May 1, 2022
M
ARK YOUR CALENDARS! This is a Red-Letter Day for Rock Prairie as we turn on and light up our
beloved historic chapel at the Annual Association Meeting on Saturday, May 28th, at 2:00 p.m. Yes, you
read it right . . . the power of the chapel can now be seen and heard! Please make plans to join us as we
report on and close out the past year and set our sites on the work ahead for the upcoming 2022-23 fiscal year. All
board members will be present and available to answer any questions you may have.
B
USINESS: Our six-member board of directors each serve three-year terms that expire in yearly rotations of two
seats — this year, those two seats belong to Mike Pyeatt (2019) and Roxie Sharpe (2016). If you or someone you
know would be interested in serving on the board, please submit your names to any board member in advance so all
can be considered and voted on at the annual meeting.
R
EMEMBER! The chapel will be open for all to visit and enjoy every day starting Monday, May 23rd through
Memorial Day, May 30th from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (weather permitting). Small veterans flags donated by
members Frances Duvall and Ronnie Lawmaster will be available on the Chapel porch each day that week. Jerry
Tuttle works hard at getting the cemetery ready for this special week, so be mindful of his schedule: Wednesday and
Thursday mowings all spring, including Memorial week; then, again, two weeks later. Please retrieve your flowers
before that first mowing after Memorial Day. If you have any questions or need to coordinate times to access the
chapel, whether for flowers, flags, or just to visit, please contact me,
Roxie Sharpe, at 417-234-4077.
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Rock Prairie Cemetery
Halltown, Missouri
Memorial Week - May 23
rd
- 30
th
, 2022
“LET THERE BE LIGHT!”
May 1, 2022
Rock Prairie had a record-breaking year for donations, and it never seems to fail . . . when folks feel the pinch
personally, they always remember the cemetery. So, THANK YOU for your continued and unwavering support. You
are the reason our cemetery continues to be relevant and beautiful — a testament to your family legacies and values.
POWER TO THE CHAPEL: The Chapel continued to reign supreme as plans to
get electricity installed moved
forward. In October, Ozark
Electric Cooperative removed the
old oak tree directly behind the
chapel next to the fence and
replaced the old, rotted telephone
pole in preparation for a new
transformer and wires. Don Sharpe, Roxie Sharpe, and Jim Carson
supervised the momentous occasion. The tree’s trunk will be dried
out and eventually made into a keepsake item for the chapel for
posterity.
After Josh’s beautiful work last year, we imposed on him again to
help make the chapel ready for wiring. An electrician was consulted
and Josh built a utility closet. Jim Carson coordinated the effort, and after 95+ years in the dark, the Chapel is
humming with electricity — radiating light and warmth over the cemetery from dusk to dawn like a protective
beacon guiding lost souls home.
CHAPEL HISTORY: We believe that the chapel was most likely built in the late 1800s as a schoolhouse because
Lawrence county had replaced all log schoolhouses by 1880 and one-room schoolhouses with the same floor plan as
our chapel (see below) sprang up in unused corners of various farms — our chapel was on the Stewart farm two miles
south of the cemetery. We know it suffered one fire and was donated to the Methodist church by John Mack Stewart
(1834-1906) for the favor of naming it Stewart’s Chapel. By 1920, Stewart’s chapel had been abandoned and was more
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Donations
SubTotal
Expenses
Maintenance
$ 7,620.13
$ 12,364.82
$ (14,098.18)
Endowment
$ 4,450.00
2021-2022 Rock Prairie Cemetery Association Board
Jim Carson, President (2003) Jerry Tuttle, Vice President (2014)
Roxie Sharpe, Secretary (2016) Sherry Neeley, Treasurer (1997)
Josh Noggle, Sexton (2015) Mike Pyeatt, Director (2019)
TREASURER’S STATEMENT: A main goal of the Rock Prairie Cemetery board is to maintain the long term solvency
of the cemetery for future generations and be transparent. In the past few months we have spent some of the
maintenance funds to add electricity and update the Chapel. The board feels this is a long term investment in the
cemetery and the Halltown community. A yearly report of the cemetery funds plus an updated quarterly report will
be presented at the annual meeting. If anyone has any questions, please contact Sherry Neeley at 417-827-0831.
REMINDER! Last year Rock Prairie Cemetery officially became a 501(c)3 charitable organization and our EIN
changed. If you need a receipt or our new EIN, please let us know.
