Community leaders dedicate Pettis County Courthouse Memorial

The sudden change to more seasonal January temperatures drove community members into the courthouse for the official dedication of the Pettis County Courthouse Memorial on Thursday.

The memorial, consisting of original bases and capitals and newly hewn limestone columns designed to replicate columns from the previous courthouse, which burned in 1920, were installed late last month after a yearlong private community effort.

Thursday’s ceremony, held in the ground floor lobby of the courthouse, was hosted by Judy Parkhurst and John Beykirch, co-coordinators of the effort.

Parkhurst, who helped launch the project, and Beykirch, a 17-year-old  senior at Sacred Heart School who joined the effort in July after deciding to use the memorial as the service project to earn his Eagle Scout rank, passed out plaques and offered words of thanks to nearly 30 individuals and businesses who contributed either cash or in-kind service donations to the project, which cost about $20,000.

“We sometimes lose sight of the things we should be proud of and we start to take our history for granted,” Parkhurst said. “Our hope has always been that this memorial will serve as a reminder and will inspire people to take a renewed look at the history around them.”

Beykirch said he focused his efforts on coordinating the logistics of getting the memorial installed, while Parkhurst focused more on helping solicit donations.

The group planned to have the memorial in place for a dedication in November, but delays and the need to coordinate the varied pieces of the project pushed the dedication into January.

Beykirch, who turns 18 in February, said the clock was running out for his Eagle Scout project as work must be completed by Scouts before they turn 18.

“I’m glad everything finally came together. This has been a lot of work, but it all paid off, and I think it is great that we have this kind of community spirit,” Beykirch said.

The pair called their supporters “Pillars of the Community” and stressed that each donor played a role in making the project a reality.

Andrew Treuner, owner of Robert A. Treuner Masonry Company, was one of a number of construction and commercial business owners who contributed to the effort.

Treuner said he worked with Beykirch and other Scouts from Troop 54 in cleaning the bases and capitals.

He also arranged for the new columns to be created by Indiana Cut Stone, of Bedford, Ind., which has worked with Treuner Masonry on a number of local projects, including limestone facings at the new Smith-Cotton High School and the Sacred Heart School addition.

“That was something they didn’t have to do, but they have left their mark in Sedalia because of the stone they have supplied for other projects,” Treuner said.

The company supplied a “good price” on the columns and paid the freight costs, Treuner said.

Treuner also received help in the construction phase from Septagon, M&R Monument, B&P Excavating and W&M Crane Service.

“This was just a unique project we were honored to be part of. This is something we can all be proud of and will be a lasting tribute to a facility that no longer exists,” Treuner said.

Contributors

The following businesses were recognized Thursday for their contributions, or as memorial contributions in the name of family members:

Pillars
Mr. and Mrs. John Ditzfeld — Ditzfeld Transfer family
W-K Chevrolet — Weymuth family
Mr. and Mrs. W.E. Bingaman — Web and Sons family
Fischer Concrete — Joe Fischer
David C. Furnell/Erica Furnell Eisenmenger
Septagon Construction — Jack McIntosh
B&P Excavating — Mike Brown
Robert A. Treuner Masonry Company — Andrew Treuner
W&M Crane Services — Gary McMullin
Jake’s Creative Woodworks Inc. — Jake Gieschen
M&R Monument — Mike Struble
PROSOCO — Mike Dickey
Indiana Cut Stone
Stone Laser Imaging — Harry and Julie Hoffert

Friends
Betty Anderson
Eric and Melissa Bartlett
Clay and Gretchen Campbell
Bill Claycomb
Dick and Mary Craig
Mary Francis Herndon
John C. Meehan
David and Vera Menefee
Richard and Judy Parkhurst
Dan Pilliard
Third National Bank employees
Ron and Judy Toellner
Larry and Rosie Wilson