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Commissioners discuss Guthrie burying ground, Assumption and Sage Chapel cemetery documentation and volunteer service day
Summary
Commissioner Hunt reported no recent maintenance at the Guthrie burying ground, relayed a citizen's emailed additions to the Assumption Cemetery veterans list, and staff announced a May 6 service day at Sage Chapel Cemetery with VFW Post 5077 and Volunteer Services.
Commissioner Hunt reported to the O'Fallon Historic Preservation Commission that he has not received a maintenance update for the Guthrie burying ground; he said staff previously allowed a 30-day window to act and that he will follow up. Hunt also told the commission he received an email from Kevin Kelly identifying two Civil War veterans (Henry and Joseph Beagle) buried at Assumption Cemetery and noted the family connection to Assumption Parish.
Hunt said the committee is compiling a list of 186 documented veterans and that a staff-level public-relations concern has delayed publication of the full names list. "I told him that we would love for that to happen, but at this moment we're getting a little bit of pushback... from PR to actually list the names," Hunt said, adding the list could generate community interest around Veterans Day or Memorial Day.
Staff and commissioners discussed ways to confirm unmarked graves; staff suggested contacting Assumption Parish groundskeepers or parish records to locate graves that are documented but unmarked. The commission noted that some memorials or monuments already mark groups of graves and that verification will rely on parish or cemetery records.
Separately, staff announced a community service day at Sage Chapel Cemetery on May 6 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., organized with VFW Post 5077, Volunteer Services and Parks. Tanya asked volunteers not to touch headstones; the work will focus on vegetation and general cleanup. City staff also noted that Sage Chapel has documented burials and a recent community effort to replace a World War I marker (an action by VFW Post 5077 in 2017) and that the cemetery was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2018.
Commissioners directed staff to follow up with parish records for the Assumption Cemetery queries, to continue documenting known burials for the commission's cemetery project, and to circulate volunteer sign-up information through Volunteer Services when the project is ready to begin.
