As the New Year begins, our organization and its dedicated volunteers look forward to continuing the work of caring for, restoring and protecting one of Jacksonville’s and Oregon’s treasures, our Pioneer Cemetery. Before going into some of what we have planned for 2022, I would like to take a moment and reflect on all the amazing accomplishments in 2021.

Despite having to cancel or reduce the number of events and activities in 2021, our volunteers contributed a total of 1,502 recorded hours of volunteer labor caring for the cemetery. Not reflected in these numbers are the hundreds of hours that our Adopt-A-Block volunteers put in caring for their adopted block or blocks. This program allows volunteers to work at their own pace, when and as often as they choose, with no pressure of being in the cemetery on a certain day or time or having to keep track of their hours. We wanted to keep the program as simple and attractive as possible and now with some 200 volunteers signed on, I think it is safe to say, it has been a success. Additionally, the hours spent by volunteers in research work for our History Saturday programs and our new Story Boards, are not included in the total hours.

A breakdown of the 1,502 volunteer hours is as follows:

  • Community Clean-ups Days and by school groups and scouts – 103 volunteers and 259 hours
  • Restoration of headstones, monuments and curbing – 4 volunteers and 326 hours
  • Marker Cleaning Workshops – 58 volunteers, 114 markers cleaned and 164 hours
  • General Maintenance and Upkeep Duties – 703 hours
  • Presentation of History Saturday Programs – 5 programs, 142 guests and 50 hours

Thank you to all our volunteers for another amazing year and to all of you who were so generous with your donations supporting the work of our organization.

Planned for 2022, is placement of our new Story Boards which include a brief history of an individual or family buried within a block in the cemetery. Most of the Story Boards will also include a historical photograph. The boards have been completed and the stands that will hold them will soon be in production. We are hoping to place the first eleven Story Boards in the spring with additional ones to follow.

Also planned for the New Year will be our History Saturday in the Cemetery programs on the second Saturday of each month starting in May and concluding in September.

Marker Cleaning Workshops will be planned for the third Saturday of each month beginning in April and finishing up in September.

And following a two year absence due to Covid, we sincerely hope to be able to bring back our popular living history tour, Meet the Pioneers on Friday, October 7 and Saturday, October 8, 2022.

More on this and all of our events and activities will be forthcoming in future editions of the Jacksonville Review and on our website at friendsjvillecemetery.org.

Featured image: Photo taken by Eric Rogers while walking in the cemetery on Boxing Day, December 26, 2021.