CEMETERY CAMPAIGN GEARS UP; DONATIONS SOUGHT FOR SECURITY FENCE

Organizers of the Friends of Old Lorimier Cemetery fund-raising campaign are hoping to have enough money by the end of the month to erect a security fence around the vandalism-plagued site.

The city's Historic Preservation Commission and Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, in cooperation with the city's historical association, next week will begin to solicit donations for the fence.

John Schneider of the Historic Preservation Commission said the security fence is the first priority in efforts to preserve one of the city's oldest landmarks.

Vandals have struck the 150-year-old cemetery several times since June and have damaged more than 80 stones, according to Terrell Weaver, cemetery sexton.

The vandalism sparked a grass-roots campaign to better secure the city landmark, which will culminate with next week's fund-raising campaign.

"Obviously, the reduction of vandalism is our first priority, and we decided from different sources that the best way to do this is to install a fence," said Schneider.

"What we're attempting to do is, through an intense fund-raising campaign, ... raise the funds needed to erect a fence."

Schneider said the campaign will include residents who have shown interest in historic preservation. He said he believes the community is ready to help preserve the cemetery.

"I think this is an opportune time," Schneider said. "I think people are more aware of the historical significance of that cemetery and just what it means in terms of our heritage, and they're going to be willing to participate in our campaign."

The letter that will be sent to prospective contributors to the preservation effort identifies some of the more prominent Cape Girardeau residents buried in Old Lorimier Cemetery.

The letter is signed by Schneider; Jim Grebing, chairman of the parks board; and Dora Dace, president of the Historical Association of Greater Cape Girardeau, who quoted a statement made by Louis Houck 95 years ago.

"The culture, refinement, and, in fact, the civilization of a people can be measured by the respect paid its honored and distinguished dead," Houck, one of the city's most prominent figures, was quoted as saying.

"From a people taking no interest in the history of its past, taking no interest in the struggles that led to the establishment of its existence, drawing no inspiration from the lives and examples of its eminent men of an earlier time, little can be expected."

Among those buried in the cemetery are Louis Lorimier, the founder of Cape Girardeau; Houck; George Lewis, second cousin to President George Washington; Uriah Brock, a Revolutionary War soldier; George Greene, a Common Pleas Court judge, regarded as the founder of the Cape Girardeau Public Schools; and Alexander Buckner, Missouri's third United States senator and a national leader in the Masonic Lodge.

Schneider said the cemetery represents an important link with the city's past. He said Weaver has told him that more than 5,000 bodies are buried in the cemetery, many of them in unmarked graves.

"That's an unbelievable number of people and a lot of the research work that could be done to find out who all is buried there can be worked into different grants," Schneider said.

"But we've got so many prominent people out there already identified out there with tombs readily observable. It's just a tragedy what's happened out there."

One who readily agrees with Schneider is Jeanette Juden, whose husband, Andy, is a descendant of Houck.

"The vandalism certainly is a worry because the family expected that everything would be taken care of," she said. "Instead, we have the broken stones and desecration of the area that I don't understand at all.

"I know kids have a lot of fun in cemeteries, but I just can't understand why somebody would want to vandalize one."

Juden said she supports the grass-roots effort to raise funds for the fence project.

"I think there would be a lot of support for some type of security there," she said. "I don't know if just a fence would do it. I'm wondering if possibly they don't need some kind of security alarm. But I'm very supportive of that campaign."

Schneider said he's still considering the possibility of forming "foot crews" to patrol the cemetery late at night.

"We're really thinking about putting some people in there, teams of people, to patrol the cemetery and really get after those (vandals)," he said.

"I know that sounds a little fanatical, but it just shows how serious a problem some of the people in this community feel this is."

Schneider said he thinks private funding through donations is the most appropriate was to raise funds for the fence.

"A lot of people say, `Why doesn't the city do something about it,'" he said. "But there are so many pressing problems the city has to take care of already, I think this is something that should really come through private donations."

He said the group will continue the fund-raising campaign through October, with the hope of installing a fence by the end of the year.

Schneider said the money raised can be included in state grant applications as matching, in-kind donations. The grants, if approved, could be used to restore and preserve stones in the cemetery.

The letter said $35,000 is needed for the fence, but Schneider said it could cost less. "We'll basically raise money for the fence, whatever it turns out costing," he added.