MORAN — A new archway greeting cemetery visitors here will also offer a local history lesson.
Moran has two cemeteries — not one — at the south end of town.
Now, visitors will see what actually is Roseland Cemetery, explained Jamie Stodgell, one of the driving forces behind getting the new arch.
Stodgell was on hand while her husband, Mike, assisted Darin Robertson and Eli Spencer of Robertson Masonry with erecting the steel “Roseland” arch Thursday morning.
The Stodgells had multiple reasons for seeing the project to fruition.
First, both are on the Marmaton Township Cemetery Board, along with Brenda Armstrong, which oversees the cemeteries.
More importantly, funding for the arch project came from memorials established in honor of EJ Seifker, Jamie Stodgell’s father who died in February 2022.
(Seifker Farms is making a donation to cover leftover costs.)
“This makes a nice addition to the cemetery,” Stodgell said, “especially with Memorial Day coming up.”
The archway was designed by Leland Trout of Texas, Jamie Stodgell’s brother-in-law, and fabricated by Leland Trout of Chanute.
Jamie Stodgell was joined by her sisters, Susan Seifker and Deb Tynon to watch Robertson and Spencer put on the finishing touches, concrete caps atop a pair of brick pedestals on opposite sides of the arch.
The plan is to target a similar archway for the official Moran Cemetery side, Stodgell said, as funds become available.
THE MORAN Cemetery was established in 1882, and expanded from four acres to 10 in 1910.
As that space filled, Roseland Cemetery was established on the south side of the road in 1930.
Because the original Moran Cemetery ground is largely filled to capacity, most of the funerals from the latter half of the 20th century are in Roseland Cemetery, a fact lost on most locals.
“Not many people know that,” Stodgell said.
