A meeting of the newly elected 2023-24 Evergreen Cemetery Association Board of Trustees was held Wednesday at the historical cottage on the cemetery property in Fort Atkinson.
According to Brad Wilcox, president of the Evergreen Cemetery Association, the event marked a milestone: it’s been 67 years since the board has held a meeting in the building, he said.
Years ago, the association held its monthly meetings in the facility, Wilcox noted, but the practice ended in 1956, when a new cemetery office and shop was built on the property’s northwest corner.
Since that time, he said, the cottage had been used primarily for storage.
Recent efforts made to clean and paint the building, and refurbish it with antique furniture and other pieces of local historical memorabilia, has given it renewed purpose, Wilcox said, adding that pieces inside the cottage have been donated by those who have supported efforts to return the building to a more prominent use.
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, he noted, framed pictures of Dwight and Almira Foster, for whom the Dwight Foster Public Library is named, and who also are interred at Evergreen Cemetery, will be displayed in the cottage.
Within a recent press release, Wilcox has asked those who might have memorabilia showing a connection to the city of Fort Atkinson or Evergreen Cemetery, and who might wish to donate the items to the cemetery association for display within the cottage, to contact him at the cemetery office.
Those interested in scheduling a tour of the cemetery or the cottage also are encouraged to contact the cemetery office.
Wilcox and office staff can be reached by phone: 920-563-5014.
Neal Traeder, sexton, from left; Paula Dabel, trustee; Chris Martin, trustee and secretary; Betty Strese, trustee; Raughn Ferrell, grounds supervisor; Donna Abel, treasurer and trustee; and Brad Wilcox, president and trustee of the Evergreen Cemetery Association gather Wednesday for a meeting in the cemetery’s historical cottage. A meeting has not been held in the building for 67 years. Contributed photo.
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