Financial Overview As of December 31, 2021
For your convenience, there are 3 ways to donate:
— By mail at: P.O. Box 45 Halltown, MO 65664
— By dropping your check in the mail slot at the chapel
— By credit card using the PayPal Donate button on our
website: RockPrairieCemetery.com
May 1, 2022
than suitable for Rock Prairie’s needs, so the board put together a committee to
look into buying and moving the little chapel to the cemetery. Seven years and
$500 later, the chapel was rolled on logs to its current location. In 1998, sorely
needed repairs were done before encasing the entire building in a protective
metal housing. Now, in 2022, the chapel shines bright with lights illuminating
its storied history — a tremendous milestone for our little cemetery!
CHAPEL: Our goal to make the chapel usable and attractive for our members and the community has become a
reality. Funerals and functions will now have the lighting and power needed to ensure comfort and convenience.
Music, microphones, slideshows, instruments, coffee, hot plates, computers . . . anything that plugs in and makes
your function complete is now possible! Spread the word - the chapel is now polished up, powered up, and ready for
funerals, celebrations, family reunions, special events, community meetings, etc. You will not experience a more
beautiful funeral than one held at our chapel. The ambiance takes you back to a simpler time, creating a beautifully
warm and intimate funeral followed by a slow and reverent walk from the chapel to the gravesite. Truly a fitting and
memorable manner in which to say goodbye to your loved one.
BATHROOMS: The bathrooms also now have power and lights!
TRASH: Mike Pyeatt continues to provide FREE trash service and has become our on-site, on-call, instant
security police patrolling the grounds on his way to and from work whenever things look amiss. Kudos to Mike!
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The headstone above is dated
1927, the year Amy Gaither died
and the chapel was rolled to the
cemetery on logs. Juxtaposed in
the background, you can see the
new pole sporting the new
electrical service installed and
ready to supply electricity to our
Chapel after 95 years!
NOTE: The Methodist church Register dated 1893-1908 was found by Stewart Lee
Richardson, great grandson of John Mack Stewart, and donated to the Lawrence County
Historical Society several years ago. After discussing the history of the chapel at length with
Stewart, he had a change of heart and felt that the book should be kept with the chapel. So,
after some digging around the courthouse in Mt. Vernon, Stewart managed to retrieved the
Register. It is his and his family’s wish that the Register be made a permanent part of the
cemetery’s historical records. If scheduling permits, he plans to present this special gift to
the board at this year’s annual meeting.
Thank you, Stewart Lee Richardson family!
2021-2022 Rock Prairie Cemetery Association Board
Jim Carson, President (2003) Jerry Tuttle, Vice President (2014)
Roxie Sharpe, Secretary (2016) Sherry Neeley, Treasurer (1997)
Josh Noggle, Sexton (2015) Mike Pyeatt, Director (2019)
May 1, 2022
MO SALES TAX EXEMPTION: This year, Rock Prairie applied for and received a certificate for sales tax
exemption from the State of Missouri! We will save 5.98% of every purchase by having this exemption.
VANDALISM: Mike Pyeatt twice reported vandalism in the form of graffiti on the workstations easily seen from
I-44. Each time it was cleaned up, larger letters reappeared. We hope the vandals are deterred by our newly-lighted
grounds and perhaps more so when the Veterans Memorial is erected because it, too, will fully light up the night sky.
VETERANS MEMORIAL/SCATTERING GARDEN: Jim Carson tells us that we are breaking ground on the
Veterans Memorial this year. He continues to obtain bids and “pro bono” type donations. Also, we would like to
display photos of our veterans in the chapel, so please submit your 5 x7 or 8 x 10 photos in a simple, unobtrusive
frame for this project.
1. The days and weeks leading up to Memorial Day bring much activity by decorators and visitors to the cemetery.
Courtesy and caution are requested when using the cemetery roads. Be mindful of others needing to get around you, and
remember that some graves are closer to the road than they seem.
2. The wind often blows our beautiful flowers all over the cemetery, and we have no idea where they belong. They end up
on the wrong headstone or in the chapel. Please consider attaching the headstone’s name and date to your flowers or saddle to
ensure they get put back in the right place. Thank you!
3. We realize that the occasional instance arises when a vehicle must be driven into an area usually prohibited by the
cemetery (i.e., extensive grave repair work, hauling off heavy headstones, etc.). We ask that a board member be notified and in
attendance so that the risk of damaging other graves is negligible. Thank you for your kind cooperation.
