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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (June 30, 2017)
3A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, JUNE 30, 2017 For Ilwaco Cemetery caretaker, a labor of life Huitt retires after 60 years of digging graves The Ilwaco Cemetery Associa- tion will hold an open house to honor Bob Huitt’s retirement at Penttila’s Chapel-by-the-Sea, 1515 Pacific Ave., Long Beach, Washington, 2 to 4 p.m., July 9. By PATRICK WEBB For EO Media Group CHINOOK, Wash. — Hun- dreds of families on the Long Beach Peninsula have Bob Huitt to thank — but only a few know it. Huitt has taken care of the Ilwaco Cemetery since 1996. And for the past 60 years, he has dug graves at almost a dozen s outhwest Washington cemeteries. Now 79, Huitt is retir- ing and the Ilwaco Cemetery Association plans to honor him with a public open house at Penttila’s Chapel-by-the- Sea in Long Beach July 9. Ron Hylton, owner of Pent- tila’s, serves as one of fi ve board members for the asso- ciation. He is full of admira- tion for Huitt’s reliability. “His sense of dedication and loyalty in doing what needs to be done is second to none,” Hylton said. “He is amazing — he has never let us down.” Community connections Huitt was born in Centralia, Washington, just before World War II and attended schools in Cathlamet. Family diffi culties meant he was raised during his teenage years by older rel- atives, Eldred and Dorothy Penttila of Naselle. He grew up around the funeral home they operated, so grave dig- ging was a natural extension of that environment. “My uncle took me out to the cemetery and showed me how to lay the planks,” he recalled, when asked about his fi rst. Graves must be 4 1/2 feet deep, 36 inches wide and 8 feet long. “‘I will be back to help,’ he said. But he never returned, of course.” Digging graves began as an after-work activity, because he Community input on new city manager Patrick Webb/For EO Media Group Patrick Webb/For EO Media Group Bob Huitt has taken care of Ilwaco Cemetery since 1996. Bob Huitt checks out the meticulous records of all the graves in the Ilwaco Cemetery that he has compiled. He also has filed labeled photos of every headstone. had other jobs. “I have done a little bit of everything,” he said. Huitt’s late-1950s service in the U.S. Air Force took him to Lincoln, Nebraska, where the Strategic Air Command was shuffl ing nuclear war- heads around when the Cold War heated up. He recalls his discharge date easily: Christ- mas Day, 1960. Returning to the Long Beach Peninsula, he built log- ging roads and worked other jobs, including stints in fi sh canneries. He served 29 years with the Pacifi c County Road Department. Along the way, Huitt mar- ried twice, had four children, which he mainly raised alone on his ranch, and has seven grandchildren and three great grandchildren. He has been on his own for about 40 years. would be eight hours. Some cemeteries are harder than oth- ers. In Naselle, it’s pretty solid river rock.” He has lost count of exactly how many he has dug. At one point, Huitt was digging graves at 11 area cemeter- ies stretching inland to Grays River. However, the trend toward cremation has meant fewer burials. “Now it’s one every two months, but in the ‘bad old days,’ it was 90 to 100 a year,” he said. Brawn is not enough. “Maybe people think there’s nothing to digging a grave, but you have to have the right dimensions,” he said. “You just don’t go out there and dig a hole.” Planks help set the correct shape. “You have to have straight sides and ends because it must be straight up and down,” he said. “It has got to be perfectly straight. It’s got to be square because the liner is a square box. If it is not square, it is not going to go in the hole.” Huitt keeps “set-ups” at three local cemeteries which consist of planks to place at each end of the grave, grass to drape over the open hole, a lowering device for the cof- fi n, and a tent with chairs for mourners. Digging by hand Throughout the years, Huitt dug graves using only a shovel and a pick ax. “It was always done by hand,” he said. “I have gone through about four picks.” The Ilwaco hill site includes tracts of solid clay, which means a fi ve to six -hour