Ormie and Kaleb talked about a number of projects that could be done at St. Mary’s Ridge and came up with this as it will fit in good with our 150th as we are going to have this finished before Sept 2006.

Hi,
My name is Kaleb Mack and I'm a member of Boy Scout Troop 60. Currently, I am a Life Scout working to achieve the rank of Eagle. I am required to have 11 required merit badges and a total of 30 merit badges. I have to go through a series of Board of Reviews, but the hardest and most important part I have to do is complete an Eagle Project that the Gateway Area Council thinks is worthy to be project.

When you drive past St. Mary's Ridge and you look to the east of the church behind the shrubs that are between the church and the rectory , there are 150 to 200 of our founders buried. This area is bare except for four stones and a couple of trees.

Historically, we have honored our dead, but very few people even know that there are people buried in that clearing. How can we even think of honoring them if we don't even know where they're buried?

This is how I developed my Eagle Project idea, I figured if nobody knows where the majority of the pilgrims and their families that founded St. Mary's Ridge Church are buried, then I could put up a memorial for the founders of our church to give others a
chance to honor them.

Anybody who donates will be recognized by having their name engraved on the item they donate. This memorial is for the founders, but I also hope to see people using it for reflection and prayer or as a walkway to the existing cemetery.

After consulting with Krause Monument Co. of Viroqua, we have developed a memorial plan. The memorial's walkways will be constructed of cement in a cross pattern, with tiles and pavers incorporated into the design. There will be four granite tablets engraved with the names of our founders. There will also be two granite benches as seating incorporated into our plan. The center feature of the monument will be a self-contained water fountain.

Examples of Contributor Tiles

8" X 4" paver                $65.00
3 Lines, 12 Characters per line including spaces

12" X 12" tile               $200.00
3 Lines, 12 Characters per line including spaces

12X24" tile                 $375.00
4 Lines, 24 Characters per line including spaces