Announcements

We will meet at 9:00 a.m. to clean up the cemetery and remove old and seasonally-incorrect decorations for the fall. Please remove any decorations you wish to keep prior to October 5.

The cemetery can be extremely windy all year long. If you put out decorations or arrangements, please make sure that they are securely fastened so they  don’t get blown away. If we find arrangements within the cemetery, we have no idea where they came from and don’t want to randomly place them on a  nearby grave. Unfortunately, we just discard them.

The hoses for water spigots have not been distributed this year to most spigots in the cemetery. We had a water line break during the severe cold weather in January, and are working desperately to find the break and get it repaired. Please be patient as we try to correct this first-of-its-kind (for us) problem.

Several of you have asked about a workshop on cleaning of headstones. That is still on our “To Do List”. However, there are basic instructions of cleaning headstones on this website. If interested, check that out below.

There are several headstones within Pleasant Valley Cemetery that are missing the final date on the headstone. You are encouraged, as a sign of respect, to have that final date engraved on your loved one’s headstone. You can contact Gough Memorial Engraving or another monument company and they would be happy to quote you a price to have this work completed [Gough: (913) 669-3952].

Several individuals have signed up to participate in the newly reconstituted Friends of PVC. This is a group of volunteers who agree to adopt a particular section of the cemetery and perform routine maintenance throughout the entire year. The idea is to visit the assigned section(s) periodically and look for items that need to be picked up and disposed of such as trash, expired decorations, branches and twigs, and straightening up veteran markers, flag holders and other items that need a little tender loving care.

We would like to thank all the individuals who have signed up for this group. We need your help! If you would like to join this happy group of volunteers, Friends of PVC, please email to pleasantvalleyks@gmail.com or give us a call and we will add you to the list.

Periodically, we call for candidates to become future board members of Pleasant Valley Cemetery. Each term is for three years. We have four quarterly board meetings, generally lasting about two hours, and an Annual Meeting on the first Saturday of August, also lasting about two hours. The board meetings are set depending on the schedule of the members of the Board. Currently they are held on the second Wednesday each January, April, July, and October from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., but that can change depending upon the wishes of the sitting board.

If you have an interest in serving on the board of directors for Pleasant Valley Cemetery, please let us know by phone or email, and we will have a discussion. We have nine (9) directors. We have a particular interest in individuals who have knowledge, skills, and abilities in the field of general accounting or bookkeeping for the position of assistant treasurer, and individuals who might like to take notes of the meetings and produce minutes for our secretary position. We also have a need for board members familiar with the field of investments to interface with our investment management partners.

We had a wonderful response to our Monument Restoration Program a few years ago. Your generosity and care for the preservation of our Cemetery is heartwarming, and all donations are greatly appreciated. It is our intent to look at all the headstone monuments in the older sections of our cemetery and identify those that are becoming a safety hazard or deteriorating. We will then prioritize the repair work and use whatever funds are generated to do the repairs.

If you wish to donate to the Monument Restoration Program, please let us know and we will provide information; or you may send a check payable to Pleasant Valley Cemetery to our post office box.

In conjunction with the Monument Restoration Program, we will hold some Headstone Cleaning events at which volunteers can work alongside each other in cleaning the older stones. We will provide guidance and instructions as needed, and will look forward to fun and productive events. You are invited participate when they are announced.

Any time you visit the cemetery, bring a small plastic bag with you and pick up any sticks or other trash you see around your immediate area. Also, if you are feeling particularly ambitious and it is a nice day, pick one of our many trees and rake around it. It is amazing how many small twigs and branches can litter the ground underneath the older trees. We have a trash bin at the south end of the cemetery and bigger items can be placed behind the enclosure for our later disposal. Additionally, if you have a small broom, you can always sweep off the monument headstones in your immediate area.

Every little bit helps us out tremendously. No set times or schedule is required: just do as little or as much as you can whenever you can. We sincerely appreciate all the help that we can get.

Some of you have expressed an interest in how to clean your headstone/monuments. While the monuments are usually stone or granite, you still need to exercise some degree of caution. The best and easiest method is to use a mixture of 50% water and 50% white vinegar. On a limestone monument, you should use a mixture of 75% water and 25% white vinegar. It is best to wet the monument first and then use a soft bristle brush, either natural or synthetic, and clean from the bottom up to the top in small circular motions. Do not use bleach! Use lots of water. If you need a hose put out for this project, please let us know when you will be cleaning and we will coordinate to make sure hoses with running water are nearby. The monuments clean up very nicely and will look great for a long time. It’s well worth the effort!