Save Riverview Cemetery

Riverview slideshow (before cleanup)

2009-01-31T11:56:00.001-05:00

Photos by Chrissie Braddock

Success at last!

2009-01-31T10:32:00.003-05:00

Thanks to everyone of The Friends of Historic Riverview Cemetery, the transfer of the property has now been successfully concluded. See the following article for the details: Rivervew Gardens Cemetery changes ownership.

I'm sure there is still a long road ahead, but there is a committed group of people involved who are working hard to bring the cemetery back to a respectable condition. I only wish that I were close enough to lend a hand.

Again -- thanks to one and all (and I'll try to do a better job of keeping this blog up to date!).

Peace,
Jim

P.S. I hope the name is changed back to Riverview Cemetery -- I always thought that the change to Riverview Gardens was pointless and silly.

Thanks for the cleanup

2008-04-26T22:42:00.002-05:00

I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who showed up and pitched in for the special Arbor Day cleanup at Riverview. I'm sorry I couldn't be there to help out and see all the activity, especially since this took place on my father's birthday. He was a great tree lover and would have been especially pleased.

Friends of Riverview Meeting

2008-03-06T08:52:00.001-05:00

The next Friends Meeting will be March 31, 2008 at VFW Hall, 
Brandywine Blvd. at 6:00 PM

Burial records now safe!

2008-01-06T19:05:00.000-05:00

Lee reported this morning that the original, historic, burial records have been recovered from Tom Davis and our now in the hands of the attorney for Friends of Riverview. This is wonderful news with which to start the new year. Thanks to everyone involved for achieving this major milestone.

Jim

Happy New Year!

2008-01-06T18:41:00.000-05:00

I haven't been keeping up with this blog too well lately. My excuses are fairly typical this time of the year - holidays, family, work, etc. I'm posting a few updates in the links to articles and will try to stay on top of things a bit better now that I've survived another holiday season. Please let me know about any happenings at Riverview you think are noteworthy.

Cheers,
Jim

Why shouldn't the City take this on ?

2007-06-01T14:56:00.000-05:00

I'm delighted that the major of the city of Wilmington is stepping in to cleanup the cemetery as reported in the 6/1/07 article listed below. However, I fail to understand his statement that

“I will not ask city taxpayers to take responsibility on a long-term basis for what is clearly a nagging and troublesome private property issue that happens to be within Wilmington’s boundaries,”

Why shouldn't the City takeover this community/city asset and give the neighbors and families and those buried there the respect that is due? I simply don't understand it. This cemetery has been an asset to the city for a couple of hundred years. There are former community & state leaders buried there as well as countless veterans and others who served our country and community in so many ways. Why is the major reluctant to take on this responsibility. I don't know the full history of the cemetery and how it happened to be in the hands of the Odd Fellows, and certainly don't know the current owner's motivation for taking it on and then failing to carry on with the responsibility of maintaining it. However, it seems like the only viable long term solution is for the City to own and maintain it so that it once again becomes a well-maintained asset for the common good for many years. That IS the very responsibility of government.

So, while I deeply appreciate the major's stepping up to cleanup the cemetery, I'd like him and others in the City to consider that this is indeed their responsibility as well as everyone's in the City. I'm certain that if my parents and so many others that I know who are buried in Riverview were still here to cast their vote, they would vote for additional taxes to keep Riverview a place of respect for everyone and a place of pride for the City.

New to blogging

2007-04-27T11:27:00.000-05:00

Since I'm new to blogging, I'm still in experimental mode - trying to figure out how to use all the capabilities of blogger. This is a test of a new posting--I'm trying to figure out how others can post comments. So, I'm setting "Allow comments" -- that should enabled anyone to post info to this blog. We'll see.