Association To Unveil Restored Cemetery Gate This Sunday

By CASPAR EWIG
FLY CREEK

On Sunday, July 13, the Fly Creek Valley Cemetery Association will hold a celebration commemorating the 150th anniversary of the cemetery and the reinstallation of the ornate wrought-iron archway that had been removed last November for refurbishing. The celebration will take place on the cemetery grounds, which will ultimately be transformed into a park with the refurbished archway as its focus.

“The event will go forward, rain or shine, and we’ve got pop-up tents to shield all participants either from the sun or rain,” said Christine Olsen, president of the cemetery association.

One of the features of the celebration will be a self-guided tour of the gravesites and mausoleums of famous and notable persons buried in the cemetery. The idea of a self-guided tour was the brainchild of Olsen and Irene Dusenbery.

“There are a number of interesting persons buried in Fly Creek,” Olsen noted, “and their gravesites will be marked by a red balloon. The visitor will be given a handout in which Irene has provided a short biography of [the grave’s] occupant.”

The cemetery archway will no longer act as a functioning entryway, but rather will be relocated in the grassy park area and stand as a memorial.

As Olsen pointed out, “The gate is really too narrow for today’s automobile and would only have been exposed to extra damage if it had been replaced at the original entrance.”

Readers of “The Freeman’s Journal” will recollect that the paper covered the removal of the archway in November of last year (https://www.allotsego.com/cemetery-gate-restoration-gets-underway-this-week/). At that time, Jeffrey McCormack, a local contractor, took possession of the gate for the purpose of restoring it to its former glory.

“That was quite an undertaking,” recalled McCormack.

“First,” he said, “we sandblasted what must have been close to 20 different layers of paint.”

In addition, it became apparent during the restoration that two broken castings had to be repaired.

“We were lucky in that we were able to reverse two of the same unbroken castings from the other side of the gate and [located] a foundry able to recreate the broken ones,” McCormack said.

The archway project has cost the cemetery association $13,500.00, according to officials. The project was jump-started with a bequest of $5,000.00 and, with interim donations, $6,000.00 of the renewal cost remains outstanding. For those interested, a tax-deductible contribution can be made payable to the Archway Restoration Fund and forwarded to FCVCA, PO Box 93, Fly Creek, New York 13337.