Membership & Support

Work Days: The Friends will join the Village Cemetery Committee to pick debris left by a harsh winter, trim bushes hiding gravestones, upright flags on hero’s graves all designed to clear the way for the Village DPW mowing crews. Meet up with us at the Cemetery Office/Caretaker’s Cottage, at 9AM on Saturday mornings, dressed to work in the garden with sturdy shoes, long sleeves, and gloves.

Work Dates (2024) weather permitting

• April 20
• May 18
• June 22
• July 20
• August 17
• September 21
• October 19
• November 9

Gravestone restoration: The Friends are planning seminars to assist family and friends to maintain loved-one’s monuments. These seminars will direct people to available resources and give advice and tutorials relating to headstone maintenance and repair and safety tips.

Guardrail Replacement of the entry road: This was in our 5 year plan, but things happened quickly this Spring. After the Friends received a very generous donation toward the project last fall, we met with the Village of Owego DPW Supervisor early Spring. He went out for contractor bids, by the end of April awarded a contract, and in the first week of May 2022 the entry road guardrails were replaced along with a new section at the road descent from Indian Girl Monument.

Restoring the Mortuary Chapel glass: The Friends have launched a fund-raising campaign designed to hire a qualified restorer to repair and restore the eleven Mortuary Chapel stained-glass windows. There are over 1,073 individual pieces of ecclesiastical stained glass installed in lead in 1920. Time and vandalism necessitate the windows be refit. The Friends are asking for a $10/per piece of glass to accomplish this restoration.

Signage: The Friends have designed and plan to install new directional and historical/touring signage at the entrance and throughout the cemetery. The designed samples are available now and will soon be presented for public comment and Village Board approval.

Cleaning / Preservation Demonstrations: Available for individual families / groups. Contact us
by email at EvergreenCemeteryFriends@gmail.com or leave a message at 607-687-3047. We offer basic cleaning kits for $50 or you can put their own together from a list we provide for you.