Do you have a suggestion not on the list? We'd love to hear about it.

Member/Election Meeting:

     By-Laws for FHRC were approved at the October 20 meeting. They are posted on the website. Nineteen people attended the meeting. We highlighted the progress made since April 2008 and discussed our path forward. We currently have 63 FHRC members and hope to have 100 by the end of the year. Please pass the word! And, we are still seeking someone to serve as Secretary.

Clean-up Days:

     The next clean-up day will be on November 22, from 10:00 to noon. Bring your family and community group. Stop by the chapel for directions to our work area. Wear gloves and bring branch cutters and rakes.

Veteran Inventory:

     Take a look at our wonderful new page here on the website. If you have names to add, please contact Tedd Cocker at teecee62@comcast.net

Request for Historic Photos:

     We are collecting old historic photos of Riverview Cemetery. If you would like to coordinate this project, contact Lee (610) 388-1920 or email her at drleeanderson@aol.com.

Tree Planting Grant:

     Bare-Root trees will be planted to replace dead and dangerous trees on the East side of the cemetery on March 21, 2009. The Delaware Center for Horticulture will oversee this project. DCH recently recognized Lee Anderson and Riverview Cemetery as recipient of the Tree Planting grant to improve the Urban Forest.

Neighborhood Watch:

     When you are in the area, drive slowly through the cemetery and report any suspicious activity or missing items to the city police. By report of a member, several homeless people are sleeping at Riverview and one received medical attention in October.

Adopt-A-Plot:

     Let us know the areas that you are beautifying. You may go on our website, find your section on the map and email the information to friendsofficers@gmail.com.

INTERESTING FACT:

• Riverview's early interment books list cause of death and some terms such as Apoplexy, Dropsy, Bright's Disease, and La Grippe were not familiar to us. So we have defined a few terms: Apoplexy was used to describe any sudden death that began with a sudden loss of consciousness; heart attack and ruptured cerebral or aortic aneurysms fall under this category. Dropsy or edema refer to the same condition; an increase in interstitial fluid in any organ resulting in swelling. Bright's disease is a historical classification of kidney diseases first described in 1827. La Grippe was one of several names used to describe the influenza that caused a flu pandemic in 1918.

Special Thanks This Month To:

• Andy Aerenson, a local real estate attorney, has offered his assistance to prepare for Settlement. We greatly appreciate his expertise and integrity.

• Watson Day and members of the VFW for opening the building at 313 Brandywine Blvd. for the Membership/Election meeting. Thanks for inviting us to use the space for future FHRC meetings.

• Shirley Yeatman and Dale Lemere for keeping track of burials occurring at Riverview Cemetery. Your faithful record keeping is appreciated and will help us complete our record keeping from 2003 until present.

• The Department of Correction Plummer Center and the City of Wilmington Department of Public Works are keeping the cemetery clean as debris accumulates from volunteer work projects.

• Cheryl and Bob Markiewicz continue to read original documents from Riverview Cemetery Company to prepare an application for the national historic register. Recently they focused on the years 1917 and 1951 to learn more about the origins of the Public Mausoleum and the Chapel.

• Tedd Cocker along with his volunteers have completed the veteran inventory for the East Side. If you see someone walking back and forth at Riverview, it is probably Tedd. Thank you for the countless hours you devote to this project.

• Russ Pickett continues to create new and relevant pages on the website, including the "Veteran Inventory" and "Folks of Notoriety at Riverivew".

• Richard Sutor, Floyd Weber and Walt Mateja, have completed the transcription of 9,488 names in Interment Book B (1912 to 1937) and have started on the final Interment Book A, dating back to 1872 with 11,460 names.

• Terri Sanginiti of the News Journal is a faithful friend to Riverview Cemetery and notifies the community of our clean-up events. On October 18 about twelve volunteers did a tremendous clean-up around the block walls near Eastlawn Avenue. We keep progress photos as we go along to show positive changes.

       As always, we are grateful for Mike Bonkowski, our attorney, Jim Gish our blog-master, the Delaware Community Foundation, FHRC members, and the FHRC Board of Directors.

  
  

  
  
  The Riverview Cemetery website was created and is maintained by:
  Russ Pickett
  Page Last Updated: 11/4/2008