Village improvement society ladies

In 1896, an association of Osceola ladies formed a cemetery association for the improvement of the cemetery. The cemetery was a disgrace to the town with weeds as high as a man’s head. The ladies wanted it to be a more fitting place.

The ladies interviewed with the council on several topics, among them would be making the road to the cemetery better, having the whole management of the cemetery turned over to them to collect money due on lots not paid for by the parties and use the money to beautify the cemetery.

The ladies were not able to obtain the council’s consent as money from the sale of the lots went into the city treasury. The ladies went to work at the cemetery cutting the weeds and caring for the graves, and later got a city tax through the council to care for the cemetery permanently.

On March 13, 1899, the Ladies Village Improvement Society was organized. Members were progressive ladies, teachers and wives of prominent business and professional men and members of the cemetery association. The ladies took up the work of beautifying and improving the city and appointed committees in each ward to hear the suggestions from Osceola citizens.

Osceola was a conservative city, the men often procrastinated, but the women forced through many of the improvements.

The scope of the ladies plan was care of parks, city square, the Railroad Park (also called the Depot Park), fresh paint for every building needing it, garbage disposal, care of alleys, school sanitation, sidewalks and parking, removal of unsightly fences, tree planting and trimming.

In 1899, Osceola had the worst depot along the Burlington line. For 10 years, there had been an unsightly mess of old buildings in a grove of beautiful trees north of the depot. The ladies could not build a new depot, but they thought they could beautify the area.

In May 1899, a civil engineer of the Iowa lines of the CB&Q (Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad) donated the land north of the freight depot to the ladies for a park. The railroad men gave the ladies permission and old buildings, weeds and old fences were removed.

The railroad company dumped 50 loads of dirt on the lot to fill up and build a mound upon to place the name of the city.

In September 1899, “Osceola,” in clear, white stone letters was set in the new railroad park corner by railroad men. Stone letters at Depot Park today (2014).