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HANDS ON ATLANTA DAY 2007 Our 2007 Hands on Atlanta Day event on October 6 was a huge success for Hillcrest in our first year of participation with this great event. Nearly 70 volunteers joined us to clear the back fence area where overgrowth was covering about 100 infant graves from the 1950's and 60's. We expected the day would give us a head start on that project, but instead, by noon we were nearing completion! Veterans Memorial plans progressing well (April 12, 2007) The planned Veterans of Hillcrest Cemetery Memorial is beginning to take shape on paper, and we hope to present the plans soon. Fund-raising is going well, with $2,900 dedicated to this project so far. We will soon be announcing a new fund-raising drive; please be sure to keep in touch for information on how to participate. The memorial will be designed to be built in phases, so we can erect what our funds allow very soon, and complete other parts of it in the future. See us on VolunteerMatch.org (April 12, 2007) We recently bevame members of a Web site called VolunteerMatch.org, which allows non-profits to post opportunities for people looking for volunteer activities. In our first month, we welcomed two great new volunteers who aided us in the removal of all litter, Christmas flowers, and other flowers which were damaged or falling apart. We filled 35 large bags and made a couple of other piles of large items. Since then, others have called us and we hope this system will continue to bring us great helpers from all around Atlanta. Visit our page on the site. (This link may change from time to time...search for opportunities near Zip Code 30344 if it doesn't work.) Some driveway repairs completed (April 12, 2007) In late February of this year, your board voted to spend $2,200 to repair two major driveways which had party washed out over the previous years' hurricane remnants. The main driveway through the cemetery was graded and re-graveled and packed, as was the second entrance drive from the south. While we would love to fix all of the driveways, two of them will require much more expensive work to fix. The third and last driveways from Langford parkway are covered with dumped concrete "puddles" which make them very rough, but also difficult to repair. For now, these will remain as they are, but we hope to be able to do something about them in the future. Three distinct areas greatly improved (April 12, 2007) In the past year, we have cleared three notable area of Hillcrest. First was the kudzu-ridden side of the south driveway, This wall of vines hid the cemetery from view of those driving by it to the north. We left three cedars and an oak to prevent erosion. This has probably been our most visible project since the broader areas of the cemetery were cleared 3-4 years ago. Second, we hired a crew, using some donated funds, to clear a bad Kudzu and briar patch in Section 3, which included an area filled with lost graves from the 1930's and later. This was the first time we used donated funds for a significant project other than routine mowing. Lastly, we spent the winter months clearing about a third of the wooded area in the historic section. While several trees remain, the lower brush and vines are gone and the area is now mowable. This allowed for a more comprehensive search for grave markers in an area where the old numbering pattern has been lost, preventing us from locating a number of graves for families. While the search has not yet led to a solution to that problem, the clearing privided easier access to dozens of perviously known, marked graves. Neighboring apartments on the way out? (April 12, 2007) Last month, the East Point Housing Authority held a meeting with the residents of Hillcrest Homes, the public housing facility across the street from its namesake cemetery, and another complex. They announced that application is being made this month to the federal government to close the apartments. This is a long, beaurocratic process, but if all goes as planned, residents could begin moving out by the end of the year, and the complex should be empty within 12-24 months. According to a flyer from the EPHA, addressing future use of the properties, "There has been a great deal of interest in these developments." If you haven't been north of Langford Parkway (Lakewood Freeway) in the past few years, you are missing a great deal of local improvements. Dozens of dilapidated apartment buildings have been demolished and are being replaced with new single-family homes, townhomes, and apartments. These are adjacnt the Fort McPherson golf course, which will be part of a huge new private development in a few years when the base is closed. In Memoriam: George Davis Caskey, Jr, Hillcrest Boardmember
Pat Clark, Hillcrest Boardmember
