5 facts about the Milton Cemetery Board

The Milton Cemetery Board has numerous duties.

These include maintaining and enhancing the landscaping and appearance of the cemetery; coordinating burial ceremonies and monument settings; coordinating opening and closing of grave sites; meeting the needs of clients and potential clients; coordinating records management with the city clerk; determining rules and policies relating to the operation and maintenance as approved by the city council; making recommendations to the city council in regard to upkeep and maintenance of the cemetery; and selling, repurchasing or trading lots and spaces.

Here are five things you may not have known about the group.

1. BEAUTIFYING BERRYHILL ROAD'S CEMETERY IS A TOP PRIORITY. “We hope to beautify and landscape the cemetery on Berryhill Road,” Pamela Mitchell, chairperson of the cemetery board, said. “That’s where the public eye is most of the time, so we just hope that if we can beautify that, the public will be aware that we are really trying to do a lot within the cemetery, and we will get more volunteers.”

Approximately two years ago, the board started a program called Adopt-a-Plot. Residents can choose plots within the cemeteries to regularly clean and maintain, according to Mitchell.

The board will hold a vision meeting on May 16 to discuss landscaping of the cemetery on Berryhill Road. They will hold a committee meeting on May 24 to further plan the landscaping and irrigation issues.

2. THE BOARD HAS NEW MEMBERS. Crystal Anniston of United Bank, Kathi Lewis of Lewis Funeral Home and Anna Jones of the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office are the board's new members.

Jones, a part of a Dia de los Muertos Mardi Gras crew in Pensacola, will maintain areas of the cemeteries where infants and small children are buried.

Milton High School’s ROTC participates in regular cleanups of the local cemeteries, but the board still seeks more volunteers, Mitchell said.

Catherine Eden, with the University of West Florida’s archaeology department, currently oversees the Saint Michael Cemetery in Pensacola, and plans on coming to Milton to educate the cemetery board about the history behind graves and how to preserve them.

3. THE CEMETERY BOARD TAKES PRIDE IN THEIR WORK. The Milton Cemetery is a benevolent cemetery with no perpetual care or upkeep; therefore, all maintenance relies on community members.

“There’s a lot of interesting history and art with the antique tombstones and wrought iron,” Mitchell said.

According to Mitchell, many of the tombstones are old, and the deceased lack surviving relatives in the area to maintain their graves.

“I know some people think it’s kind of creepy and morbid,” Mitchell said, “but if you ever came out and were really there, you would see how beautiful some of it is.”

4. THEY HOLD FUNDRAISERS FOR UPKEEP.  In February, the cemetery board hosted a Valentine’s Day fundraiser that included a lantern-lit tour and dinner.

The benefit raised more than $4,000 to go toward the landscaping project.

On Oct. 14, the group plans to coordinate another fundraiser. This event will include food from local restaurants, hayrides and historical reenactments. Smith’s Tractor of Jay donated three tractors for use at the event.

5. MILTON CEMETERY HAS BEEN VANDALIZED. According to Mitchell, there have been tombstones defaced and pieces of wrought iron stolen from the cemetery.

When Mitchell first arrived at her adopted plot to clean it up, the gate around it was stuck shut so she had to get a welder to help her open it.

Soon afterward, someone stole the pieces of wrought iron gate from the grave site.

“That was very discouraging, because I was trying to do a good thing, and if I had just left it alone … they probably couldn’t have removed the piece of iron,” Mitchell said.

She plans to make flyers and distribute them to local antique stores and recycling facilities in hopes of finding the missing pieces. 

This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: 5 facts about the Milton Cemetery Board