job for each gravesite. “Most of the cemetery is pretty tough digging. For someone new, it Keeping it tidy Cemetery maintenance has been Huitt’s job since 1996. It includes brush clearing and tree trimming, but the acreage covered in grass dominates the assignment. “It takes 17 hours to mow,” he said, adding with a grin, “Nobody knows how long it takes to ‘weed-eat’ it — it’s a never-ending project!” Because the grounds include a half-dozen additions, Huitt spreads the mowing over four days. When asked if he has a riding lawn mower, he laughs. “If it wasn’t, you would never get it done.” A couple of years ago, he cleaned every headstone. “It’s like taking care of your own yard. I wanted to keep it looking nice,” he said, refl ecting on having to yield to a younger successor. “I don’t like the idea of not being able to do it any more.” Preserving memories Huitt spent three years com- piling a 4-inch thick ring binder crammed with p eninsula burial C HLOE e Celeb he r ir at T ! Freedom Released fr om confi nement in a car, these cats and others still need homes. Help them in their quest for Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness! 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Interviews with city coun- cilors and staff will be closed meetings, but a community forum will be held 5:30 p.m. Thursday at C ity H all for any- one who would like to offer suggestions of what qualities the recruiters should look for in the next city manager. “We want to fi nd someone who fi ts the community,” Eric Jensen, from Jensen Strate- gies, said. The job posting from when Kucera was hired in 2014 listed experience with disaster preparedness, fi nance, news media, an appreciation for the arts and fi ve years in public administration as preferable qualities in a candidate. After collecting input from the community, the C ity C oun- cil will vote whether or not to adopt the job description at the Aug. 1 council meeting. Final candidates will hold meet-and- greet forums later in the fall. When Kucera was hired, he was chosen from a pool of 47 applicants. Jensen said he antic- ipated the city will get a similar applicant pool this year, as well. names and plot locations that date back to the 1800s. “I will give this copy to the museum one of these days,” he mused. On his computer, he has pho- tos of every headstone; all are meticulously labeled. His son, Stanley Huitt, a fi sherman who died of hypo- thermia in 1996, is bur- ied in the Ilwaco Cemetery. While he did not dig his son’s grave, he did perform that duty for his late sister, Bon- nie Vaughn. Reliving his career at his Chinook home, Huitt’s thoughts are practical rather than philosophical. When pressed, he shrugs. “I grew up in the funeral home, so I went to many funerals. They’re a part of my life. … Life and death. I think about it, but I’m not really a religious person. I believe in religion, though.” When his time comes, someone else will do the honors. “I bought 10 plots,” Huitt said. 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MONday, July 3rd 6:30pm: North Coast Symphonic Band Free Concert “America the Beautiful” at the Liberty Theatre, Astoria Tuesday, July 4th 11am to 3pm: Warrenton’s Old- Fashioned Fourth with Barbecue, Car & Motorcycle Show, and Kids Activities 3pm: Warrenton 4th of July Parade Route follows South Main Avenue from the post office to SW 9th Street Dusk: Fireworks above the Columbia River from Astoria’s East End Mooring Basin MORE EVENTS ON OUR COMMUNITY CALENDAR WWW.OLDOREGON.COM th ASTOR STREET OPRY COMPANY Thank you! for making the 4th of july a blast 33rd Season of S hanghaied in A storia July 7 - September 9 Thursday through Saturday: 7pm Sunday Matinees: 2pm July 16, Aug. 6 & Sept. 9 Our fireworks display couldn’t happen without support from: • Astoria-Warrenton Chamber Ambassadors • Port of Astoria Tickets on Sale ONE HOUR before all shows ***Reservations Recommended*** For tickets, visit our website www.astorstreetoprycompany.com or call 503-325-6104 129 West Bond Street | Uniontown | Astoria www.facebook.com/AstorStreetOpryCompany • Arbor Care Tree Specialists • Lewis & Clark Golf & RV Park Photos provided by: Columbia Press (parade), Frank Allen (fireworks) and AW Chamber (trolley)
