FRIENDS of
OCONEE HILL CEMETERY Fall 2015
Tr u s t e e s Lucy Erwin Allen Mark J. Costantino Robert E. Gibson Cissy Alexander Hutchinson Helen Hudson Mills Walter A. Sams III W. Thomas Wilfong Nancy B. Denson, Mayor Athens-Clarke County, ex-officio B o a r d o f t h e Fr i e n d s Officers, 2015–2016
President, Joseph E. Tillman Vice-President/Recording Secretary Pro Tem, Nancy B. Bowen Corresponding Secretary Susan C. Field Treasurer, Sue Boatright Board of Directors Sallyanne Barrow Devereux Burch Janie Bush Helen M. Costantino Anna B. Dyer Jodie Traylor Guy Kathy Hoard Gene Howard Claire R. James J. Gibson Johnston Mary Ann Bittner Kenner Richard B. Lane Nan R. Leathers Ann Green Moseley JoAn Lewis Salloum Cover Image: Bride Hope Harvin and Groom Jason Vance were married at Oconee Hill on May 30, 2015. Photo by Twin Hearts Photography.
From the President
I am always impressed to see how much the Friends of Oconee Hill accomplish simply because of their love of this hallowed ground. From the Friends board to the Trustees to our membership, this volunteer effort is an example for everyone to admire. It is a great pleasure for me to support these volunteers who give their time and talents toward a simple goal of enhancing this grand cemetery. Sadly, we have lost two supporters recently. Janey Cooley was a stalwart friend of Oconee Hill. She served as a Trustee and assisted with bookkeeping and financial management. When the Friends organization was founded, in 1999, she became our financial consultant and guided us to several significant gifts and grants. Harry Yates moved to Athens with his wife JoAnn in 1963 for Harry to work for the forest service as an entomologist. They were charter members of FOH and Harry served as our treasurer for the first 10 years. He took us through incorporation, acquisition of nonprofit status, fundraising and renovation of the Sexton’s House. Last spring many hellebores were planted around the new Wingfield Chapel in honor of the Yateses. Harry also served as our archival photographer. We welcomed several special guests at our Our annual meeting in October. Elizabeth Bisson Mission Statement Chesnut and her daughter Beverly Franklin joined us from Aiken, South Carolina. Mrs. The Friends of Oconee Chesnut is the daughter, sister and niece Hill Cemetery is a of three of our former sextons. The Bisson nonprofit organization family was an integral part of Oconee Hill for almost 100 years, beginning when James in Athens, Ga., that is Bisson (Mrs. Chesnut’s uncle) was hired as dedicated to building sexton in 1897. a partnership between Nicholas Allen, director of UGA’s Willson the cemetery and the Center for Humanities and Arts, also attendcommunity by focusing ed the annual meeting. He is instrumental in coordinating a very exciting partnership attention on the between various departments at UGA and cemetery’s beauty, Oconee Hill. With the new experiential learnhistoric legacy, facilities ing requirement slated to take effect in fall and needs, particularly 2016, there will be many opportunities for students to fulfill this requirement at Oconee for the restoration and Hill with practical experience that will help us support of the cemetery to restore, maintain and improve the cemethough membership dues tery. Another guest was Jason Hasty from the and other funding. UGA’s Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library. He helped Friends board members H and Trustees deposit cemetery archives at Hargrett, where they are safely housed and available to the public for information and research. Membership in the Friends has continued to be a priority for the board. Renewal notices for membership were mailed in late September and many of you have already renewed. If you have misplaced your form, go to the website (oconeehillcemetery.com) and download a renewal form. We are grateful for your continued generosity as it is the membership dues that support the efforts of the Friends. You, the members, make all of this possible with your support. Together we are making a difference for Oconee Hill.
Joe Tillman President For a listing of completed projects see p. 6 “Annual Meeting.”
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Friends of Oconee Hill Cemetery
Fall 2015
A Wedding at Oconee Hill
Hope Harvin and Jason Vance were married in the open-air Wingfield Chapel at Oconee Hill on Saturday, May 30, 2015, at 4 p.m. The bride’s mother is Harriett Harvin, and her aunt is Laurie Gadd Wilder, a former member of the Board of the Friends of Oconee Hill. Following the wedding, the couple and the wedding party were driven to the Sexton’s House in a limousine, where they were joined by guests for a wedding reception. Top: Bride Hope Harvin and groom Jason Vance are pictured with the wedding party following their wedding in the recently dedicated Wingfield Chapel at Oconee Hill. Middle: Wedding guests blow bubbles as newlyweds Hope and Jason enjoy a kiss during the reception at the Sexton’s House at Oconee Hill. The bride and bridesmaids also used the Sexton’s House for dressing prior to the ceremony. Left: Hope Harvin’s great aunt Earlene Wilder Davis is buried at Oconee Hill near Dozier Rock. Mrs. Davis was born on September 1, 1900, and died on May 1, 1926. Wedding photos by Twin Hearts Photography.
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Friends of Oconee Hill Cemetery
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Veterans Day Observance at Oconee Hill Nancy Bowen, vice president of FOH, welcomed everyone to the annual Veterans Day observance on November 11 at 11 a.m. She introduced Beth Dickinson, associate pastor of Athens First United Methodist Church, who gave the invocation. UGA’s Army ROTC posted our nation’s colors followed by the “Star Spangled Banner” and the Pledge of Allegiance. The Voices of Prince from Prince Avenue Christian School, directed by Mrs. LaMurl Morris, gave a beautiful rendition of the national anthem. Gib Johnston, an FOH board member, introduced the day’s speaker, Lt. Col. Brian M. Cozine, who is a professor of military science and head of UGA’s Army ROTC program. He is a graduate of the University of Tampa and holds a master’s in philosophy of military strategy. His awards include the Bronze Star, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the
Army Achievement Medal, the Iraq Campaign Medals, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the Armed Forces Service Medal, the Parachute Badge and the Air Assault Badge. He is married to the former Stacey Buck of Nashville, Tennessee, and they have two sons, Matthew and Jackson. At the conclusion of his remarks the Voices of Prince closed the program with “America the Beautiful.” Following the program, everyone was invited to visit with the veterans present and tour the cemetery grounds. Left: Lt. Col Brian M. Cozine, a UGA professor of military science and head of the Army ROTC Program, delivered a moving address. Top: Under the direction of Mrs. LaMurl Morris the Voices of Prince from Prince Avenue Christian School sang the national anthem and “America the Beautiful.” Photo of Voices of Prince choir by Joseph Strickland.
Cissy Hutchinson Named New Trustee Cissy Alexander Hutchinson grew up in Athens on Milledge Avenue. She attended Barrow school, Athens High School and the University of Georgia, where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi with a degree in mathematics. At UGA, Cissy was a member of Chi Omega fraternity. Her father, Dr. James W. Alexander, taught ancient Greek and chaired the classics department at UGA for many years. Cissy has two daughters and a son. Ansley Miller, a graduate of Washington and Lee University and the Medical College of Georgia, is a pediatrician in Asheville, North Carolina, with two children. Corbin Wimberly, a graduate of UGA, is a health benefits sales executive for Wells Fargo Insurance Services in Charleston, South Carolina. Matt Miller, a graduate of Page 4
Friends of Oconee Hill Cemetery
Fall 2015
the University of Virginia, owns a private equity firm, Grey Rock Energy Fund LP in Dallas, Texas. In addition to being a member of the Friends of Oconee Hill, Cissy is a member of Emmanuel Episcopal Church, the Junior Ladies Garden Club and the Athens Town Committee of the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the State of Georgia. Two of her brothers and her parents are buried at Oconee Hill Cemetery. Cissy is a vice president of Athens First Bank & Trust, where she is a financial consultant and licensed insurance/annuity agent with Synovus Securities, Inc. When she began her career, she was the first and only female stock broker in Athens. Cissy is married to Pete Hutchinson, a retired radiologist. They currently reside on West Lake Place in Athens. Photo of Cissy Hutchinson by Dan McClure.
Poppy Party The Junior Ladies and Heritage Garden Clubs, along with the Friends of Oconee Hill Cemetery, sponsored a “Poppy Party” for children and grandchildren on Sunday, November 8, at the Sexton’s House. This event highlighted the story of Moina Michael, a Georgia native. Her desire to honor the soldiers who fought in World War I resulted in the creation of the poppy as a symbol of sacrifice and courage that has transcended time. The children heard Moina Michael’s story, made paper poppies to distribute
Left: Mothers and children have fun creating poppies. Above: Ba Steedman reads the Moina Michael story
at the OHC Veterans Day celebration and enjoyed poppy seed muffins for their snack. Those heading the project included Suzanne Kilgore, Cress Johnson, Lucy Allen and Ba Steedman (the storyteller) of Junior Ladies and Susan Ferguson and Janie Bush of Heritage Garden Club.
This program is the first of what we hope will be others for children. The Friends want children to know that Oconee Hill Cemetery in not a scary place but a welcoming spot where history, nature and family come together to understand that our past shapes our lives and our future.
Moina Belle Michael: The Poppy Lady Born in Good Hope, Georgia, Moina Michael was an educator who is famous for originating the idea of selling memorial poppies to aid in the cause of disabled veterans and their families. Beginning her teaching career before she was 16, Miss Michael taught in public schools in Monroe, Social Circle, Apalachee and Madison. She moved to Athens where, among other roles, she was the general secretary of the YWCA. During World War I she took a leave of absence from her Athens job in September 1918 to work at the training headquarters for overseas YMCA war workers at Columbia University. While in New York, two days before the armistice — which would occur November 11 — Michael read a poem entitled “In Flanders Fields” by Lt. Col. John McCrae, a Canadian officer who served on the western front for four years and died
in France. His poem gave her the idea of selling poppies to raise funds for disabled veterans and their families. She wrote her own poem, “We Shall Keep the Faith,” in response to McCrae’s poem. Michael also wrote a book, “The Miracle Flower,” that related how she thought of the idea of selling poppies and explaining how the poppy movement spread nationwide and overseas. By the time of her death, in 1944, about $200 million had been raised for veterans’ causes. In 1930, the American Legion Auxiliary awarded her their Distinguished Service Medal, and in 1931 the Georgia Legislature designated her a “Distinguished Citizen.” The American Legion placed a marble bust of her in the state capitol. When she died in Athens, an editorial in the Athens Banner-Herald read, in part, “In the death of Miss Moina Michael, veterans of World War I, and the people of the community and section have lost one of their best friends and citizens.” She is buried in Rest Haven Cemetery, Monroe. A commemorative stamp was issued in her honor in Athens in 1948, and in 1969 the state legislature named U.S. 78 between Athens and Monroe the Moina Michael Highway.
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16th Annual Meeting Joe Tillman, president of the Friends board, welcomed everyone to the Sexton’s House on Sunday, October 25, 2015, and called the meeting to order. Officers for 2015– 2016 were elected as follows: president, Joe Tillman; vice president, Nancy Bowen (also to serve as recording secretary); corresponding secretary, Susan Field; and treasurer, Sue Boatright. Returning directors were also elected excepting Jane Begnaud who has stepped down due to family responsibilities. President Tillman thanked her for her many years of service as both president and vice president of the Friends. Members and guests listened to a comprehensive report of projects accomplished by the Friends for the past year. Below is a listing of some of those projects: • Removed unsafe and fallen trees and purchased and planted six Highbeam Overcup Oaks at the cemetery’s entrance • Partnered with a class in UGA’s College of Environment & Design to create a master land-use plan for Section A, where the Wingfield Chapel is located • In conjunction with the Trustees, supported newspaper ads for lot sales in the Athens Banner-Herald • Replaced back steps of Sexton’s House
In Memor y
Photo by Elizabeth Dyer
EVE MARIE CARSON Dennis Utley ELISE DUNKEL COSTANTINO Mr. and Mrs. Dave Burch W. Thomas Wilfong Page 6
Friends of Oconee Hill Cemetery
• Received a grant from the Watson Brown Foundation Junior Board toward production of maps and literature related to the historic significance of Oconee Hill • Completed fundraising from Phinizy family members and restoration of Jacob Phinizy lot after a direct hit from a fallen tree • Partnered with a history class at Athens Academy and the Georgia Virtual History Project to research and write about persons buried at Oconee Hill, leading to self-guided tours • Made improvements to the Oconee Hill website, including information about lot sales, and launched a Facebook page • Hosted the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation as a featured tour stop during its annual meeting in Athens last April • Continued to support clearing of fallen trees and undergrowth in African American and pauper sections • Funded a video and audio recording about the history of Oconee Hill featuring Charlotte Marshall Following the business meeting, everyone enjoyed refreshments in the historic and beautifully restored Sexton’s House.
CEANNE CRANE Cissy and Pete Hutchinson
Susan and Peter Hodgson Elinor T. Terrell
JAMES B. EURE Sue Boatright
HARRY YATES Ms. E.P. (Betsy) Turner
ROBERT RUSSELL GUNN II Mr. and Mrs. Dave Burch Murray and Betsy Calhoun Cissy and Pete Hutchinson Walter and Susan Wellman
In Honor
JEAN LANG KWILECKI Cissy and Pete Hutchinson
WATSON BROWN FOUNDATION, INC.
JEAN-PIERRE PIRIOU Anna Dyer Joel Walz MARTHA SEGREST Mr. and Mrs. Dave Burch Fall 2015
CHARLOTTE MARSHALL Chuck Ford
Donations SEXTON’S HOUSE JoAn and Tony Salloum Patty and John Whitehead
Donations are current as of October 28, 2015.
Featured Stone:
Susan Bevel Allen Harris and Young Loften Gerdine Harris, West Hill, Lot 99 Miss Susan B. Allen, the daughter of a large planter, was born in Elbert County and married Young L.G. Harris in 1836. Mr. Harris was admitted to the bar at age 22 and practiced law in Elbert County before he and his wife moved to Athens in the 1840s, where he continued to practice law and served as justice of the Inferior Court of Clarke County. He represented Elbert and Clarke counties in the Georgia legislature, became president of the Southern Mutual Insurance Company in 1866 and served as a trustee of the University of Georgia. Soon after moving to Athens, the couple joined the First Methodist Church and became supporters of the local church and of Methodism across the state. Mr. Harris was a philanthropist who supported a variety of Methodist causes, and Young Harris Memorial United Methodist Church in Athens and Young Harris College and the village where it is located in Towns County were all named for him. Susan Harris died in 1888, and her obituary states that she had many friends and was highly respected. They had no children. Young Harris died in 1894, and his obituary states that Judge Harris probably gave more money to charity than any other Georgian.*
A monument marking the Harris graves was made by G.G. Crouch. An article in the Atlanta Constitution dated June 12, 1904, states that “Crouch Marble & Granite Co was incorporated in 1899 with Mr. G.G. Crouch, who is an expert modeler and sculptor, as president and general manager. Since then some of the costliest and finest description of work, both in marble and granite, has emanated from this establishment.” The article gives the company’s location for its offices, ware rooms and works as No. 1 Hill Street, corner of the Georgia railroad, Atlanta. According to an entry in the Monument News, January 1899, Crouch “has recently erected a handsome monument in the cemetery at Athens. It is a sarcophagus finely molded and carved, twelve feet high, surmounted by a group of Italian marble statuary representing Faith, Hope, and Charity. The sarcophagus is of Georgia granite and weighs thirty tons.” * This information is from Charlotte Marshall’s “Oconee Hill Cemetery,” volume I, and from “The Dictionary of Georgia Biography,” edited by Kenneth Coleman and Stephen Gurr. Statuary representing Faith, Hope and Charity mark the Susan and Young Harris graves on West Hill. Photo by Richard Waterhouse.
Oconee Hill Cemeter y Volumes II–IV
During the hottest part of the summer Charlotte Marshall and Gary Doster spent three weeks checking tombstone inscriptions and adding new ones to their 2008 survey of Sections B–J, the sections across the river. (Section A is the site of our handsome new Wingfield Chapel.) Most of the additions were for recent burials, but several were for long-deceased persons who had never been permanently marked. Charlotte and Gary were cheered to see that living relatives are remembering and placing permanent stones. Surprisingly, there are hundreds of uninscribed graves in those sections. Charlotte is resuming work on the remaining Oconee Hill Cemetery volumes and invites families to contact her (georgemarshall@charter.net) with obit-
uaries and other personal information to be used in annotating the inscriptions. She would particularly like to link people in one lot with their relatives in another part of the cemetery. This information will become increasingly helpful to succeeding generations researching their heritage. Initially two more volumes were anticipated, but because of the vast amount of material and the desire to make the volumes less weighty and easier to handle, that number has been increased to three. No calendar for publication has been projected, but they desire to “get it done” with dispatch. Please help move the project forward by sending information to Charlotte.
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Listed on the National Register of Historic Places
Affordable lots available (706) 543-6262 sexton.OHC@gmail.com Friends of Oconee Hill Cemetery
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NONPROFIT U.S. POSTAGE PAID ATHENS, GA PERMIT NO. 342
Friends of Oconee Hill Cemetery Post Office Box 49219 Athens, GA 30604 Return Service Requested
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The Sexton’s House and Wingfield Chapel are available for events that meet your needs. For reservations or information, call Brian Adler at the Sexton’s Office: (706)543-6262 or email sexton.OHC@gmail.com
Sexton’s House photo courtesy of Dennis O’Kain, Wingfield Chapel photo courtesy of Mark Costantino.