MINUTES OF THE DOGTOWN HISTORICAL SOCIETY
October 8, 2005

CALL TO ORDER: – Virginia Lopez, Vice President, in the absence of President, John Corbett, called the meeting to order at 10:20 a.m. at the St. James Rectory. Nine people were in attendance: Didi Gardner, Tom Haller, Rose Kennedy, Virginia Lopez, Bill Miller, Gerry Miller, Kurt Odendahl, Sally Sharamitaro and Dorothy Tarne

A motion was made and seconded to approve the minutes of the last meeting with one correction. In the second paragraph under General Business, the heading; “Ghost Signs” should read “Fund Raisers” A vote was taken and the minutes were approved as corrected.

Treasurer’s Report – Didi Gardner gave the treasurer’s report for September. The beginning balance was $3,174.30. Three new memberships added $30.00. No Expenses for the month. Ending balance is $3204.30.

1. Century Home Committee – Bill Miller informed the members that a Century home at 6502 West Park is in the process of being sold to a developer, and may be torn down. As a Century Home plaque was purchased for the home, Bill plans to contact the owners to ask if they would agree to donate their plaque to the DHS for the Archives.

   Bob Corbett reported that the owner of the O’Gorman Century home, the oldest house in Dogtown, has agreed to display the historic Century Home plaque that was purchased and donated by the DHS.

2. Speakers Series - Sally Sharamitaro presented a report on the third Speakers Series event for 2005, held on September 18, 2005, entitled “History of Early Cheltenham (1800-1850) and a“Gift” from Haiti”.

   Bob Corbett, as always, presented an extremely well researched and very interesting program.

   As an introduction, Bob shared his early experiences in Haiti, first on trips with family and volunteer groups to do what they could to help the poor and ill people of Haiti.

   He continued on to share an experience that happened while he was alone in a remote village of Haiti. Bob was told a story by his Haitian hosts, after a dinner cooked over an open fire that triggered his research into this topic, leading to a research paper and ultimately this presentation.

   The overheads Bob prepared for the presentation included images, maps and listings of world events that triggered changes during the years leading to the U.S. Acquisition of “The Louisiana Territory” and ultimately to Charles Gratiot acquiring the land that would become Cheltenham.

   Fifty two people signed the attendance sheets. Two History teachers from Lindberg and Ladue High Schools gave extra credit to any of their students who attended the program.

   DHS Expenses for this program were $210.00

   Autumn Eakin, who videotapes our Speaker Series programs, has two videos of former Speaker Series programs that are edited and complete. She has been busy with a new job and apartment, but I should be in touch with her next week. With this most recent video, the expenses to the DHS for the three tapes ($200 each) will be a grand total of $600.00 plus her expenses for blank video cassettes.

   Sally also informed the members that the DHS has received a copy of the video of the “History of the St. Louis Zoo” program. The video will be added to DHS video archives and in the care of Virginia Lopez, our video librarian. Virginia is preparing a listing of all of the DHS videos in her care.

   Fund Raisers – The members discussed the expenses for the recent program and options for another DHS fund raiser. Several members liked the idea of a calendar, and a lively discussion followed on the difficulty of selling ads. Gerry Miller suggested that the same companies that advertise on the back cover of the St. James Church Bulletin could be contacted. All members agreed that a committee may need to be created, but no one agreed to lead the project or the committee.
   OTHER BUSINESS –
   

   Local Alderman – Tom Bauer, the local Alderman for the 24th Ward, has been recalled by a special election. There will be a second special election on December 13, 2005, at which time the voters will choose a replacement to carry out the remainder of his term.

   Archives – Tom Haller presented several items that he plans to donate to the DHS archives. The items are; two complete Dogtown sports uniforms and one music CD.

   The first uniform was a baseball uniform with the logo of the Dogtown Khoury League. It consisted of a shirt, pants and socks. The second uniform was a basketball uniform with the logo of the St. James Basketball team. It consisted of a basketball shirt and shorts. The CD is titled “The Last Missouri Exit” and contains a copy of the song “The Highlands is Burning Down” written by Tom’s brothers, John and Charles Haller.

Meeting adjourned 10:55 a.m. Next meeting will be Saturday, November 12, 2005 at 10:00am in St. James Rectory, 6401 Wade Avenue.

Respectfully submitted
Sally Ryan Sharamitaro,
Secretary, Dogtown Historical Society