The Riverside Cemetery Association Board’s effort to get a new grounds keeper in place by the time growing season returns is a sign of progress for the more than 100-year-old cemetery.
But they must have firm rules in place before someone is picked to do the job. We feel that this is the only way to keep the cemetery a beautiful and respectful burial ground for our family members and prominent citizens at rest there.
This spring might be monumental for Riverside Cemetery.
That is if everything goes according to the plans the board has in place.
Tonight's Riverside Cemetery Board meeting has been cancelled due to inclement weather.
My quest for finding a living blood relative of the late, great baseball hall of famer Jake Beckley continues to get closer and closer.
Since the last column appeared in newspapers, the response has been great and I’ve gained a lot of ground, but there’s still more to discover.
Help cleanup Riverside Cemetery between 9:30 a.m and 4:30 p.m. Saturday.
Some of the information is vague, but if all goes according to plan, Riverside Cemetery could have $20,000.
According to Max Capp, the cemetery association board’s vice president, the Riverside Cemetery Association is seeking a matching grant opportunity that could be worth $10,000.
By this time next year, Alice Norfolk Niles is hoping to increase some historical knowledge in Hannibal.
Her interest in cemeteries has grown in recent years and she’s decided to write books about cemetery history and those interred on the grounds.
Next on her list of publications is a book about Hannibal’s historic Riverside Cemetery.
Now, the only option for the house on the property of Riverside Cemetery is demolition.
The cemetery’s board vice-president Max Capp is hoping to collect $8,000 in donations with a donation jar set up at the new Hannibal History Museum during the annual Folklife Festival in downtown Hannibal.
The newly reconstructed Riverside Cemetery Association Board spent considerable time discussing its future at last Thusday’s meeting. Among the topics was the dilapodated house situated on cemetery property.
Andy Hatton, the son of board member Bill Hatton, was living in the house with his family rent-free in exchange for keeping an eye on the cemetery and keeping potential vandals out. But now that Andy Hatton has moved out, the house sits vacant and the board members are left with decisions to make.
“I just don’t feel safe putting some other family in the house,” Max Capp, the board’s vice president said Monday. “I would rather see it go. It’s kind of an eyesore. It’d be much prettier without it there.”
However, John Hawkins, a self-employed construction worker from Perry, is offering to rehab the house cheaply. Remodeling, he said, is the main operation of his business.
Bruce Sparks just loves the view from atop Riverside Cemetery.
In fact, he likes it so much he makes a daily visit with his lifelong friend Larry Wienhoff.
“It’s a beautiful spot,” Sparks said in his deep, raspy baritone voice. “It’s peaceful up here.”
He and Wienhoff don’t miss any moment when turkeys and deer make their way out of the woods and start roaming the cemetery.
