History Saturday in the Cemetery, July 11—Join us on Saturday, July 11 at 10:00am for a very moving and interesting program, “The Civil War Comes to an End,” presented by Robert Hight and Gail Nicholson. This special program, in recognition of the 150th Anniversary of the end of our Nation’s Civil War, will include a talk on “Why the Civil War Mattered and the Civil War in Southern Oregon.” The reading of Civil War poems, letters sent home from soldiers and a short walking tour will also be included. The program is free with no advance reservations required. Please meet your docents at the top of the Cemetery Road where parking is available. Dress for the weather, please. Donations, no matter the amount, are greatly appreciated and help support educational programs and ongoing preservation work in the cemetery.

Marker Cleaning and Workshop, July 18—Join in the fun and help us clean the grave markers in the cemetery. Cleaning helps to not only preserve the markers, but makes the inscriptions much easier to read. Meet at the Sexton’s Tool House at 9:00am on the third Saturday of each month through September 19. All the necessary tools and supplies will be provided along with instructions on proper cleaning techniques. Remember to dress accordingly as you may get a bit dirty and wet! We suggest bringing a stool to sit on, hat and sunscreen.

To learn more about these two events and activities please visit friendsjvillecemetery.org.

With sincere appreciation and gratitude from the Friends of Jacksonville’s Historic Cemetery—The following appeared in the Democratic Times on June 2, 1893: “Although there were no ceremonies at the Jacksonville cemetery on Memorial Day, the floral decorations were the handsomest and most profuse in southern Oregon. We have the prettiest cemetery in the state, and are justly proud of it.”

Thank you to the following for making our cemetery the “prettiest in the state” this past Memorial Day—Members of the Jacksonville Booster’s Club, Community Volunteers, Richard Shields, Eric Villarreal and the Community Justice Work crews for all that you did in helping get the cemetery grounds ready for the Memorial Day holiday. So much was accomplished and we received so many wonderful comments on how nice the cemetery looked. With warm sunshine, a bright blue sky, so many beautiful floral arrangements, and flags flying throughout the cemetery, it was pretty impressive for all who came to visit.

To Beverly Smith, Susan White, Tony and Joan Hess, TJ Pappas, and Betsy Sharp for joining Mary and me and placing over 360 flags on the grave sites of our Veterans resting in the cemetery.

To Pam Smith, Ron Ruppert, Joan Hess, Tony Hess, Kathy Waltz, Betsy Sharp, and Mary Siedlecki for manning our information table at this year’s Memorial Day Meet and Greet on Sunday, May 24 and Monday, May 26. We had several hundred people visit the cemetery over the holiday weekend and were able to offer assistance to many.

To the Boosters Club and Foundation, and a special thank you to Steve Casaleggio, for the wonderful Community project of painting the exterior of the restrooms and the beautiful new plantings that surround the building. Not only was the project completed in time for Memorial Day, it came in under budget!

Finally, thank you to our wonderful Docents, Lynn Ransford, Joan Hess, Ellen Martin, Anne Peugh and Robert Hight for providing such wonderful and enjoyable tours for the Ashland Middle School students, a different group of 25 each day, Monday, May 4 through May 8, and our group of 62 Crater High School Students who attended our program on “Minorities and Discrimination” on May 5. It was a pretty amazing week for the students and for all of us. Your commitment to taking these tours on and making them so successful is most appreciated.

This past May was one of the busiest periods the Friends of Jacksonville’s Historic Cemetery has had. We could not have accomplished so much without the help from our many Volunteers who generously donated 271 + volunteer hours during the month of May.

Featured image above by Mary Siedlecki