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Ladies of Evergreen "Where the Past comes Alive"

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Contributed by: jane rodgers on 7/21/2007

Ok ,I know you all are thinking now "why would anyone" want to join a group called the "Ladies of Evergreen?" I know you hardly ever go to a cemetery unless you are going to a funeral. Is that what you are thinking? "Well friends, you have it all wrong". Let me tell you a little about "The Ladies of Evergreen" which is part of the Evergreen Cemetery Benevolent Society. We are a small group of ladies [and we do have men who work with us } that are working to preserve the old historical tombstones in this cemetery. As you know already Evergreen is the oldest Cemetery in Colorado Springs.

First a little History about Evergreen

When General Palmer died in 1909, hundreds of people attended his funeral in the freezing temperatures and gathered to pay their last respects to the founder of this "little colony". Evergreen cemetery, dating back to 1875 when Gen. Palmer deeded the first 40 acres to the City, had no place to hold final memorial gatherings. The Ladies Cemetery Aid Association lobbied City Council for a chapel that would offer a comfortable setting to accomodate loved ones wishing to hold services in the City cemetery. Completed by 1910, the chapel was constructed for $10,000.

The chapel was restored in the late 1990s using some of the restoration funds that had already been raised. Visit the chapel when you can as it is a rare treat and a beautiful example of what can be done when people care

Cemetery Manager Will Deboer, gives tours of the restored chapel. On this one of a kind tour, he will take you down into the basement of the chapel where the bodies were stored years ago. During the winter months when the ground was frozen, the bodies were stored in these basement vaults until the ground thawed and the person could be taken up and buried. There is a casket lift in the basement which cranks the body up to the chapel for the viewing. I was told that there was a Halloween Wedding at the Chapel where the bride was cranked up on this casket lift into the chapel to meet her groom. "Yes" this must of been some wedding, especially for the unsuspecting guests. Call for more info.on this "one of a kind" tour that I know you will be talking about for a long time.

We are always looking for, more volunteers and or Donations for all these worthy projects. All contributions are Tax Deductible. We are happy to have an office on the cemetery premises ,so please be watching for our "Office Open House"sometime in September. All are welcome.

On July 19th the Ladies hosted a BBQ for the cemetery crews to thank them for all the help they have giving us this year. We wouldn't have been able to lift those heavy head stones without the help of these generous workers.

If you have been out to the cemetery you will have noticed the area of Potters Field. It is dotted with scattered marked graves, at the east edge of the cemetery. Many of those buried in this area do not have markers to share their names with the living. Many were children whose lives were ended far before they started. These are our littlest angels. It will take much time and dedication to discover all there names and locations of these individuals.

The cemetery personal mow the grass and water the sections. All else is up to the descendents to care for.Thats where the Evergreen Cemetery Benovolent Society comes in. I have added a few of the activities that we are looking forward to for this year, and pictures of some of last years events.

Today Saturday, July 21 we all gathered at the Rock Ledge Ranch for there 100th birthday celebration of the Orchard House 1907-2007. That was followed with an elegant tea at Montagues. Pictures are included of this great and wonderful day at the Ranch.

On September 22 there will be a Walking Tour with Living History Re-enactors portraying Pioneers of the Pikes Peak Region.The cost is $7for children 12-and-under free. Come out and meet General Palmer and Queen Palmer, Helen Hunt Jackson, Winfield Stratton, Willam Hook, McAllistor and others Starting at 10 a.m. with the last tour at 12:30 pm. If you would like to be a tour guide please call and volunteer. Training is easy, and it's a lot of fun. This years walk is dedicated to our dear friend Paul Idleman

Join us every Friday in October for our "Moonlite Madness" from 6 pm tono time set yet. We will be showing "Classic Horror Movies," with refreshments of popcorn and cider. Reservations are required for this event, a donation of $5 is requested. The Ladies are looking to purchase a popcorn machine for this and other events. If you would like to donate or have one for sale please call us.

Another thing we are involved in is "Rachels Tree". On July 25, 2003 during an afternoon thunderstorm at Gleneagle Golf Course, Rachel was struck in the head while she raced in a golf cart for shelter. She was just 23 when she died. A few feet away from where Rachel was buried stood a 40-foot tree which was also hit by lightning that same summer. Rachels mom and Mr. DeBoer, after talking about the coincidences, agreed to make this tree into a memorial for Rachel. The family plans to havethree scenes depicting angels, with the theme of hope rising from the ashes. The family with Evergreens hope to raise $10,000 with donations from the community to make this dream become a reality,anyone wishing to donate please check our web site .

One of our past events was the "Balloon Release" this past Memorial Day 2007. Some of the guests invited were the Buffalo Soldiers, Bagpipers, and Military reenactors. What I and a lot of others didn't know is that a lot of the guests and re-enactors that are invited to our events are paid performers paid for by the donations that we receive from you.
We are always looking for volunteers for all of these worthy projects. Evergreen Cemetery Benevolent Society is a 501c3 non profit organization.

To receive information on any of these events, or to join or volunteer please call 630-7328 or visit our Web Site @ www.evergreencemeterysociety.com. Anyone joining in September will receive a discount rate of $15 , regular memberships for individuals are $25 a savings of $10. I hope you enjoy these pictures of our Ladies of Evergreen "Where the Past comes Alive."

Jane Rodgers

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Submitted By: lance petty

posted on 2/5/2008 @ 4:41:23 PM

Rated Story

Looking forward to 2008s Memorial event .This was so beautiful especially when the balloons were released with the loved ones names on them as the Bag pipers played Amazing Grace,There wasn't a dry eye on the grounds.

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Submitted By: Jen Grayson

posted on 8/14/2007 @ 3:51:44 PM

Rated Story

Your story turned out great, and it didn't involve anything about monkeys or hoo hoos. ;) I knew you and Dianne could sort things out! :) Great job as always!! :-D

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Submitted By: jane rodgers

posted on 7/22/2007 @ 9:49:15 PM

Rated Story

Oops, The price should be $7 for adults and children 12 and under free. Thanks for pointing this out Ingrid. I hope everyone reads this correction.

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Submitted By: dianne hartshorn

posted on 7/22/2007 @ 8:44:57 PM

(Not Rated)

The Evergreen Cemetery Society works very hard to to preserve our history and we should support them as much as possible

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Submitted By: Ingrid Mcdonald