Thanks for an Interesting Tuesday Evening Cemetery Stroll—My appreciation to Docents Pat Stancel and Ellen Martin for putting on a very interesting and informative Tuesday Evening Cemetery Stroll in July, “Cemetery Art—Symbolism and Inscriptions” that was enjoyed by all in attendance.

History Saturday in the Cemetery, Saturday, September 9, 10:00-11:30am—Join us for our final History Saturday program of the year, “Pack Trains,” and learn the history of pack trains, their operators, routes and service they provided to Jacksonville, the Rogue Valley and Southern Oregon. Following the presentation by Docents Pam Smith and Gail Nicholson, take a short walking tour to gravesites relating to the topic. Please meet your docents at the top of the Cemetery Road where you will find parking available around the traffic circle. No advance reservations are required and the program is free. For those wishing to, donations are always appreciated and assist us with our ongoing restoration and preservation projects in the cemetery. Thank you to Docents Ellen Martin and Dee Reynar for a very interesting, informative and fun program in July on “Jacksonville’s Early Fires.” A special thank you to the Jacksonville Fire Department for their help and support of Ellen and Dee’s program.

Marker Cleaning Workshop, Saturday, September 16, 9:00am-noon—This will be our final workshop of the year but we plan to continue our work in 2018. This is a very worthwhile volunteer project cleaning the headstones and other monuments in the cemetery and helping to preserve them for future generations. We meet at the Sexton’s Tool House, inside the traffic circle at the top of the Cemetery Road where you will also find parking available. All the necessary tools and supplies will be provided along with detailed instructions. Dress for the project since you may get a little wet and splattered with dirt! Please consider bringing a stool or folding chair to sit on.

Cemetery Community Clean-up Day, Saturday, September 30, 9:00am-noon—Please join the Friends of Jacksonville’s Historic Cemetery and other community organizations and volunteers in a fall clean-up of the cemetery grounds. Bring gloves to wear, leaf rakes, gas-operated blowers, and pruning shears. Eye and ear protection are also recommended. We have a good supply of tools available to loan out to those needing them. Freshly-brewed coffee and morning refreshments will be provided along with our sincere gratitude for your help in caring for our beautiful Pioneer Cemetery.

Meet the Pioneers is Back on October 6 & 7—Meet the Pioneers will be returning to The Silent City on the Hill next month. Having produced and presented these very popular and award-winning Living History Tours that began in 2006, we took a year off following our tenth-anniversary in 2015.

Much thought and consideration went into how we could continue to offer this program while keeping the same high standards that we set for ourselves and more importantly our dedicated audience. Needless to say it takes a small army of volunteers to put this program on each year and like any other organization, maintaining a sufficient-sized volunteer workforce presents a challenge. Along with the number of volunteers required we have also been very concerned with safety related issues such as the burning torches and candles, large audiences making their way around the grounds after it gets dark, and our shuttle bus operating after dark. We have been most fortunate, not through luck, but by having sufficient volunteers, a lot of advance planning, preparations and backups in place to meet “the just in case” need.

Tours this year will depart every 15 minutes as they have in the past, however, the first will depart at 3:30pm and the last of the evening will be at 6:15pm, allowing us to have everyone safely off the hill before nightfall. While I know some will be disappointed, as I and many of our volunteers are with this decision, I think that the majority of our audience will understand and accept that we needed to make changes in order for us to continue to offer our Meet the Pioneers show. Topics to be presented this year range from a few early pioneer families to World War I and World War II, A Train Wreck, a Gypsy Curse, a Flu Epidemic and so much more! So please mark your calendars and plan on joining us for the return of Meet the Pioneers in Jacksonville’s own Silent City on the Hill.

Tickets go on sale Wednesday, September 6, 2017 and can be purchased by visiting our website at friendsjvillecemetery.org and going to the Meet the Pioneers page and providing us with your tour time preferences. You may also call 541-826-9939 for reservations. Please leave a message if no one is available to take your call. You can also pickup your tickets by visiting our ticket booth which will be located between the Post Office and the Visitors Center, Wednesday-Saturday, September 6-9, from 10:00am until 1:00pm. The ticket booth will also be open on Fridays and Saturdays through the month of September from 10:00am until 1:00pm. Tickets will also be available at the event however they will be on a first-come-first-served, space-available basis only. Adult tickets cost $15, children 12 and under (some of the material may not be suitable for very young children) are $5 and a special Family Ticket for up to two adults and three children cost $35. Only checks or cash will be accepted. Checks can be made out to FOJHC and mailed to FOJHC, P.O. Box 1541, Jacksonville, OR 97530. Once your check is received your tickets will be placed in will call for pickup on the day of the performance. Visit info@friendsjvillecemetery.org for more.