I recently shared a post of the quilt that is being raffled to support the operational maintenance of the Mendota Community Cemetery.

Someone asked a few questions about this community cemetery which I’ll go into in more detail a bit later, but I wanted to share a few details in this post. There’s probably a lot more details that I’m unaware of.

It’s my understanding that the land for the cemetery was donated by the Hamilton Family sometime in the 1800’s. This marker below is located in the Hamilton’s family plot in the cemetery. Other Hamilton family members tombstones date back further but were a little difficult to see in photographs so I posted this one. This is the same Hamilton family that is referenced in the name Hamilton Institute which later became Hamilton High School and Hamilton Elementary School. Apparently, they cared about our community very much.

The Mendota Community Cemetery has never charged for a community member in need. A great deal of history of our community is found in this cemetery. There are several cemeteries in Mendota, but this is the largest. However, all of these cemeteries share our community’s history; and if we value that, we should attempt to treat them with respect.

It is the resting place of a few who were Confederate Soldiers.

It is also the resting place of the famous outlaw turned preacher, Texas Jack Vermillion. Legend says he rode with Jessee James. Vickie Nelson did an excellent job of summarizing everything she could find about Texas Jack and presenting it at the Mendota Cemetery Annual Meeting and Homecoming in 2023.

The oldest tombstones are in the back of the cemetery. They stand like sentinels of history. Someone vandalized some of the old markers a few years back. We had to pay to get them straightened.

This marker has a lamb on it. I could not read the etching. My thought is that it is a marker for a child, but the lamb might be a depiction of one of Christ’s lambs waiting for his return. A bit of sweetness from a community with a strong faith.

Some members of the Stickley family rest here. For those new to Mendota, this was once a common Mendota name. There was an old two-story white house with a wide front porch on the property where the Mendota Lodge now sits. It was owned by Stickley’s. I’m sure they were related.

Likewise, across from the Mendota Baptist Church, the Stickley Hotel welcomed guests coming in on the train arriving at the Mendota Depot. Mendota was a thriving community in the early 1900’s. Will it thrive again?

And here lies one of my favorites from Mendota’s Past. Mrs. Faye Brooks had a gift shop located in a brick building where The Store@Mendota’s garden now resides. Silk stockings from her shop are located in the Mendota History Room in the Community Center. On Halloween, she made cupcakes for her Trick ‘r Treaters. We loved her. Cupcakes were a real treat. She lived in the house that sits directly to the right of the old brick Reynolds building (beside the Mendota Medical Clinic).

When Hamilton Elementary closed, we all grieved. It was an injustice that can never be undone. No elementary age child should have to ride a bus as far as our Mendota children were forced to do. They still are forced to do so. Politics and selfishness resulted in this wrong — but it happened. It’s why so many of our children go to Scott County’s schools or are homeschooled. (Scott County’s Hilton’s Elementary is much closer than Washington County’s elementary school — plus it’s ranked 40th in elementary schools in the entire state.) Can you tell this still makes me angry?

The last principal of Hamilton Elementary was beloved. His name was Richard Gardner. There is still a Richard Gardner Scholarship which commemorates Mr. Gardner. Mr. and Mrs. Gardner’s resting place is the Mendota Community Cemetery.

A friend of mine walks her dog on the loop of the Mendota Cemetery. She remarked that there was a “woman named Pink who lived in Mendota” buried there. I knew immediately who she was talking about. It was not a woman! Pink Pless was a man who lived in a tiny house across from what is now the Mendota Waste Disposal Station. I believe he could see out of only one eye, and I also think he kept roosters for cock fighting. You have to have lived here long ago and be pretty old to remember Pink Pless but it was fun revisiting him in my mind. There is no remnant of Pink where his house once stood. This marker, however, notes his presence in our past.

I want to share more about the Mendota Cemetery and the quilt raffle and why we have to fundraise.

At one time, we did not have to fundraise. Gas was cheap. Labor was cheap. CD rates were high. That’s all reversed. We raffled Mendota afghans for many years. We did a cook book. We did Bingo for a number of years. We had a concert which we all loved with Dale Jett & Hello Stranger. Then…we started doing quilts. It has been a small group of women making the quilts or sometimes a quilt has been donated that was raffled. I’ll share pictures of some of these quilts in another post. For the last two years, I donated the quilt. I don’t think I’ll do this again in the short-term, but I’ve enjoyed doing this the past two years.

I think the question recently asked regarded my accountability with raffle ticket sales. It’s a fair question, as we typically collect a lot of money. Anywhere between $1800-$2500 in ticket sales make a huge difference in maintaining the cemetery. This typically has come from efforts from Patsy Carrier, Dottie Dye, The Store@Mendota and my own efforts to sell tickets, so we are handling a lot money. Sometimes people Venmo me and they definitely have to know me to feel comfortable with that. They are not only trusting me with their money — I’m writing out the tickets for them! Other times, they wish to write a check to the Mendota Cemetery Association, and I mail them tickets to be completed and they return the tickets and the check to me. I pay for the postage out of my pocket. My parents are buried in the Mendota Cemetery, and I have an interest in its future.

However, as in any raffle or fundraiser such as this, there is an element of trust from those making the donations to buy the raffle tickets. I can’t make that go away.

The Mendota Community Cemetery is an LLC and has a Board. While at one time I was a Trustee, I am not on the Board at this time. These two quilts I have donated have had a cost to me of about $400 each. The fabric runs a little over $100 and the machine quilting and binding is done by a master quilter (obviously not me) for somewhere in the $230-$250 range. Full disclosure, I have also won one quilt — it was an early one and our sales were about $750 that year and I bought 250 tickets. Even though I make the quilt, I also buy 100 tickets each year. Patsy Carrier has won twice. Patsy buys a lot of tickets. Diane Salyer won once–she won my favorite quilt which was red and white.

Sometimes a person wins that we have no idea how they got a ticket. Margie Dean sold one ticket to a relative or friend in Kentucky one year, and that person won.

In 2024, we haven’t been actively selling tickets in the manner that we usually have. We need to sell these tickets. Last year’s quilt went to maintenance of the cemetery’s driveway. It’s why the driveway is nice and the hearse and funeral van can more easily make the steep trek up the hill. It’s why Carson can get his backhoe up there fairly efficiently to dig a grave. I’m hoping that our ticket sales pick up. You don’t necessarily need to know me or even like me, but if you have an interest in helping preserve a part of Mendota’s history, you’ll buy a quilt ticket. Checks are actually welcome and preferred and you’ll see the Mendota Cemetery endorsement on the back. Likewise, stop in the store and buy a ticket or message me, and I’ll drop some tickets off for you to fill out.

It’s about a community’s cemetery and its past — not a quilt. The quilt is just a means to garner attention and to get donations from people who otherwise would not donate. You can make your donation and not buy a quilt ticket. Most people buy the tickets as it’s also fun to have a chance to win a pretty quilt.

Thank you. Part II and more details on the Mendota Cemetery to come.