Pioneer Cemetery history full of stories, disputes
By John Fleischli
The Pioneer Cemetery, whi< h
lies jus! within the south edge of
( ampus. holds a strange tori
ositv for passers-by With its
somber and gloomy tombstones
and ivy-colored trees, one can't
help hut he drawn into its ro
mantic solitude
The cemetery is a lfi-aere. rei -
tangular plot with several dirt
paths and a road that winds its
wav to a small maintenance
building and the trailer where
the groundskeeper has his resi
dence Myriad gravestones lie
beneath the shade provided b\
the verdant firs that tower oxer
head.
The private cemetery, which
is maintained primarily through
the Kugene Pioneer Cemetery
Association, is a memorial to the
pioneers who came west and
settled in the area Roughly
•).5()() to 5,000 people are buried
on the premises, said nssoi ia
tion secretary Ruth Holmes
Most of the birthdates on the
aged tombstones go hack to the
mid-1800s. The caretaker has a
list of a 11 the dead and where
they can be found for visitors
who can't remember a place or
are coming to the cemetery for
the first time.
According to lame County
Historical Society records. Pio
neer Cemetery is one of the three
oldest cemeteries in the Kugene
area, along with the Masonic
Cemetery and the Mulkev Ceme
tery The largest of the three in
both acreage and number of
graves. Pioneer Cemetery was
purchased by the Spencer Butte
Lodge #0 chapter of the Inde
pendent Order of Odd Fellows
on )une* 14. 1873.
The Order originally bought a
10-acre parcel of property that
already had some scattered
graves on it. The group gradual
ly acquired more land until the
cemetery matured to its current
size.
Problems arose after a short
time During the early years of
the cemetery, its care was left to
the relatives of the deceased.
However, as families drifted
from the area, the cemetery fell
into disrepair.
This lack of attention and
maintenance was to become an
ongoing issue in the many dis
putes tiiat later arose regarding
the future of the cemetery
IE Si If GAl I lANO-tOf lf» I
The most Impressive grave In the Pioneer Cemetery is a monument to
the Oregonians who tought and died In the Civil War.
Through the first half of the 20th
century, many attempts were
made to beautify the cemetery,
with no su< i ess
Au.circling to records at Uni
versity Archives, people from
the University community
established the Pioneer Memor
ial Park Association with hopes
of gaining title to the land l ie*
l Iniversitv was expanding at the
time, so it was a logical step to
take.
There were big plans for the
cemetery. Mot strong opposition
from relatives of the deceased
and lot owners stopped attempts
by the University to Imild
ov«r (hi* Mti*
Out! idea seriously <11h« ussed
was to remove all of the head
stones and markers, build a
parking lot over the cemetery
and then erect a memorial list
ing all of those who were buried
beneath. Public: sentiment did
not favor this plan People want
ed the burial grounds preserved
Today, the Pioneer Memorial
Park Association holds the title
to the cemetery and. said Uni
versity Arc hivist Keith Kic hard,
"the l 'Diversity owns a majority
of the land.
Any plans for building over
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th»> i (Mimicry. though, were put
to rest m tho Into l'ttiOs
"Former UO President Clark
killed the issue hoi ause he was
not willing to put up with the
continuation of the hassle and
had puhlii relations" of tr\ mg to
use the land for University fat il
dies or buildings. Ru hard said
The issue has not been dis
i ussetl mui 11 since then
Presently . the Ftigene Pioneer
Uemeterv Assot lation is respon
sible for the upkeep of the i eme
terv This group represents the
owners of the plots It is kept
going through donations, annual
dues paid bv the plot owners
and the help of volunteers The
single i aretaker of the i emeterv
is employed bv the organization
Holmes, the secretary of the
assot iation. is the person to talk
to if one has any questions about
the temeterv She is filled with
lustoru al knowledge regarding
tho graveyard Talking with her
is like taking a trip through
Kugone's past
Holmes said the disputes over
control ot the t emeterv are all
behind us now " She said the
i emeterv has a stable i oinple
nieiltarv relationship with the
University
Students are em ouraged to
visit or take a walk through the
cemetery Occasionally, people
from the University help sustain
it by pit king up debris after a
fierc e storm or by making dona
lions to the Kugenc Pioneer
Uemeterv Kndowinent Fund, a
corporation started bv people
from the t (diversity community
in 1975
Regarding complaints about
the i emeterv being a run-down
eyesore. Holmes said the care
taker does 4 good job Pile rente
terv is meant to have a natural
look because it is a traditional
i emeterv with curbs around the
lots that t an make mowing diffi
cult
The most impressive grave in
Pioneer ( .emeterv is the mono
mont to thr Oregonians who
fought and dit'd in the Civil
War Located in the middle of
the site, this statue of a soldier
surrounded b\ numerous off
white headstones is imposing
There is an amusing nnet dote
behind the veteran's memorial
Hei iiuse he was a veteran. |ohn
S Covell was giv en a free plot in
whit h to tie hurled Before Cov
ell died, he donated $20,(100 to
the Order of Odd Fellows
bet atise the group was nit e to
him t his was used to t timmis
sion the statue from an Italian
sculptor in the Fast The statue
arrived In train and was so
lie.iv v it took a small armv of
men just to haul it to its resting
place Fortunately, it survived
the trip without a scratch,
llolmes said.
Covell's relatives protested
the donation, t laimmg that ( an
ell was not in his right mind
when lie gave the gift A dispute
went on lor three veers lietvveen
the family and the Order until
eventually the group retained its
( Lniii to the money I he remain
der from the purchase of the
memorial was put into an
endow ment fund
It is (ieorge Dull's job to look
after the memorial and all ol the
other gr.n es hi the < emeterv He
has lieen tile person responsible
for the upkeep id the plat e for
about lour y ears As i aretakei
Dull gets to keep the trailer on
ihe premises as Ins home lb
works another regular job to
help make ends meet, so he is
not always around
Dull said it doesn't got i reepy
living in a graves aid. and pen
pie frequently walk through on
their wav to or from class and
stop to say hello
Some students take advantage
of the peace and quiet of the
place and study under a tree
Classes have sometimes been
held at the cemetery, and run
ners often take a few laps
around the area
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Then come join us in..
HIKING
FOR
HEALTH
When: Sunday. Nov. 7. 8am-5pm
•Mandatory pre-trip meeting M
on Thursday, Nov. 4, 7:30pm ^
at the Outdoor Program, }-MU. r
Where: McKenzie River Trail
A spectacular old growth
trail that follows the wild
and scenic McKenzie River
through lava flows, giant
ancient trees and
breath-taking waterfalls.
Cost: $4.00-$5.00 per person
(transportation included)
i^pp
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