FRIENDS of OCONEE HILL CEMETERY Fall 2016 Trustees Lucy Erwin Allen Mark J. Costantino From the President Robert E. Gibson One of the many wonderful aspects of serving on this board is to see and learn Cissy Alexander Hutchinson first-hand about all of the ways our community gives and serves the cemetery. As I Helen Hudson Mills conclude my service as president of the Friends of Oconee Hill Cemetery, I wish to give thanks to the many members of our organization and board. It has been a real Walter A. Sams III honor to serve the members and work alongside a dedicated board. You, the mem- W. Thomas Wilfong bers, are our lifeblood. Without your generosity, we could not accomplish the many Nancy B. Denson, Mayor projects and serve the cemetery to enhance and preserve its history. The current Athens-Clarke County, ex-officio board has served with great dedication: raising funds through grant writing, seek- Board of the Friends ing new memberships as well as renewals, coordinating the rental of the Sexton’s Officers, 2015–2016 House and Wingfield Chapel and managing the funds in a most prudent manner. President, Joseph E. Tillman Vice-President/Recording Secretary Pro Tem, Nancy B. Bowen “There is no one thing to be thankful for…there are many Corresponding Secretary things for men to be grateful for in this world. Susan C. Field Each man may perceive things on a different level, Treasurer, Sue Boatright in a more pleasing way…just as some people are more Board of Directors agreeable with some than others.” Sallyanne Barrow —Jesse M. Govea Devereux Burch Helen M. Costantino In this issue, you will see a summary of the past year’s accomplishments that Anna Burns Dyer were presented at the recent annual meeting. We continue to serve you and the Jodie Traylor Guy cemetery. Of great interest are three projects that have begun in the second half of Kathy Hoard the calendar year. We are pleased to note we received a substantial grant from the Tom Hodgson Georgia Department of Natural Resources Historic Preservation Fund to assist with Gene Howard tree management, specifically pruning and crowning of dangerous limbs on trees. Claire R. James The design and creation of new signage for the cemetery has also taken place. In- J. Gibson Johnston stallation of new section signs throughout the cemetery is imminent to aid visitors. Richard B. Lane The Friends have also been awarded a substantial grant for repair and restoration of the Wood and Perot iron fence from ca. 1860 at the Cobb-Lumpkin plot. Saving this Nan R. Leathers fence has been a goal of the Friends since our inception in 1999. These grant funds Ann Green Moseley will be added to private family funds that have been raised for this project. Carol R. Reap Oconee Hill is a long-lasting work in progress. It requires constant attention, JoAn Lewis Salloum care and support. In the days ahead, we all will be asked to continue our support of Founding President the cemetery. One of the most important projects in our near future will be support- Emerita ing the trustees in their efforts to increase current giving as well as the perpetual Mary Ann Bittner Kenner care endowment fund. This fund needs to grow so that the increased income can be Historical Consultant used to provide the cemetery the care it deserves. Charlotte Thomas Marshall As I conclude this letter and term of service, there are truly many things I am grateful for in this corner of our world. I challenge each of you reading today to give Newsletter Editor thanks to the board members who serve on your and my behalf. Give thanks also to Anna Burns Dyer those who serve as our trustees. All of these people are volunteers who share a com- Cover Image: New signage at Oconee mon love for Oconee Hill. May each of you, and the cemetery, continue to thrive as Hill (see page 3). we work together for the preservation and growth of Oconee Hill. Joe Tillman President Page 2 Friends of Oconee Hill Cemetery Fall 2016 New Friends Board On the Cover: New Signage Members Early in 2015, the Friends of Oconee Hill Cemetery received a $4,000 A Georgia resident since 1973, Carol Reap has grant from the Athens Area Watson-Brown Foundation Junior Board been actively involved in historic preservation, (matched by $6,000 from the Friends) for “preparation and produc- especially historic cemeteries, for many years. tion of brochures, maps, and signs, together with website enhance- She was founder and longtime chair of the ments, all aimed at (1) discussing the history and significance of Friends of Decatur Cemetery and has served on the cemetery and (2) aiding visitors in locating graves and other the Boards of the Historic Oakland Foundation, key sites within the cemetery.” The Junior Board is a branch of the DeKalb Historical Society, Decatur Preservation