West Union Cemetery located southeast of Traer in Perry Township pictured on Friday, Feb. 28. Sometime in mid-January, several of the cemetery’s headstones as well as a portion of the historic perimeter fence sustained damage when a vehicle crashed through the fence and drove around haphazardly. The township cemetery was platted in 1856. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

TRAER – There are many ways to pay one’s respects – haphazardly driving through a nearly 170-year-old cemetery and causing damage to headstones is certainly not one of those ways.

“Sometime in mid-January, a vehicle drove through the West Union Cemetery, located southeast of Traer, causing significant damage to the gate and several headstones,” Tama County Sheriff Casey Schmidt wrote as part of a Feb. 25 Sheriff’s Office Facebook post that included several photos depicting the damage. “Whether intentional or not, this act of vandalism is deeply disrespectful to those laid to rest there and their families. Leaving the scene without taking responsibility for the damage done is unacceptable.”

Schmidt went on to ask the public for help in identifying those responsible, writing, “If you have any information or witnessed anything suspicious around that time, we ask that you come forward.”

West Union Cemetery is located at 1799 QQ Avenue just east of the 180th Street intersection and about a half mile south of Hwy 8 in rural Perry Township, Traer.

On Monday, Perry Township clerk Mike Reuman told the newspaper that Joe Breakenridge with Breakenridge Memorials had been working in recent days to pick up broken pieces from the headstones while also setting right those that had toppled.

PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

“I called [Joe] after we heard that the fence had gotten hit,” Reuman said. “He fixed the stones that had been hit and broke as best as he could. He didn’t even charge us. He said, ‘I live here, I’m not going to send you a bill,’ which was nice.”

Reuman said the township’s trustees plan to fix the damage in the near future after recently finalizing the upcoming fiscal year’s budget.

“At the end of the day, we’re going to fix it. We don’t know who did it and to be honest, we probably never will. It would be lucky if we ever found out,” he said. “[West Union Cemetery] has been hit – since I’ve been the clerk – it’s been hit three times over the last 20 years.”

At least one of those incidents did result in the driver being located, Reuman said, but he’s not very optimistic that will be the case this time as he believes most if not all of the incidents were probably the result of people unfamiliar with the area using 180th Street to QQ Avenue as a shortcut around Traer.

As the Sheriff’s Office continues in its quest for information regarding the vandalism, the newspaper met up with Traer Historical Museum president George Kadrmas on Friday, Feb. 28, at the cemetery to learn more about the damage as well as West Union’s history.

PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

While much of the debris including broken pieces from the vehicle itself had been picked up since the Sheriff’s Office’s initial post, it was still possible that day to discern the vehicle’s path. After entering the cemetery plot from the west at the 180th Street T-intersection with QQ Avenue, the vehicle appears to have plowed straight through the cemetery fence located right of the entrance before embarking on a half-moon path – hitting, breaking, toppling, and running over several headstones in the process. After crossing the entrance sidewalk and running into one final headstone, the vehicle backed up – leaving ruts – before driving down the sidewalk and exiting under the entrance gate facing QQ Avenue.

In a follow-up email, Kadrmas said West Union Cemetery was established shortly after West Union Village – which no longer exists – was platted in 1856.

“The village was located about a mile and a half north of the cemetery at the corner of 170th Street and QQ Avenue,” Kadrmas wrote. “The village grew to a few homes, a general store, blacksmith, school, church, and a hotel. When the railroad  bypassed the village and the town of Traer was formed, the post office and businesses moved, and West Union declined.”

Among the earliest burials in the cemetery, per Kadrmas, were Orlando Chamton and his wife Mary.

“The couple were caught in a blizzard on December 22, 1856. They became confused and traveled in the wrong direction. Their bodies were found near Salt Creek in Oneida township,” he explained. “Pioneer life was difficult and several infants died among the early settlers. Infants buried in the early days of the cemetery include Giles Barbour, Emma Cody, Dora Kile, James Law, Eva Moss, Fannie Scranton, Susan Seamans, Bertha White and Henry Worden.”

PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

Lemuel Kile’s headstone

Kadrmas also shared the history behind three of the headstones damaged including Lemuel Kile’s 160-year-old white stone located near the western perimeter of the cemetery – and thus the first stone damaged when the vehicle tore through the fence.

Kile was born in Ohio in 1831 and died on Feb. 3, 1865. According to the 1860 U.S. Census, he lived with his stepfather Dexter Higgins and his mother Ibby Harris Kile Higgins.

Postmaster Dexter Higgins’ headstone

The headstone belonging to Dexter Higgins – which Kadrmas said was broken prior to the vandalism – was also run over by the vehicle. Higgins first arrived in Perry Township from New York in 1855; in 1857, he bought land in West Union.

PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

“He was a carpenter and farmer,” Kadrmas said. “On September 15, 1858, he became the postmaster of Wolf Creek Post Office when it was moved to West Union. His home in West Union was first used for school (No. 1) before one was built in 1859.”

Principal Emma Sherrett’s headstone

Former Traer Principal Emma Sherrett’s headstone was the third stone to be run over by the vehicle. She was born in Rochester, New York on July 17, 1865, and moved to the area with her parents while still an infant.

“Her parents, Thomas and Susan Christie Sherrett were natives of Scotland, married in Canada, [and] settled in New York soon after marriage,” Kadrmas said. “The Sherrett farm was one and a half miles east of Traer. Emma, the only daughter, was the youngest of six children, three of whom survived.”

Miss Sherett attended school at West Union Village before later attending school in Traer where she graduated as a member of the first graduating class in 1885, Kadrmas further shared.

PHOTO COURTESY OF TAMA COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE/FACEBOOK

“For six years she was a teacher of rural schools then attended Iowa State Teachers College in Cedar Falls, graduating in 1893. She then taught at Cresco, Walnut, Sigourney and Avoca.”

“Her mother died in 1910, and Miss Sherrett quit the teaching profession for eight years to maintain the home in Traer for her father until his death in 1918. She then resumed teaching, and for four years was junior high school principal in the Traer school. After a year in California, she returned to Traer and taught half-time in Traer in both junior and senior high schools.”

Beginning in 1924, Miss Sherrett taught as a missionary at the Lincoln Normal School (1867-1970), a historic African American school located in Marion, Ala. The school is considered one of the oldest HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) in the U.S. She returned to Traer in 1934, Kadrmas said, after retiring at almost 70 years of age.

“[She] was active in the Congregational Church of Traer. She was one of the organizers of the Bovey Bible class of the Sunday School and was its first teacher after the Rev. W. E. Bovey left Traer. She was a charter member of the P. E. O. chapter of Traer and took a keen interest in affairs in the Traer community.”

The need for respect

The newspaper reached out to the Tama County Sheriff’s Office on Monday of this week for an update on the investigation but as of press time had not yet heard back.

According to Reuman, Perry Township clerk, all of the stones damaged belong to folks long lost to history – but he said that is neither here nor there.

“They’re all older stones … realistically, there probably isn’t any family left around of any of these people, but that’s beside the point. Those are people’s graves. We need to respect them and take care of them.”

Those with information regarding the vandalism at West Union Cemetery are asked to contact the Tama County Sheriff’s Office at 641-484-3760.