Celebrating 135 years!
During 2023, the Society proudly celebrated the 135th anniversary of its founding. It was in 1888 that a group of a dozen women organized the Wright City Memorial Society with the stated purpose of caring for the city cemetery. That mission has been carried out by a dedicated group of volunteers throughout the past 135 years. Today the group, now known as the Wright City Cemetery Memorial Society, is tasked with preserving, caring for and beautifying the cemetery as well as educating others about its history.
Civic Organization
The Society is one of the oldest civic organizations in Wright City. The Pauldingville Masonic Lodge is the only known organization that pre-dates the Memorial Society. In honor of this long history serving the Wright City Community, we are sharing bits of historical information to this site. (Scroll down this page) Perhaps some of the names and events we mention will bring back memories to many of you.
Cemetery Memorial Society Presidents
\Johanna Heidtmann 1915
Caroline Schnadt 1916
Emma Hedeman 1917
Margaret Cahill 1918
Margaret Kamp 1919
Martha Burton 1920-1921
Henrietta Bockhorst 1922
Manie Krome 1923-1945
Malinda Schmitt 1946-1956
Lillie Stamer 1957-1967
Letitia Bleile 1968-1973
Gladys Hetlage 1974
Frona Ordelheide 1975-1980
Bernice Keller** 1981-1987
Lillian Pauk 1988-2000
Karen Girondo 2001-2002
Georgia Koster 2003-2006
Lenora Schaper 2007-2009
Loretta Bierer 2010-2011
Lenora Schaper 2012-2018
Shirley Ross 2019-2021
Jerry Prouhet 2022 - present
**Resigned office July 1987
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Note: There are no known records of the Memorial Society from its founding in 1888 through 1914 and hence no record of the society’s officers for these years.
Memorial Society Bits of History
Founding of the Society
Other than the date - August 30, 1888 - and the number of organizers - 12 women - we know little about that first meeting of the Wright City Memorial Society. There are no known records of the first 27 years of the Society so the sparse information we have comes from the local newspapers of that time.
We do not know the names of these energetic women or where they met and what they did during that first meeting. We can imagine it was likely a hot August afternoon when the dozen ladies gathered at the home of one of the organizers. The hostess no doubt served some refreshments, perhaps fresh lemonade and a light homemade angel food cake. Perhaps...
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First Caretaker
One hundred years ago 1923, Society members took a significant step to ensure the consistent care of the Wright City Cemetery. The 17 members in attendance at the March2, 1923, meeting voted to employ a groundskeeper - the first in the history of the cemetery. Previously, the society would contract with individuals for specific work, such as mowing, tree removal or filling in of graves or the work was simply performed by volunteers.
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Society's Work
The Memorial Society's work extended beyond the cemetery.
During the early years of the Memorial Society besides caring for the cemetery grounds, members also paid a fitting tribute to all deceased persons prior to their burial in the cemetery. At that time, there were no funeral homes as we know today, but rather the body of the deceased was kept at the family's home until the day of the funeral. At that time, the body would be taken to a church where family and friends gathered for the funeral service. From there, the body was transported to the cemetery for burial.
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Financial Struggles
Like many families during and immediately after World War *, the Memorial Society struggled to make ends meet and pay the bills. The Society relied on donations and occasional fundraisers to pay for the care and maintenance of the cemetery. During the war years, many individuals did not have extra money, and donations to the Society slowed. In October 1919, Society members learned the group did not have enough funds to pay its mowing bill. The Society owed $15.00 for mowing of the cemetery grounds, and there was only $9.71 in the bank checking account.
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Lot Owners Respond
After much discussion on how to pay for the care and beautification of the cemetery, Memorial Society members decided in 1923 to turn to individual lot owners for help. In those days, individuals paid the City a nominal fee to purchase a lot in the cemetery. Each lot contained 12 grave sites. No money was paid to the City or the Society for the care of the lot - mowing it or filling, leveling and seeding new graves.