Watson-Brown Foundation’s philanthropic endeavors. These teen- Alliance and Athens-Clarke Heritage Founda- tion and is a longtime member of the Athens agers make grants to help preserve historic structures, cemeteries Historical Society. and archaeological sites in their communities. While Friends board Reap has won a members have been working on various aspects of this project for a number of awards year and a half, the first visible signs—and they really are signs—of for her preservation our visitor information project are finally about to be installed. work, including the Signs are being placed throughout Oconee Hill’s 100 acres, Decatur Preserva- marking the names and locations of the cemetery’s 20-plus sections. tion Commission’s Dan Roth, of Athens Creative Design Company, designed the signs Award for Personal that appear on the cover of this newsletter. Friends board members Achievement (2001) Gene Howard and Richard Lane were co-chairs of this project. These and the DeKalb His- signs are the vital first step in the development of self-guided tours torical Society “Vol- that will include both printed materials and electronic resources. The unteer of the Year” writing, design and production of these materials will be based on award (1995). Reap has also served on the Board work conducted by University of Georgia geography professor Nancy of the Audubon Society (Atlanta Chapter), the O’Hare as well as an Athens Academy 12th-grade history class as Ladies Garden Club (Athens) and in many ca- part of the Georgia Virtual History Project. pacities at St. Stephen’s Anglican Church, where she and her husband are longtime members. In her professional career, Reap was for 10 years a planner for the Northeast Georgia Area Planning and Development Commission and recently retired after a lengthy career with the Greenway Update Treasury Department SE Region. Her husband, The trustees continue to study the Greenway proposal and no James, is a professor and graduate coordinator decisions have been made. We met with Greenway officials of the Master of Historic Preservation program recently and presented our “wish list.” Our responsibilities as at UGA. trustees include protecting the cemetery and our patrons from -9- harm. At this point, we feel that the Greenway is benefiting Tom Hodgson is a native Athenian who has from this proposal much more than the cemetery is benefiting. recently retired and returned to the Classic City, We have requested financial compensation, increased security, where his family has a long history. Hodgson’s access to water and road repairs. We also want guarantees go- business career in ing forward that we can close the cemetery to Greenway traffic financial printing when necessary: for example, football Saturdays, for certain was primarily in funerals, etc. We also want an “escape clause” if this contract New York City and is broken. Atlanta. He lives on I must say that the vast majority of input I have received his old family farm has been negative. At this point I am pessimistic about the with his wife, Patti. probability of the Greenway crossing the cemetery but we are Their three children keeping an open mind for the time being. all live in Atlanta. Four generations Mark J. Costantino, M.D. of Hodgson’s ances- President, Board of Trustees tors are buried at Oconee Hill Cemetery Oconee Hill Cemetery. www.oconeehillcemetery.com/friends Friends of Oconee Hill Cemetery Page 3 Charlotte Thomas Veterans Day Observance 2016 Marshall’s Nancy Bowen, presi- dent of FOH, welcomed Cemetery Videos everyone to the annual During the past year, the Friends of Oconee Hill Veterans Day observance supported the professional video recording and edit- on November 11 at 11 ing by Athens Video Company of Charlotte Thomas a.m. She introduced Rev. Marshall as she shared stories from 31 gravesites in Betsy Butler of Athens the cemetery. Eventually, these videos will be used on First United Methodist Oconee Hill’s website to share its stories and his- Church, who gave the tory. They are also a way to capture Charlotte’s vast invocation. UGA’s Army knowledge, insight, humor and love for the cemetery. ROTC posted our nation’s Don Smith, a member of the Oconee Hill team, colors, followed by “The Star Spangled Banner,” sung by Athens encouraged Charlotte to film the vignettes and sold Academy’s general music students from the 5th grade, directed the FOH board on underwriting professional filming by Leslie Setzer, and the Pledge of Allegiance. Gib Johnston, an and editing. FOH board member, introduced the day’s speaker, LTC George On July 12, trustees, Friends members and special M. Whitton. A native of Columbus, Georgia, Whitton graduated guests were invited to a viewing party and recep- from UGA as a distinguished military student in 1959.