02/02/2021
A reader has asked, "Why is it called 'Normal Hill Cemetery?'"
The cemetery saw its first burial in November 1888. The city was closing the old 5th Street Cemetery (now Pioneer Park) and preparing to exhume the remains found there.
By March 1896, people were referring to "Normal Hill," as the new college --- Lewiston State Normal --- was soon to open its new campus in what was known as "Plaza Park."
What would become known as Normal Hill Cemetery was at first 4 cemeteries. The city operated 3 of the 6 sections, with the Masonic Lodge, the Knights of Pythias and the Odd Fellows managing the other 3 sections.
References to "Normal Hill Cemetery" as a single title has been traced back to May 18, 1906, and the burial of Jacob Moritz, an Orofino merchant.
On June 22, Annie Kroutinger (shown here) was buried in "the Normal Hill Cemetery," Masonic Section, next to her husband Adolph, who had been a career U.S. Army officer, cited for bravery 3 times in the Civil War.
