By Kim McDarison
Gov. Tony Evers arrived at Evergreen Cemetery in Fort Atkinson Friday morning to meet with members of the community, including cemetery association members and other community leaders, to learn about extensive damage sustained to the facility last year. He additionally received information about efforts made by the community to restore the cemetery.
Evergreen Cemetery Association Board of Trustees President Brad Wilcox said the governor arrived at the invitation of the cemetery’s Grounds Supervisor Raughn Ferrell, who initially invited him to see the damage sustained after a powerful, late July, 2023, storm. With his arrival Friday, he instead was treated to a tour of the cemetery, which offered a view of the restoration efforts made with help from the community, achieved through both monetary support and volunteerism, both of which poured in after the storm swept through.
Following the July, 2023 storm — which was determined by the National Weather Service to have produced straight-line winds reaching 70 to 80 miles per hour — some 60 to 70 trees in the cemetery were damaged.
In August of that year, Ferrell estimated it could cost up to $1,400 to remove each of the damaged trees.
Community members came forward to help, with PremierBank, as it collected contributions from residents, announcing it would match donations up to $5,000. Another $635 was donated by the bank’s employees.
Additionally, the Fort Atkinson Community Foundation made available another $10,000 to the cause.
In August of 2023, the cemetery’s board of trustees was able to report that it had received some $28,000 in funds to help with the cleanup.
Last year, as support rushed in, Fort Atkinson Community Foundation Executive Director Sue Hartwick told Fort Atkinson Online: “Evergreen Cemetery is an iconic landmark guarding the northern entrance to our city. It is the final resting place for many of our notable citizens and its fabulous tree cover has provided a serene and comforting atmosphere for over 150 years.”
As cleanup was underway, Chris Martin, a member of the Evergreen Cemetery Association Board of Directors as well as a PremierBank wealth management adviser, noted that while the storm damage is not how Evergreen Cemetery Association wanted to make headlines, it did remind residents of the site’s value to the community, adding that Evergreen Cemetery could be considered a park, as many walkers take advantage of the peaceful setting.
An earlier story about the cleanup efforts is here: https://fortatkinsononline.com/more-than-28000-donated-in-support-of-evergreen-cemetery-cleanup-efforts/.
On Friday, Wilcox said some 50 people arrived at the cemetery to await the governor’s arrival.
He met with the group at about 8:30 a.m., the association president said, and shook hands with everyone.
The governor visited with community members and then boarded a golf cart driven by Ferrell. The three men, Ferrell, Wilcox and Evers, toured the grounds for approximately 25 minutes, Wilcox said, noting that the governor was very complimentary as he viewed the restoration and, he said, “He asked a lot of good questions.”
Documenting the occasion through photographs, Wilcox said the group stopped at the gravesite of William Dempster Hoard, who, according to the Wisconsin Historical Society, is the “father of the Wisconsin dairy industry,” and was elected governor of Wisconsin in 1888, serving until 1892. He died in 1918 and is among those interred in Evergreen Cemetery, Wilcox said.
Additionally, Wilcox noted, among those welcoming the governor was Chris Martin, whom, he said, is related to the late Gov. Hoard. He couldn’t resist, he said, taking a photograph of the two men — Martin and Evers — at Hoard’s marker.
An avid history buff and record-keeper at the cemetery, Wilcox said that in modern times, other than Evers, he has no record of any other governor visiting the cemetery.
As part of the tour, he said, Evers was taken to see several features within the cemetery, including Soldiers Circle, where the community’s Memorial Day Services are held, the Bellman Carillon Tower, the cemetery offices, and the facility’s historical cottage, which reopened, after restoration, as a meeting place for the board of trustees in March of last year.
Before the restoration efforts were completed, it had been 67 years since the board met in the building, Wilcox told Fort Atkinson Online last March.
The building, which is open to the public by appointment, also houses various artifacts.
Among items found inside are framed pictures of former civic leaders who are interred within the cemetery, he said.
Wilcox named O.S. Cornish, D.W. Curtis, W.S. Greene, H.W. Southwell, W.D. Hoard, and L.B. Caswell as among civic leaders whose images are found hanging on the cottage’s walls.
In addition, sharing information that March, he anticipated that framed pictures of Dwight and Almira Foster, for whom the Dwight Foster Public Library is named, and who also are interred at Evergreen Cemetery, would be displayed in the cottage.
As the governor perused artifacts in the building, Wilcox said, he was drawn to a World War I helmet worn by a Fort Atkinson soldier, John “Jack” B. Smith, who also was Fort Atkinson’s last justice of the peace, and who is interred at the cemetery.
While at the cemetery office, Wilcox noted, the governor viewed books of photographs documenting the damage sustained in the storm.
Following the tour, Wilcox said, the governor and those attending the event were treated to doughnuts, cookies and coffee courtesy of Festival Foods and McDonalds, and there were flowers donated by Humphey Floral and Gift.
Wilcox said the governor ended his time at the cemetery around 9:45 a.m.
According to information supplied on the city of Fort Atkinson’s Facebook page, along with members of the Evergreen Cemetery Association, representatives from the “Legion, Fort Atkinson Chamber of Commerce, local businesses and city officials gathered to welcome the governor to the city.”
Photos, courtesy of Wilcox, follow.
Gov. Tony Evers, at left, takes his seat in a golf cart next to Evergreen Cemetery Grounds Supervisor Raughn Ferrell before the two, who were additionally joined by Evergreen Cemetery Association Board of Trustees President Brad Wilcox, not pictured, set off on a 25-minute tour of the facility.
Two photos above: Gov. Tony Evers visits Soldier Circle, best known to community members as the spot where the city’s annual Memorial Day services are held.
Among tour stops, Gov. Tony Evers visits the historical cottage on the grounds of Evergreen Cemetery. The building is used today as a meeting place for the cemetery’s board of trustees and houses various historical artifacts.
Gov. Tony Evers, at left, and Chris Martin, a member of the Evergreen Cemetery Association Board of Directors as well as a PremierBank wealth management adviser, who also is related to the late Gov. William Dempster Hoard, who served Wisconsin in that capacity between 1888 and 1892, gather near the late governor’s grave. He died in 1918 and is among those interred in Evergreen Cemetery.
Gov. Tony Evers examines a World War I helmet once worn by Fort Atkinson soldier John “Jack” B. Smith, who also was Fort Atkinson’s last justice of the peace, and who is interred at the cemetery. The helmet is on display in the cottage on the cemetery grounds.
Community members gather Friday in Evergreen Cemetery with Gov. Tony Evers, seated at center. The governor arrived around 8:30 a.m. and spent his time visiting with those in attendance, learning about the cemetery, and especially about storm damage sustained in the summer of 2023, and efforts made to cleanup the damage and replant trees, among other improvements.
Contributed/Brad Wilcox photos.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include information about Smith, and with some additional photos.
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