Jacksonville Review – March 2024

ONCE AGAIN, I’m happy to report that we’ve come through another cold, dark and (mercifully) wet winter and, depending on when you read this, spring is either here or about to be!

With Easter coming a bit early this year, we’ve scheduled the Friends’ Spring Cemetery Clean-Up for Saturday, March 16th, just slightly ahead of the official first day of spring on the 20th, but in time to have things ready for cemetery visitors on Easter weekend. Event details are below, and we hope you can join us!

Meanwhile, the City of Jacksonville staff and City Council have been busy for a while now working on revised Municipal Code language for the City Cemetery Commission, which has long been the managing entity for the Jacksonville Historic Cemetery. With the new Ordinance adopted by the City Council following a second reading on January 2nd, and taking effect a month later in early February, we now have a Jacksonville Cemetery Committee, replacing the former Cemetery Commission, with generally similar membership and governing provisions, but with the name change indicating that policymaking for the cemetery now resides with the City Council rather than the new Cemetery Committee.

As a non-profit charitable support organization, the Friends of Jacksonville’s Historic Cemetery is more than pleased to see a renewed City focus on the cemetery and is looking forward to active involvement with the Cemetery Committee. We’re also pleased that Mike McClain, a long-time member of the FOJHC, has been named Jacksonville City Council Liaison to the Cemetery Committee, and we thank Councilor Steve Casaleggio for his work on the restructuring.

We’re also happy to report that the City of Jacksonville has begun a stepped-up and ongoing management program for the hundreds of mature trees to be found on the cemetery’s 30+ acres. With the December 19th removal of seven potentially hazardous trees by Bartlett Tree Service, City Administrator Jeff Alvis and Cemetery Sexton Richard Shields have taken the first step in an important program to help keep the cemetery safe for the many gravesite visitors, recreational users, and participants in FOJHC programs throughout the year.

Spring Community Cemetery Clean-Up Day, Saturday, March 16, 9am-noon—Please join us for our first cemetery clean-up day of 2024. As usual, please meet at the Sexton’s Tool House at the top of Cemetery Road for directions to the focus clean-up areas and bring gloves to wear, eye and ear protection, leaf rakes, pruners, and/or electric/gas-operated blowers as we will be raking and bagging leaves, picking up branches and limbs and doing a general clean-up of winter debris.

Visit www.friendsjvillecemetery.org for more information about events and restoration efforts.