MINUTES OF THE DOGTOWN HISTORICAL SOCIETY
January 10, 2009

CALL TO ORDER: President John Corbett called the meeting to order at 10:10 a.m. at the home of Tom and Lucy Corbett, 1411 Tamm Ave. Eight members and two guests were in attendance: Bob Corbett, John Corbett, Lucy Corbett, Tom Corbett, Didi Gardner, Bill Miller, Gerry Miller, Sally Sharamitaro, Joe Weisbrod, and guests; Jim Barry and Norm Merlotti.

Minutes of Last Meeting - A motion was made and seconded to approve the minutes of the December 8, 2008 meeting. A vote was taken, the motion passed and the minutes were approved.

Treasurer’s Report - Bob Corbett, Treasurer, presented the most current treasurer’s report. A motion was made and seconded to approve the treasurer’s report. A vote was taken, the motion passed and the treasurer’s report was approved. A further motion was made to purchase a DHS ad in the program for the upcoming Soccer Hall of Fame installation. A motion was made, a vote was taken and passed. Bob will generate and mail the check to the Soccer Hall of Fame.

Archives/Donations– – Bob reported that he is caught up on his edit and corrections project and in the next few months plans to re-tackle the 1925-1932 Let’s Go Book project. 250 of the 660 pages have been scanned and uploaded and he would love to see the remainder scanned and uploaded to the Dogtown website.

John shared that a woman living in the Cheltenham neighborhood after asking about our century home plaques, shared some historical information on how the Cheltenham Neighborhood Association was created. A discussion followed on the possibility of collecting similar historical information from the other nearby neighborhood associations for addition to our DHS Archives.

Century Home Committee - Bill Miller informed the members that there are 7 new century home owners who have paid for Century Home Plaques. Bill will report progress on those plaques. Bob re-stated that he would like to update the Century Home listing on the Dogtown website, and Bill agreed to email his most current spreadsheet.

Ghost Sign Project - There was discussion of the ghost sign at Tamm and West Park. If a decent photo could be taken of it, it would be a valuable sign to restore. One suggestion is that if the photo is taken while it’s raining the wording would be easier to read. Bill Miller mentioned that Martha Rupp told him that she grew up near that intersection and he added that she might recall some of the wording.

Bench Project - The bench in the gangway near the dog grooming business is to be moved out front when the weather warms. The fate of the two DHS benches on Clayton Ave in front of the former Chili’s Restaurant is unknown.

Soldier’s Memorial - John noted that this project is at a standstill as far as permits by St. Louis City are concerned, but he has been doing some research on the stone that we may choose for the soldier’s memorial plaque.

Labor Day Parade – As a follow up on the initial organization of a 2009 Labor Day Parade to be held the Saturday of Labor Day Weekend 2009, John said that one of the city’s major concerns is traffic, given there could be 50 floats. John reported that his contacts from the local labor organizations loved the parade idea, and said that they would like to meet with Alderman Bill Waterhouse and the St. Louis Police about how to manage the traffic concern. The Hibernians were consulted also their Irish Fair on that Saturday at 10:00 am.

Talent Show Fundraiser – John spoke to the Tamm Clayton Association and to the Liston brothers about the idea of a summer Dogtown talent show and they seemed interested in the concept. A discussion followed on the original St. James Parish talent shows, where no performers were paid, and how in clement weather the shows were held on the outdoor stage.

March Tours of Dogtown - Bob announced that he had been approached by two local Bus Tour Companies, who asked if he would be willing to give tours of Dogtown and he agreed. These bus companies give regular tours of the Hill and with St. Patrick’s Day coming up in March, they wanted to add tours of St. James Church and Dogtown. Some tours include Irish dancing, most will include meals at Dogtown restaurants, some at Seamus McDaniels and others at Pat’s. One will end at the Fox where an Irish group is scheduled to perform. John plans to join the first group at Seamus after the tour, and will sing Danny Boy.

The meeting adjourned at 11:10 a.m. The next meeting will be Saturday, March 14, 2009, at 10:00 a.m., 6314 West Park, St. Louis, MO 63139

Respectfully submitted
Sally Ryan Sharamitaro
Secretary, Dogtown Historical Society