What’s Happening and Not Happening

Sadly, and despite all the planning and work that goes into our History Saturday in the Cemetery programs and other events and tours, we certainly miss sharing our cemetery and its history with visitors. I, as well as our docents and research committee, look forward to a brighter and happier 2021.

In the meantime, our volunteers have been busy with restoration projects, finalizing plans for our Cemetery Kiosk, grounds clean-up and our first Social-Distancing-Marker-Cleaning Workshop. On Saturday, June 20, 19 volunteers, nine of which were first-timers, turned out and cleaned 28 headstones and monuments in the Improved Order of Red Men section. Thank you and much appreciation to the following: John McGlothlin, Sherry Kramer, Gail Nicholson, Dee Reynar, Susie Grossklaus, Beverly Smith, Michele Simmons, Ruby Simmons, Annelise Weston, Stella Weston, Michael Sneary, Peggy Jennings, Joyce Athanas, Debbie Whisenant, Teresa Hopkins, Lorry Davis, Kathy Kromer and Mary Siedlecki.

Also, thank you to Rob and Lori Buerk for helping clean-up following the removal of a few dead trees and some major pruning on others. In total our volunteers provided 142 hours of labor during the month of June 2020, thank you one and all.

Given all the recent talk about sports and the return of baseball, may we suggest viewing Jacksonville’s Baseball Team from our Meet the Pioneers show in 2013. It is #45 under Oregon History Tales on YouTube. It features Anne Peugh, David Sours and Seth Weintraub, who passed-away on May 7, 2020. Seth loved being a part of Meet the Pioneers and looked forward to taking on a role each year. He will be sincerely missed by his family, many friends, fellow Meet the Pioneers actors, volunteers and audience. Enjoy the presentation and remember Seth and his loved ones as you learn all about how important baseball and their team, The Jacksonville Gold Bricks, was to Jacksonville and the Rogue Valley.

Featured image is Peggy Jennings at the June marker cleaning workshop, with Kathy Kromer in the background at a “social distance.” Photo by Mary Siedlecki.