Jacksonville Review – Dec 2024/Jan 2025

LAST MONTH we highlighted the September conclusion of our History Saturday in the Cemetery program (second Saturdays, May through September) and planned to write this month about the conclusion of the Marker Cleaning Workshop program (third Saturdays, same months). It was quite a finale! Just before the last workshop, Christmas came early when we received a very nice surprise from Jacksonville neighbors and good friends of the cemetery at Ray’s Market and Ace Hardware, “down the hill” on 5th Street!

Mary Jo Stufflet (Assistant Manager at Ray’s) notified Friends Director and marker program lead, Dee Reynar, that Ray’s/Ace planned to donate a large assortment of soft bristle brushes, scrapers, buckets, pails, kneeling pads, and spray bottles to refresh the marker cleaning equipment and supplies used by Friends volunteers! Those volunteers have contributed nearly 200 hours of their time this year to clean 265 of the many headstones, monuments, and markers found in the seven sections of the Jacksonville Historic Cemetery. Marker cleaning is an ongoing process that involves the removal of dirt, lichens, moss, and stains that obscure the engravings on markers and make it difficult for visitors to find the gravesites of loved ones.

The items donated by Ray’s Market and Ace Hardware are all safe for use on cemetery markers and are much appreciated by the FOJHC board and by our many volunteers. We thank Mary Jo at Ray’s for coordinating the donation and her fellow managers, Bob Jones at Ace Hardware, and Brian Lemaster, local Ray’s/Ace general manager, for this very generous gift!

With year-end approaching, the Friends hosted a Fall Cemetery Clean Up on October 26th to help ready the cemetery grounds for winter. We thank our many volunteers, including Boosters, Rotarians, and Scouts for their help in filling over 150 large garden bags and barrels with fallen leaves and branches!

Then, on November 14th, Friends volunteers retrieved the flags placed previously at gravesites of the over 400 Veterans at rest in the cemetery. The flags will be repaired or replaced as necessary, then stored for the winter until placed at Veterans gravesites for Memorial Day 2025.

It’s been another productive year for the FOJHC and our efforts, together, to help maintain our historic cemetery and honor our town’s history. As you plan your year-end giving, please consider a donation to help support current and future Friends’ programs: Friends of Jacksonville’s Historic Cemetery, PO Box 1541, Jacksonville, OR 97530.

The FOJHC is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation. Donations are tax deductible to individuals choosing to itemize deductions for federal or Oregon state income tax purposes.

Featured image: Christmas Comes Early for the FOJHC…thanks to ACE Hardware/Ray’s of Jacksonville. Photo by: Ken Reynar