25 March 2009

Dear Friends of Spring Hill Cemetery,

Friday was a glorious day at Spring Hill. As promised, the sun shone on us. The birds were out serenading us (Jeremy tells me we heard a "Red-breasted Nuthatch, an insect eater that walks up and down tree trunks, especially pines, and makes an "Ank-ank-ank-ank" call like a truck's back-up alarm," and a "Red-Shouldered Hawk, a common raptor. They are beautiful and useful predators as they eat mice, rats, gophers, etc."). Regional Parks and Volunteer Services dropped off the large dump truck and the equipment trailer for our use. Due to the recent Regional Parks budget cuts, they were unable to send parks workers to join in our efforts this time. 14 "Friends" from as far away as Missouri gathered at the cemetery with me (15 total) on Friday and together we continued to make great progress in the clean up of the cemetery. Eight of us finished the afternoon at Evelyn's house, where she kindly provided us soup, salad, Rae's dessert, and a delightful spot to discuss Spring Hill plans.

We continue to see no evidence of the vandalism and partying within the cemetery that plagued Spring Hill for so many years. Again this month we did not come across any recent liquor bottles, trash, evidence of bonfires, or other objects indicating a misuse of the cemetery. I think this is a direct result of our clean up efforts, which have opened up the visibility within the property. With the removal of trash, the dead SOD tan oaks, acacia infestation, and other cloying undergrowth, Spring Hill no longer looks like an abandoned and forgotten dump, but like a serene and peaceful cemetery.

The bulk of our activity centered on the removal of downed tree sections and other debris. We had no problems completely filling the large dump truck. If we continue to have good volunteer turn out, and if we are able to have access to the large dump truck, it looks as if the "clean up" phase of Spring Hill will be completed this year. We will continue to have ongoing maintenance as a by-product of being a forest, and there will be ongoing "cemetery" maintenance for headstones and monuments. But removing the decades of debris is a HUGE step in our restoration process. THANK YOU ALL for your contributions of labor, support, family histories, and donations to the restoration fund.

With the budget difficulties faced by Regional Parks, they have asked for a more detailed Spring Hill Plan that they will use in planning their resources. I have attached the microsoft word document plan to this email. If you have questions/additions/ comments to it, please let me know. Part of this plan was to identify work dates for 2009. I have tentatively chosen the following: Apr 17, May 1, May 29, June 19, July 17, Aug 21, Sep 18, Oct 16 and Nov 20. Please mark your calendars, and come join us when you can.

Hope to see many of you on April 17th!