A short history of the Bethlehem Cemetery Association

A short history of the Bethlehem Cemetery Association

The Bethlehem Cemetery Association of Saline County Missouri, Inc. was originally incorporated in 1928 to exist for a period of 99 years for the purpose of maintaining Bethlehem Cemetery. By the 1970s meetings of the Association had ceased and the cemetery was only being mowed sporadically. Under the leadership of Harry Hanley a reorganizational meeting was held in May of 1982. Elected to the Board of Trustees at that meeting were:

As part of the reorganization process the Articles of Agreement were amended to make the Association a corporation in perpetuity. New By-laws were written. The Association also became a tax-exempt organization under Internal Revenue Service Code § 501(c)(13). The primary purpose of the Association remains the maintenance of Bethlehem Cemetery.

In 1986 the current chain link fence was built on the east, north and west sides. In 1989, after heavy brush and an old woven wire fence had been cleared out, the south side of the fence was built.

In 1988 many of the trees currently in the cemetery were planted. In 1989-1990 the cemetery was replatted—dividing the cemetery into square sections fifty feet on each side. The plat has subsequently been converted to geographic information system (GIS) format.

In 1999 a concrete floor was poured for the shelter house. The shelter house was repainted in 2003. A free-standing bulletin board was installed near the shelter house in 2004. Also in 2004 a directional sign was installed at the intersection of US Highway 65 and Saline County Road 100 (formerly Road 334 prior to the switch to 911 addressing) to make it easier for visitors to find the cemetery.

In 2010 the shelter house was repainted, a new roof was installed, and the sign on the shelter house was refurbished.

In the summer of 2011 the Board contracted with Jacob's Ladder Cemetery Restoration Specialists to have over 90 monuments uprighted, repaired, sealed, and/or cleaned.

Indian Paintbrush on roadbank of churchyard

As an ongoing project the Board is gradually restoring the old churchyard to the west of the cemetery to native Tallgrass Prairie vegetation. Please feel free to pick flowers from the churchyard to place on your loved one's grave. We only ask that you refrain from picking uncommon flowers, so that they may be left to produce seed.

Wilbur Scott served as President until August of 2003 and remained on the Board until his death in 2006. At that time Douglas Tooker was elected President, Bill Claycomb Vice-President and Marvin Wilhite became a new Board member. Bill Claycomb retired from the Board in 2007. Jim Wiley was elected to the vacant Board position at that time, and Marvin Wilhite became Vice-President. Harry Hanley passed away in 2010, and at the Spring Board meeting in 2011 Paul Wiley was appointed by the Board to fill the expired term. Paul and Jim retired from the Board in 2015. Russell Scott and Ron Lawrence were elected to the vacant Board positions. The current members of the Board are as follows: