Evangelical Lutheran Church
Frederick, Frederick County, Maryland
The Annual Meeting and Workshop was held on April 1, 2000, at the historic Evangelical Lutheran Church in Frederick, Maryland.
During the business meeting, Kristin Kraske of Howard County was elected president of the Coalition; and Edward Taylor, Jr., of Allegany County was elected vice president. Newly elected board members include Melvin Mason of Prince George’s County; Leonard Becraft, Ann Bolt, and Dorothy Brault, all of Montgomery County; and James Trader of Wicomico County.
Re-elected were treasurer George J. Horvath of Carroll County and board members Valerie Culver of Wicomico County and Raymond “Skip” Merkle of Baltimore County. Immediate past president Jean Keenan will serve on the board as a non-voting member. Completing the second year of their terms are secretary Barbara Sikora of Prince George’s County and board member Paul Mill of Howard County.
Periwinkle awards were presented to three people recognized by the Coalition as having made significant contributions to cemetery preservation.
Following lunch, participants visited the churchyard to view some very old gravestone that lay in a beautiful garden setting. Afterwards, they traveled to nearby historic Mount Olivet Cemetery, where Francis Scott Key, Governor Thomas Johnson, Barbara Fritchie, and other notables are buried. Attendees were pleased to see that a large group of graves belonging to Civil War veterans had been beautifully restored. A special tour of an interesting stone chapel on the cemetery grounds was provided as well. The chapel, built as a memorial to Francis Scott Key, had, in earlier times, housed the remains of people who had died in the winter when the ground was frozen solid. The bodies were kept in the basement of the chapel until the ground had softened, graves could be dug, and the remains could be interred.