COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) - A school for the deaf in Council Bluffs has held its 20th memorial service for deceased students and staff buried on its campus.
Shirley Hicks held a memorial service for the former Iowa School for the Deaf members Tuesday as she told stories about each of the 10 people who were buried on campus between 1879 and 1900, The Daily Nonpareil (https://bit.ly/20B1NsC ) reported.
“For a long time, they were the forgotten people,” Hicks said. “We’ve tried to honor them over the years. For a long time, they didn’t have the names; they didn’t know who and how they died.”
Hicks is a former student and teacher at the school, and she now works as a volunteer to preserve the institution’s history.
“We’re very lucky Shirley Hicks has taken the time to research to where we can continue to honor these people,” said John Cool, the school’s assistant administrator. “We’re very fortunate to have her because she has this history tucked away in her head.”
The graves were moved in the 1950s to accommodate the widening of a nearby highway. Today, the remains have been relocated to a common casket on the school grounds and marked with a monument. Nine of the headstones are preserved in the school’s museum.
The school’s past is woven into the fabric of the 161-year-old institution today - and the annual memorial is a way for students to connect with its history.
“Remember that 10 people died here and were buried here,” Hicks told the school’s elementary school students during the ceremony. “We don’t want kids to forget their lives. When we visit cemeteries to honor and remember our families, we need to do the same for these families.”
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Information from: The Daily Nonpareil, https://www.nonpareilonline.com
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