MINUTES OF THE DOGTOWN HISTORICAL SOCIETY
November 13, 2010

CALL TO ORDER – President John Corbett called the meeting to order at 10:07 a.m. at the home of Jerry, Theresa and Joe Weisbrod at 6525 Wise Ave, St. Louis, MO.

Thirteen members plus our hosts, Jerry and Theresa Weisbrod, were in attendance; Bob Corbett, John Corbett, Lucy Corbett, Tom Corbett, Tom Haller, Rose Kennedy, Michelle Kennedy, Bob Messel, Bill Miller, Gerry Miller, Carol Nemeth, Sally Sharamitaro and Joe Weisbrod.

Meeting Minutes - A motion was made and seconded to approve the minutes of the August 14, 2010 meeting. A vote was taken, the motion passed and the minutes were approved.

Treasurer’s Report – Bob Corbett presented the most current treasurer’s report. The current balance as of 10/29/2010 is $5093.96 of which $2,862.63 is in the bench project fund. In addition Bob presented a financial report on the Dogtown Music Festival and was happy to announce that after receiving several generous donations, our balance is only -$160.85. See below Street Musician’s Festival financial 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.

CURRENT BUSINESS

Street Musician’s Festival– John opened by thanking all the sponsors, donors, musicians and volunteers who made the festival possible.

Bob’s financial report for the Festival listed these categories; income= $4700.75, expenses= $4861. 60, our current balance = $-160.85

John, Bob and several others did a review/critique of the festival and listed what went well and what improvements could be made next year. Some of the changes listed included; a “hot” mike all day long, voting instructions available for all, the main stage to be moved possibly to Victoria Ave., and to have the festival in the future on Forest Park Balloon Race Day.

John also plans to begin the festival at noon with the musicians to begin at 1:00pm. To have three breaks for the musicians as they change-over and to ask if the winners would stay and play one of their favorite numbers on stage as the festival comes to a close. Most musicians this year, he said, stayed to hear the others play.

Bob’s added recommendations to have tables and chairs at each musician’s location. It seemed more workable for the audience to sit and enjoy some refreshments while they listened. There was discussion about the lack of organization by the Dogtown Businesses Association and how much better it would be to have their input and participation.

All in all, though some mistakes were made, John reported that our first year was a great success. And the crowds were well behaved and he noted that less clean up was needed by DHS members than originally thought.

Photos were taken by several DHS members and Dogtown neighbors and though as Bob found, some are just too large to email, he plans to create a webpage for the festival and festival photos. Future festival dedications were discussed and next year’s decided. Plans are for Nick Mucci, a long time Dogtown neighbor and clarinet and saxophone player, will be honored.

Soldier’s Memorial Project – John handed out two reports. The first report: The total proposed budget for the Memorial Park= $7000.00. That includes the estimated costs for the Memorial Stone= $5000.00, the concrete pad for stone and bench= $500.00, the Architectural design= $500.00 the Flowers and plants= $500.00 and advertisement and signage= $500.00. The Dogtown Alderman, Bill Waterhouse, is looking into funds from the city for the stone. And Bob Corbett stated that he will begin sending “begging letters” now, as it’s soon to be tax deduction season. The date planned for the dedication is Memorial Day 2011.

John’s second report was a full page color photo of the Memorial Park as it looks today with the park bench and the memorial stone and brick path added graphically (an artist’s rendition) to give the members an idea of how it will look when complete.

Discussion followed on the photo and the park itself. Bob Messel asked about access for wheel chairs, given there are no sidewalks in the park area. He also wondered if the bench was a little too close to the street.

John wanted to discuss the high cost of grading and digging for the two concrete pads. He asked what everyone thought about getting together some Dogtowners who might be agreeable to taking turns digging the 4ft x 6ft space that will be needed for the pads. He said it might be possible to turn it into a party day, but he cautioned that it would be best to have it done before the weather turns cold.

John will follow up and research whether the area had at one time been a gas station which might present another problem.

Which names will be on the stone was also discussed. There remain concerns about who will qualify as a Dogtown Memorial Veteran, and whose name will appear on the stone. And about who will do the research and make the final decision.

Archives/Donations - Bob informed the members that he has ideas for the first two DHS Meetings in early 2011. One on the many maps he has accumulated, that will need to be unrolled and if possible fastened to lightweight foam boards. He asked if there were any volunteers to help with that project. The second idea follows on some recent historical research he has done on St. Patrick, and the fact that as he says, there is a significant difference in priests educated in Ireland as St. Patrick and so many of St. James the Greater pastors were. Bob would like to give the St. Patrick lecture at the March 12, 2011 Meeting. It would be best too, he said, to have it at his home where he could set up the DHS projector as it would be a Power Point Presentation.

NEW BUSINESS –

Tom and Lucy Corbett opened a new topic. There are so many big old trees in Dogtown, they said, and they would like to have a contest to find the largest tree. They even have prizes in mind: 1) a pie from Sugaree Bakery (the tree owner will get one two) and 2) a stolen from Missouri Bakery. They suggested that the contest begin on December 1st and go through December 15th. Any and all personally delivered or email applications would be acceptable. Judges would be decided on, and these judges would narrow the field and determine which tree is the largest tree in Dogtown.

The meeting adjourned at 11:30 a.m. The next business meeting will be Saturday, January 8, 2011, at 10:00 a.m. at 6525 Wise Ave, St. Louis, MO 63139

Respectfully submitted,
Sally Sharamitaro
Secretary
Dogtown Historical Society