Jim Field speaks with Ron Chamberlain about an award he is going to receive from the State Association for the Preservation of Iowa Cemeteries. The State Association for the Preservation of Iowa Cemeteries (SAPIC) will present the Robert & Phyllis Carter Award to Ron Chamberlain of Harlan on Sunday afternoon, October 26 at the Shelby County Historical Society. The 1:30pm ceremony will honor Chamberlain for his leadership, continuous efforts, and historical discoveries in a group effort to restore pioneer cemeteries in western Iowa.

The Carter Award is awarded to an individual or group that has established outstanding achievements in the restoration, preservation and maintenance of pioneer cemeteries in the state of Iowa. Pioneer cemeteries, by Iowa law, are those cemeteries that have twelve or fewer burials within the past fifty years. Robert and Phyllis Carter were from Washington, Iowa, and were among a small group of individuals who became concerned about the plight of pioneer cemeteries in the 1990s. Many such historical and sacred burial sites were disappearing due to neglect, apathy, urban development and farming. As a result, the State Association for the Preservation of Iowa Cemeteries (SAPIC) was founded in 1996.

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