The Tillamook County Pioneer Museum is thrilled to host the Tillamook County Historial Society’s Cemetery Preservation Group presenters, Kathy Bean and Lisa Sears, to discuss the many areas of historic cemetery preservation. Not only the cleaning and care of gravestones, but also the restoration of original cemetery landscapes, documentation (including use of Find a Grave app to add GPS to burial sites locations), and research into the people and history represented in these cemeteries. The presentation will also briefly address endowed and non-endowed cemeteries, perpetual care, and what these designations mean for the ongoing maintenance and preservation of a cemetery.
Join us on Saturday, October 17th @ 5pm for a presentation about the amazing and important work it takes to preserve our local cemeteries.
The presentation is free, but seating is limited. Please reserve your seat at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/more-than-headstones-the-work-of-historic-cemetery-preservation-tickets-2002593819021?aff=ebdssbdestsearch
About the Presenters
Kathy Bean – Kathy began doing family history at the young age of 19. She has gone on to earn an Associate Degree in Family History and certificates in both Family History Research and Advanced Family History Research. She has worked in 3 different family history centers, taught family history classes in English and Spanish, and helped many people find their own family origins. Kathy has been doing gravestone preservation since 2021.
Lisa Sears – A family historian for more than 35 years, Lisa has visited cemeteries throughout Oregon and has a particular interest in the preservation of historic cemeteries and the stories of the people buried in them. She joined the Oregon Commission on Historic Cemeteries in 2021 and currently serves as a Coastal Commissioner.
History of the Cemetery Preservation Group
The Cemetery Preservation Group began in the summer of 2020 with a mapping project of Tillamook IOOF Cemetery. This project demonstrated the value of documenting cemetery locations and burial sites, and became the beginning of a larger community effort to preserve local historic cemeteries. In May 2021, a community cleanup was organized at Bay City Cemetery. Following the cleanup, a number of community members expressed an interest in continuing to work on preservation projects in the cemetery. A grant was subsequently secured through the Oregon Commission on Historic Cemeteries to support gravestone cleaning during the summer of 2021. What began as a single cleanup project grew into an ongoing community preservation effort. In January 2022, the group officially became a committee under the umbrella of the Tillamook County Historical Society. Since then, the committee has worked in several Tillamook County cemeteries, generally from late spring through early fall, carrying out projects focused on preservation, documentation, restoration, and research.
