May 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 52

MANAGING SACRED GROUND

Mentor Parks, Recreation and Public Facilities

but [cremation] will preserve the life
of the cemetery in terms of how many
people we can accommodate. "

Bottom Photo: Yarmouth Parks, Recreation and Cemeteries

Mentor City Cemetery, Ohio

ing a fair and viable fee structure -
and planning for the future.
Moore says cremation trends, in particular, will be relevant to future operations. " In the Herndon market, the
local funeral homes that service us indicate that seven out of 10 adult cases
are cremation, " he adds. " That doesn't
impact us as far as our percentage;
however, we have been tracking this for
five years, and we are seeing traditional
burials trending downward and cremation upward. As far as future planning,
it will certainly impact our thinking. "
Moore notes that only five acres of
undeveloped land remain in Chestnut
Hill, and Herndon is considering how
additional columbariums and other
similar features may ultimately help
serve more families. He says, " The
pricing structure of the cremation burials will...impact the revenue stream,

Adhering to Laws
In the public realm, most park and
recreation professionals acknowledge
that erring on the side of caution is
good practice when it comes to the
law. Armstrong puts forth a specific
example, stating, " In Massachusetts,
the casket must be sealed in a cement,
waterproof vault with a plastic liner
so the remains don't leak into the water system. This forced us to make the
decision to always have a witness...to
make sure the appropriate equipment
was being placed into the ground. "
Armstrong mentions that when the
cemeteries were transferred to her department, there were only two people
working for that division. Because this
resulted in the need to sometimes use
private contractors for excavations,
there were concerns about the liabilities and environmental consequences
that could arise from infractions.
" In many places, [the burial] is witnessed by the funeral home, but now
we use one of our own staff, " she adds.
" We need to be able to say we know
what's happening on the grounds of
all our facilities...and it wasn't appropriate to put that responsibility on our
funeral-home partners. "
Connecting Back
Many agencies recognize the valuable
role cemeteries can play in inspiring
an appreciation for nature - an idea

A historic headstone in the Ancient
Cemetery, Yarmouth, Massachusetts.
Parks & Recreation

| M AY 2 0 1 3 | W W W. N R PA . O R G

first publicly espoused by landscape
architect Sidney J. Hare in 1897. And
in Mentor, Ohio, the ideals of Hare are
being realized. According to Martin,
his department has started an arboretum in their cemetery grounds that
currently contains 40 varieties of trees.
" We actively invite people to come to
the cemetery as a respectful place for
passive recreation, " he affirms.
And in some cases, the regional connections made through a cemetery can
be more active, and of course, historical. Loubier notes the popularity of
" Dine with the Departed, " an annual
fundraising event held by the Osceola
County Historical Society in Rose Hill
Cemetery. In addition to a tented dinner, a gravesite walking tour - complete with costumed actors - highlights the founders of Osceola.
" It's now the who's who of the
area that attend every year. The event
is educational, it's a good group of
people and it's a good fundraiser, "
Loubier says.
When asked, Loubier acknowledges
his department was initially uncertain
about backlash, but he says community response has been incredibly positive. " We respect the folks buried in the
cemetery, " Loubier adds. " It's a very
unique and professionally done event. "
Because cemeteries hold so much
value to communities - emotional, historical and natural - Loubier
believes good management is about
taking into account the personal connections that come with the territory
in both the short- and long term.
" It's not just over after the funeral
is over, " he states. " We are being entrusted with something very near and
dear to families, and we must look at
ways to continue offering services for
many years to come. "
After all, therein lies the purpose.
Amy Kapp is a freelance writer in Northern
Virginia (kapp44017@gmail.com).

May 2013 - Parks & Recreation

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