Today's Journal....

Veterans event planned at historic cemetery

MIDDLETOWN — A local board hopes an event meant to remember veterans also will remind people of the repairs needed at a historic cemetery.

The Middletown Cemetery Board is sponsoring a special Memorial Day event May 28 to commemorate the 238 veterans buried at the Middletown Cemetery on First Avenue.

The board plans to pass out information about the cemetery, including a list of the veterans buried there. They are hoping to raise awareness about the state of the cemetery and solicit donations, said board Chairman Michael McNeil.


A VERY NICE IDEA AND A GOOD WAY TO BRING THE LONG FORGOTTEN ABOUT CEMETERY BACK IN VIEW.

But wait......

Cemetery board members will be volunteering time and supplies to spruce up the cemetery May 21. Armbruster Florist Inc. will donate flowers to be planted in the beds near the entrance, said board member Josh Toms

LET'S SEE, THIS WAS DONE A WHILE BACK BY MS. MOON AND HER VOLUNTEERS AT THEIR OWN EXPENSE, I BELIEVE, AND, AS I RECALL, WAS ALL TORN OUT BY GILLELAND AND COMPANY (AND THE PLANTS TAKEN WHERE?) BECAUSE IT WAS TOO MUCH OF A MAINTENANCE ISSUE DUE TO A LACK OF CITY WORKER MANPOWER......NOW, IT'S OK TO DO? WHY IS IT DIFFERENT NOW?

WONDER WHY ALL THE SUDDEN ACTIVITY AT THE CEMETERY NOW? A NEW BOARD CONCEIVED, NEW FLOWERS BY ARMBRUSTER FLORIST, BOARD VOLUNTEERS, GRANTS FOR THE VAULT REPAIR......COULD IT BE THE RESULT OF WHAT HAPPENED IN COLUMBUS AS A RESULT OF THE COMPLAINTS FROM A FEW CITIZENS PERHAPS? COULD IT BE A PASSIFICATION MOVE BY THE CITY TO APPEASE THE DETRACTORS?

VietVet wrote: Today's Journal.... WONDER WHY ALL THE SUDDEN ACTIVITY AT THE CEMETERY NOW? A NEW BOARD CONCEIVED, NEW FLOWERS BY ARMBRUSTER FLORIST, BOARD VOLUNTEERS, GRANTS FOR THE VAULT REPAIR......COULD IT BE THE RESULT OF WHAT HAPPENED IN COLUMBUS AS A RESULT OF THE COMPLAINTS FROM A FEW CITIZENS PERHAPS? COULD IT BE A PASSIFICATION MOVE BY THE CITY TO APPEASE THE DETRACTORS?

" Communication Breakdown" as my hero Robert Plant sang is quite fitting. Three sides to the story, I would suggest we move on and try to support these folks and make a difference. I think I can speak for Ms. Moon that this is what she wants. Armbrusters only want the best for this city and more than not they have given for decades to volun. groups to make this town a better place to live.

   I guess this section of the Ohio Revised Code went by everyone. If the city has transfered ownership to the new cemetery commision then the city is no longer the owner and the commission is responsible for all obligations.

We all know who should be taking care of this cemetery and IMO to create a board with no budget is insane but council allowed this to happen. Since I don't see this board going away anytime soon or a huge gathering of taxpayers showing up at the next council meeting to protest this move all I can do is try and support those folks who are involved. Now to focus on the IMO bigger problem you don't have to look very far, a city manager who can't make a decision or utilize a city staff to handle this, which by the way I feel the down line city folks can do.

It is a very nice gesture on the part of the Community Foundation and Mr. Gordon to assign $9300 toward the repair of the tombstones.

From the Journal....

Community foundation awards nearly $100K in grants

•City of Middletown: $9,308 to repair tombstones in Pioneer Cemetery.

It would appear that we now have more activity and interest occuring as compared to the past. The new committee seems to be moving toward improvement for the cemetery. Nice to see.

"To be ignorant of what occurred before you were born is to remain always a child.
For what is the worth of human life, unless it is woven into the life of our ancestors
by the records of history."           
 Cicero
 Roman Statesman, Author, Philosopher

Over the years I have been asked numerous times why I’m so passionate about history and the restoration of the old Middletown Cemetery. The above quote always comes to mind.

As conscientious members of society it is our responsibility to care for these burial sites of our respected dead. Benjamin Franklin said, “Show me your burial grounds and I’ll show you a measure of the civility of a community.” Accepting this responsibility we help to preserve a resource that will benefit not only us but future generations.

