MINUTES OF THE DOGTOWN HISTORICAL SOCIETY
August 12, 2005

CALL TO ORDER: – President, John Corbett, called the meeting to order at 10:10 a.m. at the St. James Rectory. Twelve people were in attendance: Bob Corbett, John Corbett, Henry Herbst, Rose Kennedy, Virginia Lopez, Bill Miller, Gerry Miller, Kurt Odendahl, Kay Richard, Sally Sharamitaro and two guests; Brian Kennedy and Carol Nemeth.

A motion was made and seconded to approve the minutes of the last meeting. A vote was taken and the minutes for June were approved.

Treasurer’s Report – Sally Sharamitaro gave the treasurer’s report for June in the absence of treasurer, Didi Gardner. The beginning balance was $4,130.58. There was income of $245.00. Expenses came to $759.28. Ending balance is $3,616.30.

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 the report on the next Speakers Series event for 2005, to be held on September 18, 2005, entitled “History of Early Cheltenham (1800-1850) and a“Gift” from Haiti”, Bob Corbett will be the speaker. He will trace world events; revolutions, food, slave and spice trade, foreign policies from Washington, Paris, London, San Domingue and Madrid.

   Bob plans to show how the unexpected outcome of the HAITIAN REVOLUTION, begun as a slave uprising and led by Toussaint Louverture, would become the dominant cause that would allow the young, small and poor nation of the United States to virtually steal the Louisiana Territory from France, making the founding, growth and development of the Cheltenham/Dogtown area possible.

   Sally also presented the projected Speakers Series Schedule for 2006:
   

   February 19, 2006 -- History of the Muny Opera -- Speaker, Laura Peters Reilly
   April 16, 2006 -- Forest Park Highlands -- Speaker, Doug Garner
   Summer TBA
   October 15, 2006 -- Taylor City Belt RR/Tyrolean Alps -- Speaker, Henry Herbst

3. Ghost Signs – Henry Herbst reported on the progress made on the Ghost Sign Project. Henry said that the target date is impossible to determine at this point, but he would expect it no sooner than summer 2006. That timeframe would work well for his presentation in October 2006.

   Henry feels that permission of the building owner will not be a problem. At present, however, with the current alderman facing a possible recall vote, no application for city permits will be sought until the recall vote is decided.

   OTHER BUSINESS –
   

   Let’s Go – Bob brought both DHS copies of the newly bound St. James Church Bulletin’s “Let’s Go”. They are huge books which contain all 1190 pages, copies of the original printed bulletins, which Bob borrowed from the Rectory. The bulletins date from March 1925 to July 1932. Bob announced that the DHS copies will be available for members interested in borrowing them. The early bulletins dated March 1925 through April 1927, are also posted online on the Dogtown website. Readers there have the option of using the online search function to locate family names.

   Fund Raiser - Henry presented information on the possibility of the DHS printing a calendar as a fund raiser. He reported that the Eureka Historical Society (EHS) spent a total of $2500.00 on expenses, of that $800.00 was spent for the graphics, $1700.00 for the printing of their EHS calendar. The EHS was able to collect that entire amount in advertisements prior to the printing of the calendar. Although there was concern that the DHS would have trouble finding photographs that would be of the quality needed, Henry felt it could be done.

   Henry also shared that the Eureka Historical Society hosted a recent presentation by an archeological group. This group was very interested in the mines in the St. Louis area.

   Eminent Domain - Bill Miller announced that a special meeting hosted by State Representative Rachel Storch on the topic of Eminent Domain, will be held in the St. James School Meeting Room on Tuesday, August 15, 2005 at 7:00pm.
   Good of the Order – John brought forward for discussion the issue of the recall vote on the current alderman, Tom Bauer. He suggested that for now future DHS business would be postponed until after the September 20, 2005 vote.

   A motion was then made and seconded to cancel the DHS September 10, 2005 meeting. A vote was taken and the motion passed, the September meeting will be cancelled.

Meeting adjourned 10:45 a.m. Next meeting will be Saturday, October 8, 2005 at 10:00am in St. James Rectory, 6401 Wade Avenue.

Respectfully submitted
Sally Ryan Sharamitaro,
Secretary, Dogtown Historical Society