20 February 2015

Dear Friends of Spring Hill Cemetery,

Eleven sturdy volunteers gathered at the cemetery this morning for our first 2015 workday. This begins our ninth year of cemetery workdays. We found the cemetery strewn with debris to a much greater extent than in past years. Large branches of fir, oak, and bay littered the ground (first attachment). Luckily, we had a fairly large group to tackle the challenge. Our monuments weathered the winter well, without showing signs of damage. /p>

With so much debris, most of our efforts focused on hauling away downed limbs. Jerry did a masterful job of manning the dump truck to squeeze as much debris as possible into the truck (second attachment). Even with Jerry, we had much more rubbish than would fit in the truck. April's workday will have to capture the rest.

Path maintenance was also on today's list. Sally once again brought us a supply of redwood branches to replace the missing or decayed branches lining our walkways. We ran out of time on path work, so will have to finish up in April.

Jeremy was able to complete our informational sign. He combined the list of burials with a map of the cemetery, had it laminated, and then crafted a Plexiglas case to hold it. He was able to mount it onto the back of the Spring Hill Cemetery entrance sign today (third attachment).

Some time today was spent in controlling invasive plants. Betsy Flack joined us, bringing us welcome knowledge of native and invasive plants. She helped me pull up acacia, poison oak, and ivy, among other invaders. A few of our plants have begun blooming (forth attachment), bringing color to the cemetery floor. The Luther Burbank narcissus are up, but not yet in bloom. Kirston joined us to do wild rose maintenance today, and found a North American Millipede helping him mulch (fifth attachment). The last attachment is of today's work crew.

I have one other exciting bit of news to pass along - we're getting an award! The Sonoma County Historical Society will be presenting me with the Brainerd Jones Preservations Award at their annual meeting and awards luncheon on March 22nd. The award is to recognize the restoration efforts we have put into Spring Hill. I am so proud of our group effort involving all the Friends of Spring Hill Cemetery, the two historical societies (SCHS and WSCHS), Sonoma County Regional Parks, as well as numerous local businesses. Thank you all for being part of it. If you are interested in more information on the meeting and awards luncheon, it can be found at http://www.sonomacountyhistory.org/2015/01/2015-annual-meeting-awards-luncheon-march-22nd/

Our next workday is scheduled for Friday, April 24. Please come join us if you can.

Best Regards,

Sue

Attachment #1
Debris

Attachment #2
Dump Truck

Attachment #3
Jeremy's New Sign

Attachment #4
Lily

Attachment #5
North American Millipede

Attachment #6
Group