RIVESIDE CEMETERY REACHES ITS 105TH YEAR

 

 

 

Over a century ago, Riverside Cemetery was known as the Hixon Cemetery or Withee Cemetery as its location and ownership dictated.  As platted by surveyor C. S. Stockwell on March 11, 1904, the cemetery was located one and one half miles west of Withee.

 

Milestones in Riverside’s history are as follows:

 

The earliest marker read Friederika Kruger, born Deutschland, 22 August 1825, deceased 11 April 1895.

 

John Tufts, Spanish American War of 1898.

 

Martin Paulsen’s 50 years as Riverside’s caretaker began in 1924.  In his care the first burial was Walter Smith, then there was the death of a 12-year-old girl who fell from a hay mow.  Paulsen notes several individuals were moved from the Longwood Cemetery to be reburied at Riverside.  Alfred Frusts’ field became the resting place for four children who died of scarlet fever, later brought to Riverside.

 

Way back when, headstones were brought to the area by train and then moved to the cemetery by horses.  Mowing was done by hand labor and scythes and later by horse-drawn mowers.

 

A small farm owned by the Rabska family is now the Court of Remembrance area, this first addition was platted in 1956.  The second addition plated in 1987.  The cemetery grew from a ¾ acre cemetery to approximately 30 acres of useable land.  In 1961, the Court of Remembrance, donated by the Tufts family, was dedicated.

 

Lyle Roe, sexton, brings us up to the state of Riverside in 2009.  Roe cites two areas of the cemetery have been cleaned up and leveled to improve its appearance.  The area on top of the hill now shows a large flat rock, donated and moved to this spot by the Larry Slobodnik family, to serve as a bench for visitors to sit and spend some quiet time.  Pine trees and hosts give this spot seclusion and beauty.

 

Lyle explained, “A small area in the northeast corner along Frenchtown Avenue has also been leveled and we are waiting for spring to do the seeding.”

 

Two representatives each from the city of Owen, village of Withee and township of Hixon form the governing body of the board of directors.  The board of directors include Withee representatives, Village President Gary Mitchell and Luella Bonk, Owen representatives Steven Heggemeier and Celand Melbinger, and Hixon representatives Town Chairman Tom Rohland and Frank Olszewski.  Officers are Frank Olszewski, board president, Pat Blazer, secretary-treasurer; and caretakers Lyle Roe, sexton, and Dave Blazer.

 

“It is an honor to be part of the team that provides a cemetery with which people are pleased.  It is also a good feeling to help people find the graves of family and friends.” Lyle concluded.

 

Riverside Cemetery is indeed from its beginnings, a reflection of the care and love given by its caretakers, so many through the years, and its board of directors, all of whom take pride in appearance.  Riverside Cemetery is a beautiful resting place for loved ones.

 

Source: O-W Enterprise 03/11/2009 by Anne Gajewsky

 

 Contributors: Alice Braun & Stan Schwarze

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