21 June 2021

Dear Friends of Spring Hill Cemetery,

Yesterday was delightful. Twelve of us gathered at the cemetery. We had bright, sunny skies and cool breezes - perfect working weather. The cemetery was very dry; perhaps as dry as I have ever seen it. But otherwise the cemetery was in good shape. We got much accomplished and even met "new" cemetery descendants.

Spring Hill sits on land originally belonging to James McReynolds, son of Jacob McReynolds. Two of James' and wife Mary Frances Gaulden's descendants, Jim Lancina and Deanne Farley, joined us for the first time on a workday, accompanied by Jim's son, George. George has been part of Spring Hill's restoration efforts since the very beginning. The three of them came with many tales of the McReynolds' journey west from Missouri in the early 1850s. Although I, too, am a descendant of Jacob McReynolds, my line moved onto Oregon around 1875, and tales of these early Sebastopol days were not passed down. Jim and Deanne's lines, however, stayed in the area and retained much of the old family traditions, stories, and even some of the old artifacts and letters from the journey west and early days in Sebastopol. Jim has kindly invited me up to where he lives near Reno to see all these family treasures, and hear more of his stories about the early Sebastopol days.

Besides hearing delightful tales, the group cleared paths, hauled debris, and charted poison oak locations for Regional Parks. With such a good sized group, we were able to leave the cemetery with tidy paths and in good condition.

We are hoping to have the next workday on September 10th, if that date works for Regional Parks. I will keep you posted. In the meantime, please pencil September 10th onto your calendars, and come join us if you can.

Wishing you all a healthy, fun filled summer.

Attachment #1
McReynolds cousins

Attachment #2
Jim charting poison oak

Attachment #3
Jim hauling debris

Attachment #4
Patsy and debris

Attachment #5
Sharing tall tales

Attachment #6
Group