Robert L. "Bob" Page, Longtime Supporter In 2006 and 2007, these four people who had been involved with our organization passed away. We honor these men, thank them for their help over the years, and extend our heartfelt condolences to their families. Headstone Transcription Underway (April 7, 2006) We have begun a name and date transcription of the cemetery's oldest section (Section 1). This includes most of the burials prior to the 1926 fire that destroyed the paperwork in the cemetery office, from which our current computer transcription was made. So far, blocks 1-4 have been completed, and we are finding about 60% of the burials in this section are not in the records. This name/date-only listing is being done instead of a full (text/symbols/condition/type) transcription because of the need to get this basic information so we can find graves, and the size of the cemetery. We hope to one day catalog the details of every stone, lot, wall, etc., but this is just not feasible now given the estimated 11,000 burials on the site. We will move on to Section 3, the second oldest section, next. Bronze Section Nearing "Completion" Thanks mostly to the hard work of Lowell and Joyce Mitchell, the Bronze/Memorial Garden section across the street from the main cemetery is looking better than it has in decades. The Mitchells' volunteer work in this are predates our organization by years. Now that we are taking care of the mowing they were doing in the area, they have turned their attention to other projects. The side fence and back driveway have been cleared of several truckloads of kudzu and other brush. The huge "living brushpiles" which used to be nice shrubs have all been removed. Even the gates on the southern end are movable now (though we may remove them since they serve no real purpose today), There are still a few graves left to be leveled, and dirt piles to move/remove, but the back driveway which has been impassible for decades may again open up to traffic by this summer! (Anyone have a Bobcat we can borrow to finish?) Thank you to the Mitchells for the shining example of what a determined couple can do with a few free Thursday mornings. New Flagpole to be Erected in Honor of Hillcrest Veterans During the October meeting, we discussed plans for a new flag and pole which was recently obtained by Cam Sutherland for Hillcrest. We are working on details for lighting and such, and hope to have the flag flying by early in 2006. This will be part of a new Veterans of Hillcrest Memorial. Hillcrest is home to veterans of at least six wars: Civil, Spanish-American, WWI, WWII, Korea and Vietnam. Georgia Flag Flown at Capitol in Honor of Hillcrest Veterans On September 22, 2005, the state flag was raised over the Georgia State Capitol in honor of the "Hillcrest Cemetery Veterans." This flag was then presented to our organization at the Destination East Point festival on October 8. Thanks to our friend Erin Henderson and State Representative Earl Ehrhart for honoring our organization and veterans in this way. Information Sign Donated Thanks to Cam and Margene Sutherland for donating and having produced a beautiful new metal information sign for Hillcrest and our association. this will replace our lone, remaining, falling-apart plastic sign. It will be erected soon inside the cemetery near the middle. A few new smaller signs may be produced soon to be sure everyone who visits can have access to information on our services. New Landmark Sign Planned We are getting organized again on the toipic of a new landmark sign for the cemetery. Considerations include location, materials, size and content. If you would like to be involved in this project, or have resources to offer, please contact us. Fallen Trees Removed After months of working in bits and pieces, we have finally removed the bulk of the trees that fell during the 2004 storms. Thanks to Carl Hudson for hauling off several trailer loads of huge blocks of the trunk. We hope you enjoy the firewood! The root ball was also removed to the main driveway, but we do not have the resources to remove it. We are seeking offers of assistance with this and the more detailed cleanup of the areas where the trees fell, which allowed the brush to grow back Hillcrest CMA Now Removing Old Flowers After discussions with several families and getting thoughts from other cemeteries, the board decided to start removing old and damaged flower arrangements when we have the volunteers and time. After the first removal pass, we filled over 30 trash bags with faded, falling-apart and off-season flowers (Christmas arrangements in June). Not only did the cemetery look better, but there were fewer obstacles in place by the time we rebid the mowing contracts, which could have contributed to the much better rate we received. We understand people have different opinions on when flowers should be removed, but we use our best judgement, leaving any flowers that still add to the beauty of the lot and area. Here are some other notes and suggestions regarding flowers:
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©2009 Hillcrest Cemetery Memorial Association, Inc. |
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