by Jean Feld Rissover and Michael Boyd Jr.
The Ste. Genevieve Herald, Ste. Genevieve
March 12, 2003
page 1-4

    Vandals struck one of Ste. Genevieve’s most important and irreplaceable historic landmarks last week, doing damage that will cost thousands of dollars and causing much heartbreak.   
    The still-unknown persons attacked at least a dozen grave markers at Memorial Cemetery, toppling some, smashing others.
    At Herald press time police were saying they had no definite leads in the case and were seeking information from anyone who could help find the perpetrators.
    Plans were in place for work on restoring the old cemetery, which was founded in the 1780s. The oldest legible grave stone was that of Louis LeClere, who was interred at the site in 1796.
    The cemetery was closed in 1882, because it was seriously overcrowded. (There was one notable exception–a final burial. See page 8 for details.)
    What followed was pretty much decades of official neglect. Work done at the cemetery was largely on a volunteer basis. Some repairs and improvements were undertaken by people like Bob Rottler and Kenny Grass. In the 1970s, lights were installed at the site, primarily for reasons of public safety. They, too, have been vandalized on many occasions over the years.
    Then, about 10 years ago, there surfaced a new wave of interest in restoring the cemetery–or at least protecting the site from further deterioration.
    An important development occurred in the mid-1990s, when the City of Ste. Genevieve agreed to accept ownership of the burial ground, which was officially the property of the Church of Ste. Genevieve. (The original title to the cemetery was held by “the Church and Catholic citizens of Ste. Genevieve.”) The St. Louis Archdiocese authorized the local church to quit claim the property to the city and the city took over the cemetery in 1996.
    The city had already arranged to enter into a formal agreement with the Foundation for Restoration of Ste. Genevieve, which agreed to carry out preservation activities at the graveyard, while the city assumed responsibility for mowing and ordinary maintenance.
    Shortly after the agreement was signed, the Foundation financed a study of the cemetery, including proposals for restoration of some of the damaged stones.
    The first phase of actual preservation work was to occur this year, as the preservation organization finalized plans to replace the old wire fence and gate with new, wrought-iron perimeter fencing and a new entry gate. (Additional phases of the restoration project included plans for repairing and restoring damaged gravestones, recreating some of the original landscaping at the site, and other work.)
    The city committed about $35,000 to phase one of the restoration, a project that will cost about $77,000. The Foundation is in the process of raising the rest of the money, and planned to kick off a full-scale fund-raising campaign this spring.
    “That portion of the project will proceed,” said Frank Myers, president of the Foundation. “But there is no question that this is a setback. And it is a very sad occurrence.”
    Barb Basler agrees. She is a member of the Foundation’s Cemetery Committee. But in addition, Basler has a more personal association with the site. She grew up and still lives directly across the street from the cemetery. Her late mother, Lucille, was responsible for obtaining and organizing much of what is known about burials at the cemetery.
    Lucille Basler also was the cemetery’s unofficial caretaker for many years, when no official entities would take responsibility. Barb Basler remembers working alongside her mother, pulling weeds and picking up trash in the graveyard, despite the fact that no members of her family were ever buried there.
    “I’m very upset about this. People destroying gravesites is horrible, anyplace it happens. But this is very personal for me,” Basler told the Herald last week. “We’ve been tied to the cemetery–and the town–for generations. I have many memories of the ways in which my mother was involved with it.
    “When people come in and destroy things like this, it shows their lack of caring. Whoever is doing this should be stopped, and they should be made to pay restitution.”
    Basler said she hopes that in the future local police will keep a closer eye on the cemetery.
“We need more police patrols around it, a closer eye kept on it,” she said. “And if somebody is caught, they need to get more than a smack on the hands.”
    Mayor Kathleen Waltz hopes so, too.
    “I hope the people who did this can be identified, and dealt with harshly and promptly, no matter who they are,” she said. “We will make every effort to assure that they are identified.”
    She added, “This is a sad thing for the whole community. The fact that the jewel of our historic district–the place where our ancestors are buried–has been attacked by vandals is an affront to everyone, not just to the families whose relatives are interred there.”
    City police are conducting an investigation. Detective Doug Enloe is in charge.
    “Sometime between March 1 and early March 3 at least10 stones were knocked over and damaged by means that are unknown at this time,” Enloe said last Wednesday. He added that the full report had not been completed.
    “As far as I know, we don’t have any suspects in mind at the moment,” he said.
    Enloe said the department is seeking information on the incident from the public.
    “Anyone who has any information is welcome to call the Tips Line at (573) 883-2287,” he said. “The call will be confidential.”
    Memorial Cemetery was also struck by vandals in the spring of 2001. They felled a stone column and damaged a gate, however no grave markers were targeted in that attack.