Johnson-Wilson Fundraiser & Awards Dinner, April 29, 2005

The Johnson-Wilson Cemetery Stewards Association will hold a fundraiser and awards dinner on Friday, April 29, 6:00 P.M. at the Briarwood Banquet Center in Hebron. The Association is the only non-profit entity in Northern Kentucky dedicated entirely to cemetery preservation and restoration. The three-fold mission of JWCSA is: to preserve and protect historic cemeteries, to educate the community about such cemeteries, and to contribute to local genealogical records.

The April 29th dinner will be the organization's first time to present awards to community members for their contributions to cemetery protection and preservation. Good Stewards awards will be presented to R.C. and Deborah Jo Durr, J.J. Miller, and Travis Richards. The Durrs will receive the Good Stewards Award for Cemetery Education for their generous contribution which has funded the publication of a countywide cemetery map and brochure. Developer J.J Miller will be recognized as the Good Steward for Cemetery Preservation for his donation of the Souther Family Cemetery to JWCSA in 2004. Travis Richards, a Conner High School senior, will receive the Youth Service Award. Travis spent the summer of 2003 mapping each stone in the Johnson-Wilson Cemetery and teaching other young men how to clean and care for old gravestones. He received his Eagle Scout badge for his extensive work.

Kathy Groob, Vice President of Integrated Services and Corporate Marketing for Paul Hemmer Companies, will address community stewardship and investment in historic resources. Kathy has shown exemplary service through her involvement in a variety of community and education organizations.

Andrew Ankenbauer, a high school freshman, will mesmerize the audience with Ghost in the Graveyard, tales of Boone Countians who have passed on to another world. Most recently, Andrew delivered the dedicatory address when the St. Joseph Academy memorial to the Underground Railroad was dedicated in Rabbit Hash.

To reserve a seat for the April 29th dinner, please contact Jan Garbett, (859) 689-2383 or by email. Reservations can also be made through the mail. The cost is $35 per person for dinner and all the evening's activities.

Mail to : Johnson-Wilson Cemetery Stewards Association
             3441 Mary Teal Lane
             Burlington, KY 41005

Please remember to include your name and telephone number. Thank you!

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May 20th Luncheon with Susan Cabot

Susan Cabot, former Preservation Planner for Boone County and dedicated cemetery preservationist, will be the keynote speaker at a noon luncheon, Friday, May 20th in the conference center at the Burlington Baptist Church. Ms. Cabot will travel from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania just to advocate for the protection and preservation of Boone County's historic family cemeteries. Susan, an accomplished public presenter, will discuss the significance of pioneer graveyards such as the Souther Family Cemetery in Parlor Grove, Hebron, and the Johnson-Wilson Cemetery in Hidden Creek, Burlington. The Johnson-Wilson Cemetery is located on the former property of the late Caroline Williams, well-known Northern Kentucky artist.

The fundraising efforts of JWCSA will benefit over thirty Boone County graveyards. JWCSA holds the deeds to the Johnson-Wilson Cemetery and the Souther Cemetery. All proceeds will go towards the preservation projects outlined in the Cemetery Preservation Grant awarded last year by the Kentucky Department of Local Government. Additionally, we hope to assist the members of the Zion Baptist Church, Walton in their efforts to fence in and erect a memorial at the burial site of their first pastor, Reverend Solomon Watkins.

We have received some generous donations in the past, for example, R.C.and Deborah Jo Durr, Barbara and Jim Wilson, Alice Manchikes, Lloyd Wilson, Charles, Don, William, and Woodrow Wilson, Theda Connell, and the late Mildred Minor. These contributors have helped us have the funds to map and repair stones, remove trees, and fence in the Johnson-Wilson Cemetery, and to publish a county-wide cemetery brochure and curriculum. We have made considerable progress. To reach our grant goals, we must raise an additional $5,000 by June of this year.

To assist in our efforts while enjoying good company and a tasty meal, please contact Jan Garbett, (859) 689-2383 or by email. Reservations for the May 20th luncheon can also be made through the mail. The cost is $20 per person.

Mail to : Johnson-Wilson Cemetery Stewards Association
             3441 Mary Teal Lane
             Burlington, KY 41005

Please remember to include your name and telephone number. Thank you!

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Memorial to the Underground Railroad in Boone County

More than one hundred people gathered at the banks of the Ohio River in Rabbit Hash to witness the dedication of the county's first memorial to the Underground Railroad. A group of seventeen students from St. Joseph Academy in Walton designed a monument to the Underground Railroad in Boone County, using Rabbit Hash as the inspiration for their design. Rabbit Hash was the site of documented stories of fugitive enslaved African Americans, using the river as their pathway to freedom.

The St. Joseph Problem Solving Team, composed of fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students, worked through the online FreedomQuest Monument Challenge, hosted by the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati. The team was one of two first place winners awarded $500 in the summer of 2004. The St. Joseph students used their prize money for a bronze plaque, titled Passage to Freedom From Slavery, which was set in stone behind the Rabbit Hash Museum. The components of the team's monument design are on display in the Rabbit Hash Museum.

St. Joseph parent Joe Ireland donated his time and materials to set the plaque in a base. Jerry Garbett, a Johnson-Wilson Steward, designed the base and mulched the area around the memorial; he will also plant and care for three rose bushes at the site this spring.

The Problem Solving Team Members were: Andrew Ankenbauer, Emily Barth, Michael Baumann, Elizabeth and Mary Barczak, Lee Cahill, Kathy Diersen, Lee Feldman, Zach Ireland, Jacinta Joyce, Korie Julick, Doug and Megan Kaiser, Mak Kroger, Josh Morley, Anna Tepe, and Michael Wells.

Honored guests were Dr. Delores Walters, of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center and Northern Kentucky University; Derrick Ramsey, Deputy Secretary of Commerce in Kentucky; Jerry Blanton, Deputy Commissioner, KY Department of Parks; the Most Reverend Bishop Roger Foys, Father Michael Due, and Father John Schulte of the Covington Diocese; the Board of Directors, Rabbit Hash Historical Society; Pat Lense, President, Friends of Big Bone, and FOBB Secretary Joyce Engelman; Shawn Cox, Boone County Community Development Director; Diane Perrine Coon, Underground Railroad Historian; Marty McDonald, Executive Director of the Dinsmore Homestead; Mark Jacobs, Boone County Soil and Water Conservation; Rabbit Hash Mayor Junior Cochran; the St Joseph Academy faculty and students, their families and friends; and a variety of community members.