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REGULAR MEETING JUNE 24, 2013
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<br />Lewis Keller who was killed in 1898 during a robbery of a store on Washington Street;
<br />Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient Private Enoch R. Weiss who served in the U.S. Army
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<br />in Company G, 1 US Cavalry who died in 1917; South Bend Police Officer Howard Wagner
<br />who was killed at the age of 29 by John Dillinger’s gang during the robbery of downtown
<br />Merchants Bank in 1934; and Schuyler Colfax who served as Speaker of the House of
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<br />Representatives from 1863-1869, and served our country as the 17 Vice-President of the United
<br />States from 1869-1873 under President Ulysses S. Grant - are just some of the thousands of
<br />individuals buried in this historic City Cemetery along with the many infants who died from
<br />teething, consumption, whooping cough, scarlet fever and measles; and
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<br />Whereas, the Common Council notes that in 2009, the Historic Preservation Commission
<br />of South Bend and St. Joseph County partnered with the Schuyler Colfax Chapter of the
<br />Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) to collaborate together and promote the
<br />preservation of City Cemetery, with its Mission Statement “to preserve, protect, share carefully
<br />and treat reverently this hallowed and historic site”; and
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<br />Whereas, the Common Council acknowledges that on May 1, 2009, a 93-page
<br />copyrighted publication entitled Preservation Assessment of City Cemetery, South Bend, Indiana,
<br />also referred to as the Chicora Research Contribution 512, was prepared by Michael Trinkley,
<br />PhD and Debi Hacker of
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<br />Chicora Foundation, Inc. who specialize in cemetery preservation with a special emphasis on
<br />conservation treatments, cemetery preservation plans, marker inventories and assessments,
<br />historical research, grave identification, archaeological investigations, and cemetery preservation
<br />workshops for Amy B. Minnick, Assistant Director of the Historic Preservation Commission of
<br />South Bend with this detailed publication being available at
<br />http://www.chicora.org/pdfs/RC512.pdf; and
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<br />Whereas, the Common Council further notes that the Preservation Assessment of City
<br />Cemetery, South Bend, Indiana publication sets forth key data, information, maps, pictures and
<br />recommendations addressing the following topic: Introduction – preservation fundamental, the
<br />Cemetery – its setting and context, factors affecting the landscape character, administrative and
<br />legal issues; Historic Synopsis; Road and Pedestrian Issues; Lighting and Security Issues;
<br />Cemetery Fixtures and Furnishings; Landscape Maintenance; Other Maintenance Issues;
<br />Conservation Issues; Priorities and Funding Levels; and detailed source information as well
<br />many recommendations; and
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<br />Whereas, on January 14, 2013, the South Bend Common Council unanimously adopted
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<br />Resolution No. 4226-13, which officially declared March 23 of each year as “Schuyler Colfax
<br />Day in South Bend, Indiana” to recognize his public service career and especially his determined
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<br />dedication to civil rights and the passage of the 13 Amendment in 1865 to abolish slavery, the
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<br />passage of the 14 Amendment in 1868 addressing due process, and equal protection, and the
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<br />15 Amendment in 1869 addressing the right to vote regardless of one’s race, color or previous
<br />condition of servitude; and the fact that he was the first person from Indiana to be elected Vice-
<br />President of the United States; and
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<br />Whereas, on March 23, 2013, the 190 birthday of Schuyler Colfax, members of the
<br />South Bend Common Council, representatives of the Colfax Chapter of the Daughters of the
<br />American Revolution, union members, city residents, Historic Preservation members, members
<br />of the St. Joseph Lodge 45 of the Free Masons, and concerned citizens gathered at 601 West
<br />Colfax Avenue, where Schuyler Colfax once lived in patriot observance of the first observance
<br />of “Schuyler Colfax Day”;
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<br />Whereas, this year’s celebration of Schuyler Colfax then continued to his final resting
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<br />place in City Cemetery, where he, and his son Schuyler Colfax, Jr. who was the 11 Mayor of
<br />the City of South Bend serving from 1899-1902, and other family members are buried; and
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<br />Whereas, this year’s celebration was dampened by seeing first-hand the overall condition
<br />of City Cemetery which has far too many neglected and broken headstones many of which have
<br />weathered into anonymity, a place which has repeatedly become the target for vandals with well
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