At their meeting Jan. 5, 1923, Society members agreed to send letters to all lot owners soliciting money for the care of the cemetery. The ministers in each of Wright City's three churches were also asked to read the letter at their church service. Response to the letter was swift, and ...
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Krome - Society President
The longest-serving president of the Society was Manie Hudson Krome. During her 23 years at the helm, Mrs. Krome oversaw many cemetery improvements and initiated several new programs.
Mrs. Krome assumed the leadership role in 1923, and three months later, the Society hired its first cemetery caretaker. Also that year, the Society paid for the removal of dead trees from the cemetery, and the following year, it hired a temporary worker to clear brush from the unimproved area of the cemetery. Society members planted flowers in designated beds at the cemetery entrance and along the road.
In the following years, Mrs. Krome was instrumental in the purchase of property to provide a new driveway into the cemetery and in the construction of a bridge. Throughout her time in office,
Future of Cemetery is Secured
After years struggling to raise money to pay for the care of the cemetery, Society members in 1929 decided it was time to pursue a stable source of funding. At its first meeting of the year on March 1, Memorial Society President Marie Krome appointed a committee of three women - Maggie Crews, Marguerite Astroth and herself - to meet with the Town Board regarding establishment of a perpetual care fund.
At the April meeting, the committee reported the Town Board was receptive of the idea and would proceed to draw an ordinance establishing such a fund. It was agreed that all persons who purchase a lot in the city cemetery would be required to pay...
Flower Beds in Cemetery
Springtime beckons us to spend time outside and look at ways we can add a bit of beauty to our surroundings; perhaps we plant some flowers, sew some seeds, add some trees to the landscape or reseed the lawn. Likewise, Memorial Society members through the years have undertaken a variety of projects to beautify the cemetery grounds.
In the spring of 1924, members agreed that flower beds would add beauty and color to the cemetery entrance. Mrs. Butts, Mrs. Bockhorst, Mrs. Heidtman and Mrs. Krome were named to the committee to make the new beds. (Unfortunately, the first names of these women are not given in the meeting minutes.)
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Land Purchase
The Memorial Society played a key role improving the entrance to the cemetery nearly 100 years ago. The Society initiated talks with a neighboring landowner to secure the small tract of land and then loaned the City the money it needed to purchase the property.
At a meeting August 7, 1925, Society President Marie Krome appointed a committee of herself, Marie Nieburg and Caroline Schnadt to meet with Emil Osterwald and determine if he would agree to sell a small portion of his property lying east of Elm Avenue and adjoining the cemetery grounds. The committee was also tasked......
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2017 - Society Integration
For the first 129 years of existence, the Memorial Society was a "ladies only" group. It is not known why as there was nothing in the group's bylaws that limited membership to women. We know the Society was founded by a group of a dozen women, and perhaps it simply became considered a women's organization - meetings were held on weekday afternoons in the homes of members followed by a social hour during which the hostess served refreshments. Also, years ago it was uncommon for organizations to have both male and female members.
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Saluting the Cemetery Caretakers
Through the years, many individuals have taken on the task of caring for the cemetery grounds. They have mowed the grass, filled, leveled and seeded new grave sites and in some instances trimmed trees and bushes.
The Memorial Society first employed a caretaker for the cemetery in 1923 when it hired Mr. Miller (his first name is not listed in Society records) at a monthly salary of $35.00. The Society continued to employ and pay a cemetery caretaker until 2018 when the Society asked the City...
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Memorial Day Celebration
Memorial Day weekend brings the most visitors to the cemetery during a single, three-day period as any other time during the year. For many persons who live a distance away and unable to visit the grave sites of family members regularly, it is a tradition to make an annual pilgrimage to the cemetery at Memorial Day.
With this in mind, the Memorial Society attempts to do what it can to insure the cemetery grounds are neat and tidy and ready to welcome visitors.
In the 20th century, the day was known as...
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