Honoring Veterans in May—May is the heart of springtime in Jacksonville and typically a very beautiful month in our historic cemetery. With winter behind us, and Memorial Day coming at month-end ready to mark the beginning of summer, May offers one more opportunity to make sure the cemetery is tidied-up for the outdoor season ahead.
May is also the month we honor the 415 veterans who reside in our cemetery. On May 25th, we’ll set flags at our veterans’ gravesites in their honor and in time for the arrival of visitors who come to pay their respects over the Memorial Day weekend and beyond.
You can find details of our Pre-Memorial Day Community Cemetery Clean-up Day, on Saturday, May 20th, and Memorial Day – Flags for our Veterans, on Thursday, May 25th, below.
This year, before the flags are removed following Veterans Day in November, we hope to have our twelfth Story Board in place, this one recognizing Civil War veteran, Illtid Thomas (Masonic 357). Until then, you can read a brief version of Illtid’s story in the Friends of Jacksonville’s Historic Cemetery (FOJHC) brochure, Civil War and Civil War Era Veterans (1861-1965) Resting in the Jacksonville Cemetery, copies of which are available at the Interpretive Center.
In addition, the brochure contains brief stories of five other Civil War veterans, two of whom, Ruben Maury (City, 198) and George Francis Schumpf, (Catholic, E4) were featured in the FOJHC living history program, Meet the Pioneers (MTP) in 2015 and 2017, respectively. The story of Civil War veteran, George Washington Acree (City, 136), was also featured in Meet the Pioneers in 2017. All three Civil War veteran Meet the Pioneers presentations can be viewed on YouTube (Oregon History Tales).
Pre-Memorial Day Community Cemetery Clean-up Day, Saturday, May 20, 9am-noon—Bring gloves to wear, rakes, gas or battery-operated blowers, weedeaters, and lawn mowers and meet at the Sexton’s Tool House, top of the Cemetery Road. Eye and ear protection is recommended.
Memorial Day – Flags for our Veterans, Thursday, May 25, 9am—Volunteers ensure that each veteran in the cemetery is honored for their service by placing a flag on their gravesite, saying their name, and thanking them for their service. The flags remain in place and are maintained until they are removed following Veterans Day in November.
Please see our website at www.friendsjvillecemetery.org for information on future events and activities.