4. Mike Pyeatt was made aware of a large, gaping hole in the ground in the New Part section. As always, he stepped up
and made the necessary repairs immediately. The family was most grateful, as was the board.
5. Whenever there is a burial or headstone installation, we turn to Jerry Tuttle and his expertise in marking plots. This
process must be done correctly so that spaces are always available as surveyed initially and sold. This is a job above and beyond
the regular cemetery maintenance that Jerry does . . . a job that no one wants to be tasked with, so kudos to Jerry!
6. Don’t forget to contact Roxie Sharpe if you move or change your phone numbers or emails. We don’t want to lose
touch!
Emails: Roxie@RockPrairieCemetery.com or RockPrairieCemetery@yahoo.com
417-234-4077 (call or text)
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RECYCLED FLOWERS! This is the last year for the Recycled Flowers project.
We would like to clear them out of the chapel by Memorial Day. Please contact
Roxie Sharpe, if you are in need of, or know someone who could use these flowers.
REMARKS, REMINDERS & TIDBITS
2021-2022 Rock Prairie Cemetery Association Board
Jim Carson, President (2003) Jerry Tuttle, Vice President (2014)
Roxie Sharpe, Secretary (2016) Sherry Neeley, Treasurer (1997)
Josh Noggle, Sexton (2015) Mike Pyeatt, Director (2019)
DON’T FORGET!
AmazonSmile Generates Automatic Donations to Rock Prairie Cemetery
Follow these steps to make Amazon send Rock Prairie donations:
Step 1: Go to smile.amazon.com on your computer or mobile device.
Step 2: Login (you'll need to create one if you don’t have an account).
Step 3: After signing in, you will be directed to select (or change) your charity.
Step 4: In the “Or pick your own charitable organization” enter “Rock Prairie Cemetery” then click
“Search.”
Step 5: Click “Select” next to Rock Prairie Cemetery, and you will be redirected to the agreement page.
Check the box next to “Yes” and click “Start Shopping.”
Step 6: " You will be redirected to Amazon’s homepage to help you add Amazon Smile to your toolbar.
Adding a bookmark (or shortcut on your mobile device home page) reminds you to access
smile.amazon.com before shopping.
That’s it! You are now signed up for Amazon Smile! Just visit smile.amazon.com instead of Amazon.com to make
sure a portion of the price of your eligible purchases gets donated to Rock Prairie! Unsolicited donations that just
appear in the bank because we shopped — what could be better than that? Kind of like finding a quarter in a
payphone or a ten-dollar bill in your coat pocket! This effort won’t be worth the cost to print this sheet, if we don’t
all get on board and participate . . . but if we do . . . cha-ching!!!
If this is too daunting, or if you don’t shop Amazon, please copy this sheet and give it to your kids and grandkids,
neighbors, friends, and relatives or give me your list and I will send it out for you. You may reach me, Roxie Sharpe,
at 417-234-4077 if you need help with this program. Thank you!
DON’T FORGET!
AmazonSmile Generates Automatic Donations to Rock Prairie Cemetery
Follow these steps to make Amazon send Rock Prairie donations:
Step 1: Go to smile.amazon.com on your computer or mobile device.
Step 2: Login (you'll need to create one if you don’t have an account).
Step 3: After signing in, you will be directed to select (or change) your charity.
Step 4: In the “Or pick your own charitable organization” enter “Rock Prairie Cemetery” then click
“Search.”
Step 5: Click “Select” next to Rock Prairie Cemetery, and you will be redirected to the agreement page.
Check the box next to “Yes” and click “Start Shopping.”
Step 6: " You will be redirected to Amazon’s homepage to help you add Amazon Smile to your toolbar.
Adding a bookmark (or shortcut on your mobile device home page) reminds you to access
smile.amazon.com before shopping.
That’s it! You are now signed up for Amazon Smile! Just visit smile.amazon.com instead of Amazon.com to make
sure a portion of the price of your eligible purchases gets donated to Rock Prairie! Unsolicited donations that just
appear in the bank because we shopped — what could be better than that? Kind of like finding a quarter in a
payphone or a ten-dollar bill in your coat pocket! This effort won’t be worth the cost to print this sheet, if we don’t
all get on board and participate . . . but if we do . . . cha-ching!!!
If this is too daunting, or if you don’t shop Amazon, please copy this sheet and give it to your kids and grandkids,
neighbors, friends, and relatives or give me your list and I will send it out for you. You may reach me, Roxie Sharpe,
at 417-234-4077 if you need help with this program. Thank you!