April 12, 2017
Preserving history
Around Town WSD holds STEM Olympics. P.2
WSD students earn Distinguished Student Leadership Award. P.2 O’Fallon and Wentzvilled among safest cities in MO. P.3
School
Lindewnwood student wins St. Louis ADDY award. P.4
St. Charles County Sheriff Scott Lewis and Penny Pitman stand behind the grave of Revolutionary War veteran John Pitman at John Pitman Cemetery in Cottleville on April 7.
Photos by Ray Rockwell
Cottleville’s Pitman Cemetery, the final resting place of a Revolutionary War veteran, finds new life By Brett Auten A historical cemetery located in St. Charles County has been given an extra life. The city of Cottleville recently partnered with Lombardo Homes to preserve the Pitman Cemetery located in the new Legacy of Patriots Ridge subdivision at 6320 Highway N. A gate and fencing will be erected around the Pitman Cemetery as well as adding walkway access and parking. Penny Pitman, a descendant of John Pitman whom the cemetery is named after, is more than relieved over the decision. “There are still quite a few Pitmans around and we were concerned something bad would happen to it because it was just sort of out there in the middle of a field,” Pitman said. Pitman - whose great-great-great grandfather’s brother was John Pitman – said one person was paramount in making sure the cemetery didn’t fade away. Scott Lewis is best known as the St. Charles County sheriff. But in his downtime, he also serves as the Cottleville city historian. “We were getting discouraged but once he came aboard saving it became doable,” Pitman said. “Scott Lewis made sure that it didn’t disappear into the night.”
Lewis said keeping Pitman Cemetery from fading away has been an on again, offagain project. “We didn’t want to lose it,” Lewis said. “There are about a dozen revolutionary war
This sign marks the entrance to John Pitman Cemetery in the new Legacy of Patriots Ridge subdivision in Cottleville.
veterans buried in St. Charles but only four or five have graves that exist and this is one of them. So we were interested in preserv-
ing the history.” Lewis wasn’t only alone in this cause. The Saint Charles Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution group did a cleanup of the grounds several years ago. But decisions out of everyone’s control set progress back and soon thing returned to where they were. “It went back to disrepair,” Lewis said. “Kids broke a number of headstones.” Joan Koechig was one of the Daughters of the American Revolution members who has been there from the start. “Ten years or so ago we were contacted and things were in horrible shape,” Koechig said. “It had been pretty much abandoned for who knows how long. We went two or three times before the then-property owner wanted us to have insurance. When the property changed hands, they asked if we wanted to be involved again and if we would help and the answer was yes. One of the tenants of the Daughters of the American Revolution is historical preservation and this screams historical preservation.” The Daughters of the American Revolution are planning an initial cemetery clean See CEMETERY page 2
Serving St. Louis, St. Charles, and Lincoln Counties | FREE Online at mycnews.com | Vol. 19 No. 15 | 636-379-1775
WSD DECA students excel at state. P.8
Business
Money raised for Leaps of Love. P.9 2017 Baby Kid Expo now accepting vendors. P.9
Movie Marvel movies megahits and epic fails. P.16
Weather FRIDAY Scattered Storms 78/59 SATURDAY Sunny; Storms Late 81/59 SUNDAY Partly Sunny 76/54 FirstWarn Weather
prepared by meteorologist Nick Palisch. For the latest updates visit www.facebook.com/nickswx.