Decoration Guidelines
The goal of the Cemetery Commission and staff is to provide a
place of dignity and respect for all those who are buried here.
Family, friends, and visitors are kindly asked to observe the
following guidelines in order that the beauty and tranquility of the
place may be maintained. These regulations are to provide for the
safety of visitors and staff and help to keep cemetery operational
costs at a reasonable level.
Visitation
The Cemetery is open to visitors every day from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00
p.m. between May and September, and from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
between October and April. Visitors may park on the cemetery drive,
but parking is not permitted on the grass. Because thousands of
people visit the cemetery each year, it is very difficult to control
the activity of every visitor or to guarantee decorations from being
damaged or lost.
General Provisions
In order to secure the safety of visitors and staff and to prevent
damage to maintenance equipment, visitors are asked to abide by the
following regulations. All forms of decoration not specifically
permitted will be removed. This includes unauthorized trees, shrubs,
and groundcovers as well as all glass, crockery, Styrofoam,
statuary, toys, cans, ornaments, and similar items. Mourners are
asked to arrange a schedule among them so that only one decoration
is placed on each grave at a time. On monument lots, a single
decoration in front of the monument is preferable to one per grave.
Flowers and decorations will be removed when they become unsightly.
Plantings that exceed 5 feet in height will be removed, if their
care requires operations that might be hazardous to the staff.
Decorations
Flags and Veterans' Day emblems may be placed on graves only on
Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Veterans Day. They may be placed
up to three days prior to the event; after that, staff will remove
them during regular maintenance activities. Suitable decorations and
organization standards are permitted year-round, except in Section E
where they are not permitted during the mowing season.
Cut flowers may be placed at the gravesite for the funeral
services. Following this time, cut flowers may be laid upon the
marker or monument, placed in permanent lawn vases that are
installed below ground level, or put in approved plastic temporary
pin-type vases that are available from local florists. The use of
jars, bottles, cans, etc. is not permitted. A permanent lawn vase
may be purchased from the Sexton who will install it.
Niche Decoration
Temporary flags may be placed on the ground before niches only on
the three holidays (see above). Cut flowers will be removed when
they fade.
Ground Burials
In the Growing Season: April 1 through October 15
Temporary, container plants are permitted in 6-inch to 8-inch
plastic pots. Containers of other sizes, as well as pots of metal,
crockery, glass, or other breakable materials will be removed; these
break and scatter easily, becoming potential hazards.
Plantings are permitted in boxes that do not exceed 18 inches
in length and 6 ½ inches in width. These size limits to the
container are strictly enforced, since large boxes are difficult to
move and replace in the normal operations of the cemetery. Only
planting boxes made of plastic or wood are permitted for use; boxes
made of metal, crockery, glass or other breakable materials will be
removed.
All pots and planting boxes should be set on the ground and not
dug into the turf. Such holes create hazards to visitors and an
unsightly appearance. The cemetery will not accept responsibility
for damage to a memorial during lawn mowing operations, due to such
problems. Pots and planting boxes should normally be set in front of
and close to the memorial. They may be placed on lawn level
memorials so long as they do not stain the memorial.
Artificial decorations of any kind are not permitted during
the growing season for safety reasons, because these are potential
hazards. They can be picked up and hurled by the lawn mowing
equipment. Due to these safety concerns, all plastic decorations
(including mementos), metal work (stands, boxes, pots, etc.), and
decorative stones are prohibited. Stripping a border of sod around a
grave and/or outlining graves or memorials with metal frames,
plastic landscape borders, or crushed stone is not permitted.
Plantings or containers are not permitted in Section E or
adjacent to individual grave markers.
Monument Lots: Existing plants may
remain, providing they do not extend forward or to the sides more
than 18 inches from the memorial. No plant may exceed 5 feet in
height and no private plantings may be placed behind the memorial.
Plantings must be pruned by hand, not sheared, in order to retain
the size allowed. If plantings are considered unsightly, the
Cemetery staff without notification to the licensee will remove
them. The Cemetery Commission and staff are not responsible for
existing plantings that may be removed during the course of
operations. No new or replacement plantings are permitted. The
licensee is responsible for all care.
Mausoleum and Section R Lots: Existing
plantings may remain on these lots only if there is an endowed care
fund. If plantings are considered unsightly or require special
maintenance care that might be hazardous to staff, the Cemetery
staff without notification to the licensee will remove them. New or
replacement plantings must have a design plan approved by the
Commission and an endowed care fund established. The Cemetery
Commission and staff are not responsible for existing plantings that
may be removed during the course of operations.
In the Non-Growing Season: November through February
Artificial wreaths of less than 30 inches in diameter, set on
stands or easels, are permitted. These may not incorporate Styrofoam
in their construction, as this material is prone to severe damage
during the winter. Wreaths should be set on stands or easels, tied
down to the evergreen grave blanket or fastened to the family
monument. Arrangements may be made with the cemetery staff for
evergreen grave coverings to be placed upon the grave site for an
optional charge.
Artificial flowers in approved temporary vases, pots or boxes are
subject to the same material and size limitations governing growing
season decorations. Upright, permanent vases where already installed
should not be used during the non-growing season, because they are
subject to damage from the elements and winter operations. All such
vases should be inverted by October 15.
Spring and Fall: Cemetery Clean-Up
The staff prepares the cemetery grounds for spring during the
month of March. All fall and winter decorations are removed as soon
after March 1st as weather permits. Those who wish to save any
decoration or stand should remove it prior to March 1.
Beginning October 15, the staff prepares the cemetery for winter.
All summer decorations are removed at this time. Those who wish to
save any decoration or container should remove it prior to October
15.
The period from October 15 through November 30 is the time when
the cemetery staff collects leaves. Please limit new decorations at
this time.
Because of the nature of maintenance operations, the staff cannot
guarantee that decorations will not be damaged or lost.
Effective, May 2001
Contact the Cemetery staff if there are any questions about grave
decorations.
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