Upcoming Activities & Events—We are planning another year filled with activities and events that we hope you’ll find interesting, enjoyable and worthwhile! Your continued help in caring for and supporting our beautiful Pioneer Cemetery is sincerely appreciated.

Help with Cleaning-up the Cemetery Grounds—Our first Community Clean-up Day of 2016 will be on Saturday, March 12, from 9:00am until noon. On Saturday, May 21 we will meet at 8:00am for our second Community Clean-up Day as we prepare the cemetery grounds for the Memorial Day Holiday. Our final Community Clean-up Day of 2016 will be on Saturday, October 1 from 9:00am until noon. Join the Friends, Jacksonville Boosters, and other community organizations and volunteers in caring for the grounds. Freshly-brewed coffee and morning refreshments are provided along with our sincere appreciation and gratitude. This is a great way for students to earn Community Involvement Credit hours.

Cemetery Marker Cleaning and Workshops—Please join us for a very worthwhile volunteer project that is not only fun, but very gratifying. Over the past few years, volunteers have cleaned several hundred cemetery grave markers, helping to preserve and protect them for future generations as well as making them easier to read. Our first workshop will be on Saturday, April 16 at 9:00am until noon, then the third Saturday of every month, June 18 through September 17. Please note there is no marker cleaning or workshop in May as we are involved with other activities preparing the cemetery for the Memorial Day holiday. We meet at the Sexton’s Tool House at the top of the Cemetery Road where tools, supplies and instructions are provided. You may want to bring along a stool to sit on, a hat and sunscreen and dress in your work clothes.

NEW EVENT Tuesday Evening Stroll in the Cemetery—Join us on Tuesday evenings at 6:30pm until 8:00pm starting on May 10, and running on the second Tuesday of the month through August 9, for a tour of the different sections of the Jacksonville Cemetery. Each month, a new section will be featured and you’ll learn the history of the various fraternal and religious organizations that make up the seven sections of our cemetery as we visit a number of gravesites. Wear comfortable walking shoes and meet your docent at the top of the Cemetery Road to begin your tour.

History Saturday—Our very popular program, “History Saturday,” returns on May 14, and then on the second Saturday of the month through Saturday, September 10. As always, new topics will be presented and discussed along with a short walking tour. The programs start at 10:00am and take approximately 90 minutes to complete. You may meet your docents at the top of the Cemetery Road next to the Sexton’s Tool House. Wear comfortable walking shoes and dress for the weather.

Be sure to visit our website at www.friendsjvillecemetery.org for additional details and a complete listing of all cemetery-related activities and events. We look forward to welcoming you to the Jacksonville Cemetery as a volunteer, supporter or visitor.

Photo by Mary Siedlecki of Bill and Debbie Miller cleaning the Col. John Ross Family Block in September 2015.