'Take a seat - again'

STE. GENVIEVE, Mo. -- In the center of town, thousands of bodies are buried below crumbling headstones that are barely legible.

History in the Memorial Cemetery dates back to the late 1700s, when it served as the primary graveyard for the Ste. Genevieve community. According to early church records, buried in the cemetery are more than 50 Native Americans, slaves, dozens of victims from a steamboat explosion on the Mississippi River and prominent figures from Ste. Genevieve's past.

The last burial was in May 1882 and since then, little has been done to preserve headstones and maintain the upkeep of the 220-year-old cemetery in Ste. Genevieve.

A group of local residents have joined forces to restore Memorial Cemetery, and their creative fund-raising efforts are what you would expect from a town filled with artists.

On May 20, the second "Take a Seat -- Again!" auction will be held to benefit the restoration of Ste. Genevieve's Memorial Cemetery.

The "Take a Seat — again" fund-raiser auction of chairs and tables decorated by local artists will benefit the continuing restoration of the historic Ste. Genevieve cemetery. The art pieces will be on display throughout the gardens during the weekend of Ste. Genevieve's annual Spring Garden Walk on May 19 and 20. The artists' chairs and tables will be auctioned off that Sunday night. Last year the auction raised just less than $9,000. (Diane L. Wilson)

A handful of local artists have been busy decorating chairs, stools, benches and tables for the past few weeks. The unique furniture will be auctioned with all proceeds going to the cemetery.

Karen Kulberg, auction chairwoman, said last year's auction raised about $9,000.

"We thought this would be a different kind of fund-raiser, and it turned out to be a lot of fun," she said. "The entries we've gotten so far are very unique and quite good."

The decorated chairs and tables will be displayed in gardens throughout Ste. Genevieve during the annual Spring Garden Walk, which will be held May 19 and 20. The walk allows visitors to tour the community gardens and gardens at historic homes in the town.

Community members and visitors who attend the Garden Walk will be asked to vote for their favorite art pieces. Prior to the auction, the most popular chair or table will receive a Peoples' Choice Award.

"Take a Seat — Again" fund-raiser is slated for May 20.

Beverly Baker, who lives in Bonne Terre, Mo., has donated a chair for the auction. She painted the chair green and added famous quotes to the piece of furniture.

"It's a lot of fun and a way to be creative," Baker said. "I entered two chairs last year, and I'm just amazed at how much more creative this year's entries are."

Funds raised from this year's "Take a Seat -- Again" auction will be used to restore about 30 of the more than 300 headstones in the cemetery. Future restoration efforts also include incorporating interpretive exhibits for visitors.

Mickey Koetting, president of the Foundation for Restoration of Ste. Genevieve, said about 65 headstones have already been restored from previous fund-raising efforts.

Restoration of the Memorial Cemetery began about 25 years ago when a group of community members began cleaning the area and attempting to restore the broken tombstones. More recently the Foundation for Restoration of Ste. Genevieve took over the project and received a "Save America's Treasures Program" grant from the National Park Service. The grant money was used to perform ground penetration radar at the cemetery to locate where some of the 5,000 bodies are buried. A new wrought iron fence was also added and a stone walkway was built in the cemetery.

This table was made using broken plates from The Main Street Inn, and will be sold at the "Take a Seat — Again" auction.

"We're not done and there's still a lot to do," Koetting said. "But what's been accomplished has been well worth all the work. The cemetery is a wonderful place and it's right in the middle of town. It's so unique and just an amazing spot with tons of history."

jfreeze@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 246