Spring Programs in the Cemetery—Following the snow and cold temperatures in December, it was a quick jump into spring in January which continues into early February as I write this. We did lose some trees and large limbs within the cemetery grounds as a result of wet and heavy snow. Fortunately, only one headstone was damaged when it was knocked off its base by a falling limb. It will be repaired in the spring along with a whole bunch of other planned restoration projects. Thank you to our City workers for a quick clean-up of the major debris.

Adopt-A-Block Program—I have received a few inquiries asking if it was necessary to notify the Friends of Jacksonville’s Historic Cemetery if you plan to continue to care for your adopted block(s) in 2022. The answer is “no,” and we will be delighted and appreciative if you are able and willing to continue to care for your adopted block or blocks. However, we do ask that if your plans or circumstances have changed and you are no longer able to participate in the program, please let us know so that we may reassign your block to another volunteer. Thanks to all your efforts and work the cemetery has never looked so well cared for, so thank you. For those of you who may be interested, we still have plenty of blocks needing a little extra attention. See our Adopt-A-Block page on our website at friendsjvillecemetery.org to start the process.

Cemetery Story Boards—This photo is of the new Story Board on the Hoffman family and is just one of the eleven Story Boards that we will be placing within the cemetery grounds this spring. The Story Boards will provide visitors with on-the-spot historical information about those Pioneers who rest in our cemetery. I am confident that this new enhancement to our cemetery will be well received by all who stroll the grounds.

Upcoming Activities

Community Clean-up Day, Saturday, March 26, 9:00am-noon—Please join us for our first cemetery clean-up day of 2022. Bring gloves to wear, eye and ear protection, leaf rakes, pruners, and/or gas-operated blowers as we will be raking and bagging leaves, picking up branches and limbs and a general clean-up of winter debris. We plan to focus our efforts on those areas that have fewer adopted blocks and need a little more TLC.

Marker Cleaning Workshop, Saturday, April 16, 9am—Our first Marker Cleaning Workshop of the year. Volunteers meet at 9:00 am at the top of the Cemetery Road near the Sexton’s Tool House. All the necessary tools and supplies are provided along with instructions on proper cleaning techniques and tools to use. We suggest “dressing down” as you may get a little wet and some dirt spatter. A hat, sunscreen, comfortable walking shoes and a stool are also suggested.

Please see our website at friendsjvillecemetery.org for additional details on these activities as well as all of our planned events and activities.