Historic cemeteries are important cultural, architectural and archaeological resources. They provide us with information on our community’s history. Often a cemetery is the only remnant left from early settlements and as such is a vital link with the past. They are an invaluable educational tool whether we seek to research genealogy, educate our youth or delve into local history. They provide quiet places to commemorate the deceased, whether it be of a most personal nature, or on a local, regional, or even national scale. Originally located in agricultural areas that are now becoming more urbanized, early cemeteries can provide a place for quiet reflection and solitude and much needed open space. Buildings, fencing and other ancillary features are artifacts that demonstrate historic stylistic trends and construction methods.

These important places may provide us with some of the earliest written local history. Headstones reveal names and dates for locally significant persons. They offer glimpses into local illness and epidemics and tell of a community’s sacrifices in our nation’s wars. The same headstones provide us with samples of local folk art and, particularly after the Civil War, reflect a substantial amount of popular cultural standardization of monument forms and motifs. They were transmitted through such sources as design books and catalogs.

The Middletown Cemetery is the "Time Capsule" of our community and it is our responsibility to protect, preserve, and restore it for future generations.

I’m pleased to announce that the Middletown Cemetery Board will vote on the vendor to restore the tombstones in Sections 3 and 4 at the cemetery on Wednesday evening. These are the oldest section just as you go through the gates on the right and left sides.

I will assure you that John Walters is the most qualified man for this project. Visit his web page at http://www.graveyardgroomer.com.

Over the summer I hope you will visit the cemetery and watch John work his magic on the old tombstones. I will post the dates later.

Again I would like to thank the Middletown Community Foundation for their continued support of this project.

Thank you ground swat

The Middletown Community Foundation made locking the gates a condition of giving this grant for the restoration of the tombstones at the Middletown Cemetery.
Every time a tombstone is knocked down the cost is $100-200 to reset and or repair and I'm sorry to tell you but hundreds of tombstones are down and broken at the cemetery. Many are buried and will be uncovered and reset as we restore a section at a time.

Cemetery may get automated gate to stop vandals

Today's Journal...

MIDDLETOWN — An automated gate may be installed to stop vandalism at the Middletown Pioneer Cemetery.

The cemetery already has a gate that can be padlocked. But the city — which is responsible for the cemetery’s upkeep — does not have a caretaker on staff to lock and unlock that gate, Picard said.

Hiring a caretaker would cost the city approximately $21,000, Picard said, a salary the city cannot afford. BUT THEY CAN AFFORD REHIRING PEOPLE IN DIFFERENT POSITIONS. AFFORD EXTRAVAGANT SALARIES FOR THEIR PUBLIC WORKERS....



WHY CONSIDER THE COST OF AN AUTOMATIC GATE? THERE IS COST INVOLVED WITH THAT.

HOW ABOUT, AT THE BEGINNING AND END OF THE DAY, HANDING A CITY WORKER THE KEY, AND, AS THEY PASS BY THE CEMETERY ON THEIR WAY TO/FROM WORK, STOP AND UNLOCK/LOCK THE FRIKKIN' GATE? IT AIN'T ROCKET SCIENCE. INCORPORATE IT INTO SOMEONES JOB DUTIES FOR THE COST OF WHAT YOU ARE CURRENTLY PAYING THEM OR IS THE CITY INTIMIDATED ABOUT THE UNION COMPLAINING ABOUT IT? GIVE IT TO SOME DIRECTOR TO DO. THE CITY HAS PLENTY OF THEM. WHY WOULD YOU HAVE TO HIRE FOR THIS?

Gentlemen
I was at the last cemetery board meeting when they were discussing this new automated gate. Until the city is willing to repair the fences and cut down the trees that are in the fence line on the east side of the cemetery the kids will continue to vandalize the cemetery. It’s just that plain and simply.
Seven years later and the city still can’t fix a fence or lock a gate at the cemetery…mercy.

Vet

You can bet we haven't heard the end of the story of the fenced area at Roosevelt School and it ain't got nothing to do with trash ...
Wonder what the price tag and from which fund this improvement was paid for???
I'm put in a request Monday morning

Was that the City that put the fence around the Roosevelt school property or was it the MCSD? I thought that Middletown City Scools still owned that property?

If the locking/unlocking of the gate has not been discussed/negotiated with the union as one of their job functions, it isn't an issue is it? If this statement is true, and the union involvement isn't a factor, why not ask a non-union employee of the city to lock/unlock the gates to and from work and leave the union totally out of it. Everything doesn't have to be run through the union does it?