Hillcrest Cemetery Memorial Association

This year marks 20 years since we incorporated as Hillcrest Cemetery Memorial Association, Inc. I want to take a minute to thank all of you who have made this possible. Volunteers cleared nearly 17 acres of everything from tall grass to kudzu to wooded areas for the first 8 years and donors (and continuing volunteers) have maintained it for an additional 12. I have some exciting announcements coming up in the next few weeks, including new ways our supporters can help out besides with donations and cleanup projects. Stay tuned! Kevin

Reminder: This Saturday is the first of two planned spring cleanups at Hillcrest. We have lots of easy things to do that take a lot of hands, and a few challenging projects if anyone is interested. Details, including a messaging link, are below. (You do not need to be there the entire time from 10-3that’s just the time we will be there coordinating projects.) See you then!

The Hillcrest Cemetery Adopt-a-Block Program is ready for a couple teams to test out the idea! There are several areas of Hillcrest that need more TLC than can be managed from mowing and occasional volunteer days that try to cover the whole cemetery (litter, sticks, etc.). Some of these have gotten slightly overgrown and need to get back to where they can be maintained with mowing and trimming. Some, especially near the edges, are badly overgrown and need more work. There are... even a few really rough areas that need a LOT of work but initially we are focused on some large, visible issues. We would like to find families, local neighborhood groups, churches, scout troops and similar clubs who would like to take on such a project. We will work with you to find an area that suits your ambition, skills and time. The idea is that over the course of a few months each block will be improved to the point that routine mowing and trimming should keep it from ever needing to be worked heavily again. There are also some lightweight projects that cover a larger area (again, whatever suits you) such as picking an area to clear grass that is growing over flat markers. If interested, let us know! Message us on here, email [email protected] or comment below. Thank you! P.S. We have volunteer days March 20 and 27 if anyone can help out then or wants to chat about adopting an area or taking on a special project.

Mapping update: I wasn’t able to make it back to Hillcrest Sunday but I beat the rain there today and rescued the information binder I left behind Saturday. While there I finished notating names on aerial photos of sections 5, 6, 8 and 9 and picked up part of 9 done by a volunteer. I’m now working on new maps of these sections that will be much more accurate than the old ones. These sheets will be kept for reference. I’ve got section 5 mapped and will work on the others this ...week. That will complete the mapping project! UPDATE: Sections 5, 6 and 9 are up now! One to go! To see what we have so far, visit https://www.hillcresteastpoint.org/graves.html Kevin

On site at Hillcrest again Sunday! Today went great at Hillcrest. I finished the on-site mapping for Section 5 and did all of Section 6, then completed a stack of research requests. Afterwards I visited the East Point Historical Society and saw some of the amazing work they are doing painting the interior, reworking displays and even re-theming rooms. (You really should visit them sometime soon!) Afterwards it was time to head home to Athens, only to wind up in bad traffic ne...arly all the way here. Then I unloaded the car and can’t find my binder. I apparently left it somewhere. At least it’s not supposed to rain until Monday. I’ll head back down tomorrow to find it, try to map Section 9, and hope for better luck with traffic. (And this time I’ll remember sunblock!) With a volunteer mapping Section 8 for us, we should have new aerial maps up for the entire cemetery within a couple weeks! After that I’m going to start working on getting the burial information we have posted online shomewhere, somehow. Kevin

We lost a section of one of our beautiful cedar trees during storms a couple weeks back. I wasn’t expecting to need chainsaws at the cleanups on 3/20 and 27 but now we do. Or any volunteer is welcome to take care of the fallen portion on your own time. We will need to get the sections (no more than 3’ long) placed along the driveway for pickup, but other volunteers can do that at the event as well. Thank you! Please reach out for more information. Kevin