MINUTES OF THE DOGTOWN HISTORICAL SOCIETY
July 9, 2011

CALL TO ORDER – President John Corbett called the meeting to order at 10:04 a.m. at the home of Tom and Lucy Corbett at 1411 Tamm Ave, St. Louis, MO. Ten members were in attendance; Bob Corbett, John Corbett, Lucy Corbett, Tom Corbett, Tom Haller, Rose Kennedy, Bill Miller, Gerry Miller, Norm Merlotti and Sally Sharamitaro.

Veteran’s Memorial Project – – John presented his plan for Phase II of the project which will be the “Brick Garden”. He explained that there will be space enough for 190 bricks. And he thanked the landscaper for completing the area in time for the Memorial Celebration. He added that:

A) Bids are coming in for the building of the brick garden and the installation of the electrical plug. We will need sand where the bricks will be laid in place. As each veteran brick “order” is received, the names will be sandblasted into that brick.
B) A set of qualifications has been considered for who will have a brick, and there may be a set of three tiers for placement of the bricks: 1) Dogtown veterans on the memorial stone, 2) Dogtown veterans of foreign wars, and 3) all other Dogtown veterans.
a. There followed a suggestion that the Veteran’s of Foreign Wars (VFW) guidelines be used.
b. Bill Miller mentioned that the St. James Parish Bricks were limited to 3 lines, 13 letters on each line, spaces included. And suggested we have a form that folks could fill in as a guide.

C) We need to discuss the cost of the bricks. a. After discussion of the costs, a motion was made that the DHS charge $50.00 for each brick to cover the costs, and that all qualified Dogtown Veterans, as well as all branches and services be represented. A vote was taken and the motion passed.
D) Fundraising letters will be written and mailed very soon.
E) Target Date = Veteran’s Day – November 11, 2011

Street Musicians Festival 2011 - John gave an update on plans for the Second Annual Dogtown Street Musicians Festival to be held on September 17, 2011. He said:

A. He has 20 musicians signed up already. Later he plans to pull names out of a hat to “place” them at specific locations. Tables and chairs will be set up at each location.
B. He is working on getting sponsors for the stage, banners and benches. Last years total cost = $3000.00.
C. Fundraising letters are written and will be mailed to those that helped last year.
D. The paperwork for the permit we need for the Festival has been submitted to the city.
E. The Dedication. A history of our choice for the 2011 dedication, Nick Mucci, will be needed for publication purposes. Bob will follow up.
F. Shirts have been ordered and will be a lighter weight but without a specific date.

Historian/Archivist – - DHS Historian, Bob Corbett had a question for the members. He stated that while he was processing issues of the “Let’s Go’s” to his website, he came across an entry where a man was killed by a train and thrown into his own backyard. Bob remarked how sad a story it was, especially when it happened in front of at least one of his own small sons.

As historian he felt as though this might cause all of the information we have gathered to be in error, or at least that it would need to be updated. He then retold the story of how he first researched the boundaries. Beginning with the fact that Dogtown is not now, nor has it ever been, an “official” St. Louis City neighborhood.

A discussion followed on the boundaries and how the DHS needs to address this question.

OTHER BUSINESS –

Gerry Miller wondered if the attendance at our DHS meetings would increase if we went back to having it in a nearby meeting room. She feels that some folks are just not as comfortable in a private home as they would be in a meeting room. Norm Merlotti suggested that we look into using Father Flynn’s room, or seeing if it might be available on the second Saturday of the month.

The meeting adjourned at 11:30 a.m. The next meeting will be August 13, 2011 at 10:00am at 1411 Tamm Ave., St. Louis MO 63139.

Respectfully submitted,
Sally Sharamitaro
Secretary
Dogtown Historical Society