Learning more

Sunday, August 25th 2013, a group from Ely Community History Society drove to the Riverside, Iowa area to view two restored pioneer cemeteries.

We visited with Arlen Nickolan, of rural Riverside, who was instrumental in restoring both cemeteries and continues to maintain them along with the local township trustees funding.

Arlen gave us a very informative talk about his experiences and tricks of the trade he had learned, as well as supplies that we will need and other tips. 

He then took us to the two cemeteries, Kupka Cemetery, located on a wooded hilltop reached by a path through fields with not many graves, and the second, Patterson Cemetery, also reached by a path through fields, which had 40+ graves stones, some of which he had to fish out of a nearby pond!

Arlen has done excellent work and we thank him for his willingness to share knowledge with us. With each encounter with people who have "already done this"  we learn so much, and we gain confidence that we can accomplish our goals at Fackler's Grove Cemetery.

Below is an article about one of the cemeteries Arlen helped restore.

Local efforts brings cemetery “back to life”

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. 

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.

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.