04/22/2025
Starting on April 28, our cemetery team will begin collecting and bagging items that have been left on graves during the non-mowing months. If you would like to keep the items you have put on a loved one's gravesite, please make time to collect your items BEFORE April 28.
After April 28, the only items that will be allowed at gravesites are fresh flowers (can be on gravesite or in a cemetery-approved vase) or artificial flowers, solar lights, or other decorations that are held in a cemetery-approved vase. Decorations (other than fresh flowers) are not allowed anywhere on the gravesite unless they are in a cemetery-approved vase.
We will NOT allow any other items on the gravesite including the following:
- Solar lights
- Landscaping rocks
- Fences
- Toys
- Figurines
- Signs
- Statues
- Temporary grave markers (like wooden crosses)
- Artificial flowers that are not in a cemetery-approved vase
- Wind catchers
- Garden decorations
- Etc.
The reason we are asking families to clean up their spaces is that we are entering our mowing season. Decorations are very susceptible to getting caught up in our riding lawnmowers which then cause our riding lawnmowers to become damaged. If we have a damaged mower, then we have to take it to a shop to get fixed. It can take days (if not a couple of weeks) for the shop to allow us to pick it up. That means that our mowing schedule gets pushed back multiple days. When our mowing schedule gets pushed back, we are not able to keep up with cutting our grass down to acceptable levels. We then get very angry calls from families because our cemetery looks overgrown...all because a decoration damaged our mower.
We are allowing families to leave items up until 1 week after Easter, but after that, we ask that no other decorations be placed on gravesites until November 1st. We truly do like the decorations and the way that families can honor their loved ones in such a personal way, but we also like having a cemetery that is safe for our team members (having landscaping rocks ricocheting off a mower blade is not fun!) and tidy and well-landscaped for our families during the mowing months.
If you have any questions, please reach out to us. We are happy to assist you and answer any questions or concerns you have.
Thank you for taking the time to read, and again, please have items picked up by April 28, 2025!
