in a "map' of his findings

Upcoming Informational 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.

If you wish to donate toward this worthy project, please send your check with "Fackler's Grove Cemetery Project" in the memo line to:

 Ely Community History Society, Inc.
  P.O. Box 191
  Ely, IA 52227

The ECHS is a not-for-profit organization.

Cemetery Clean-Up

 Photo taken during a visit to the cemetery in spring, 2013.

 We are excited and pleased to announce that cleanup of Fackler's Grove Cemetery is to begin on Saturday, June 1, 2013 (rain day is June 15th).

Sam Wertz, a member of Red Cedar District, Hawkeye Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America, has taken on the initial cleanup of the cemetery as an Eagle Scout project.  We have met several times with Sam and his father David to thoroughly agree on how to proceed.

A party of six Scouts accompanied by seven adults will begin working on removal of brush, mowing and weed-eating weeds, spot killing of invasive species such as multiflora rose, removal of small saplings and small dead trees, and making the gate/ entrance fencing more accessible. This will all be done taking into careful consideration the grave markers that are present, so as not to disturb or harm them.

Removal of large trees will be undertaken at a later date.

In other news ....

Cheri Franke of Ely, who has expertise in prairie plant identification, and Clary Illian visited the cemetery and identified prairie plants that are present.  They also identified invasive species that need to be spot-killed and relayed that information to the Scouts.

Clary Illian and Barb Horak of the Ely Community History Society (ECHS) met with the Big Grove Board of Trustees on May 21, to present a plan of action and discuss the project. 

The Big Grove Trustees intend to budget monies toward the project.  They will be responsible for long-term upkeep and maintenance.

ECHS has committed $500 as “seed money” to help with the project, and $500 to go toward later phases of the project, such as repair/restoration of grave markers and signage.

ECHS has received $275 in donations from Fackler descendants so far, with indications of more support to come from other descendants and interested parties.

We are now in Phase 1 of the project.  Phase II will address fencing, and Phase III will involve restoration of grave markers and signage.

We have been unsuccessful in obtaining a plot map of the cemetery.  There may not be one.  If anyone knows of one, please contact us!

If you wish to donate toward this worthy project, please send your check with "Fackler's Grove Cemetery Project" in the memo line to:

 Ely Community History Society, Inc.
  P.O. Box 191
  Ely, IA 52227

The ECHS is a not-for-profit organization.

 Photo taken during a visit to the cemetery in spring, 2013.

Cemetery Project

UPDATE for Fackler's Grove Cemetery Project

The committee has visited the cemetery and received permission from the Big Grove Trustees to begin clearing the brush and debris from the grounds.  We will be making plans for work days. We will also meet with the Trustees to present a more formal plan of action.