An Extraordinary Volunteer—The Friends of Jacksonville’s Historic Cemetery have been most fortunate to have local resident Pam Means caring for the entire Jewish Section by herself. Pam approached me in March of this year to ask if it would be okay to clean-up and care for the Jewish Section in the cemetery. After being given some direction, limited supplies, and the green light, she has gone non-stop ever since. Pam has pruned trees, boxwoods and other shrubs, raked and bagged leaves, trimmed around grave markers, and is now considering cleaning markers. If you come across Pam while walking in the Cemetery, please be sure and thank her for all her efforts and dedication. She has been a tremendous help to our Cemetery Sexton Richard Shields and the Friends organization.
Erika Miras by Dirk Siedlecki
August Marker Cleaning Workshops—While on the subject of extraordinary volunteers, our marker cleaning group cleaned 21 grave markers on Saturday, August 15, including the nine large monuments in the recently-restored Jacob Ish Block. All of the cleaned markers were fairly large in size, making their accomplishment even more impressive. We were even joined by Britt Musician Erika Miras, who came along with Linda DeWald, to give us a few hours of help while on a break from orchestral rehearsals.
Long-Overdue Headstone Finally Placed—Thanks to the generosity of Lynn Ransford and Seth Weintraub, the grave of Sadie Trefren Perry has finally received a headstone marking the spot where she rests in the Jacksonville Cemetery. Sadly, Sadie, a bride of just two days, died from burns after her clothes caught on fire while emptying ash from the stove. Her new husband, Albert, purchased the burial plot for $5 but like so many grave sites, a headstone was never placed. Sadie’s story was featured during last year’s Meet the Pioneers and Lynn and Seth did a wonderful job of playing her parents. They were so touched by the story they paid for the FOJHC to order and place a headstone on her grave site.
Dirk Siedlecki is President of Friends of Jacksonville's Historic Cemetery. Visit the website at