Riverside Cemetery Association
Whitney Point, New York
 

Welcome to the home of Riverside Cemetery in Whitney Point, New York.
Historic ancestral resting sites since 1791.

 

 

Cemetery News

News From Riverside Cemetery:

News for 2022

May 2022
Memorial Day preparations:
- In the absence of support from Broome County Jail "volunteers", we again asked for support from the community to spend a few hours on the Saturday prior to Memorial Day. In the past, our appeals had, for the most part, went unnoticed. This year, WOW! When I arrived at the cemetery about 8:30 AM there was a group of a dozen or so people waiting. The George F. Riordan Post American Legion baseball team had decided to help out. Over the next half hour or so even more showed up. The team manager said that the team wanted to participate in community causes. And participate they did. They keyed in on the North end of the cemetery, where the veterans celebration takes place following the Whitney Point Memorial Day Parade.
 - Our Groundskeeper had done a good job of mowing and weedeating but this group seemed to have a vision of making this look like a park. They cleaned monuments, clear debris under bushes, straightened flags, and generally 'spiffed' things up like it had never been done before. BEAUTIFUL! Hooray for American League baseball.

News for 2020-2021

October 2021
Riverside Cemetery has been honored by the NYS Sons of the American Revolution for its' being the 'resting site' of three Revolutionary War heroes. A Historic Marker sign has been placed at the NorthEast side of the cemetery on the edge of NYS Rte 11.
A formal dedication will be held on October 9th, 2021 at 2:30 PM.
The following Revolutionary War Patriots are being recognized:
Caleb Hyde, John Seymour and Orance Stoddard.


Coron-19 is still with  us. We had some restrtictions at the beginning of the year but by Spring, restrictions had loosened significantly.

Prior to Memorial Day, the weather was bad - very wet. The corner at the end of the Middle Driveway was heavily flooded and muddy. We were unable again this year to obtain the assistance of the Broome County weekend detainees to aid in preparing for Memorial Day. Also, the John Deere tractor decided to 'go on break'. It was very difficult to prepare the grouds but they did come out OK and the event went on (in a reduced manner). We had to add 1200# of stone to the driveway corneer. The American legion did their their usual super job of conducting the event honoring our veterans.

On June 5 Mary Hibbard coordinated a Historic Walkthrough in our cemetery. Christine Gillette, historian for the Town of Barker, pointed out many sites of interest for a good sized group of local people interested in our history. Debbie Abbey, Trustee of our cemetery mentioned a planned event (currently undatedd) whereby the NYS Sons of the American Revolution will honor our cemetery with a Historic Marker. It was a beautiful day for a stroll through the cemetery.

 

News for 2019-20
Around the first of 2020, the coronavirus - 19 came for a visit. In the early part of the year, we were advised that no public gatherings would be allowed due to the potential of serious health issues. As the year bore on, the limitations were eased to 10 persons, then 25 and, I believe that now we can allow up to 50 but social distancing and masking requirements are mandatory. We have a number of burials pending as of this writing (August 1, 2020).
We have had numerous positive comments regarding the looks of Riverside Cemetery this year. We hired a new Groundskeeper in mid-year last year and she (Tina Craver) has been doing a marvelous job keeping our cemetery looking beautiful. What a pleasure it is to visit the cemetery now. Come on by and have a look.
Also this year, we have completed a project whereby about 18 taller monuments have had new foundations installed. This comes as a result of a Grant from NYS Division of Cemeteries. This was a safety grant made possible to reduce the number of injuries resulting from tall monuments being accidentally toppled and injuring visitors. Concrete foundations of four feet in depth were added to the selected monuments.

News for 2017/18
October 1, 2018 - As has been our policy, we closed the Cemetery on the first of October. Mowing was ceased, equipment was stored, the flag was retired and we said "good night" to our residents. The cemetery will officially be reopened April 1, 2019. Of course, any needs for burials will be honored at the request of any Lot Owner. This could depend, of course, on weather issues such as significant frost lines. These will be evaluated on an individual basis.
This was the year that we officially took over the Cremation Burials and  Monument Foundations. It helped us out financially but increase the amount of work placed on the Association officers. There is some concern here but the Board of Trustees will have to look at this at next years' annual meeting.
We did spend $1,200 on some tree work in the back of the Frank Thurston Tract. This  tree was becoming a danger to that section of the cemetery. There will probably be some others needing work in the next few years.
Also in 2018, the Town of Barker Highway Department finished the removal of the old Maintenance Building floor/foundation at the South End. This tidied up this section nicely. Along with that, they started filling the back South corner of the cemetery. To bring this up to level will most likely take a few years. Once this is completed we will be able to start selling graves in that section of the cemetery. Many thanks to the Town of Barker.
In mid-October, we were advised that the Whitney Point Fall Celebration Committee was planning a Historic Walkthrough (with Christine Gillett, Town of Barker Historian conducting). Regretfully, we were not able to "dress" our facility up with a fresh mowing for this event. We will caution those attending to be very careful strolling through the long grass.

News for 2016
 As we prepare for the 2016 season at Riverside Cemetery we hope to put our facility in the public eye. Our normal season is from May 1 to September 30. Of course, the grounds are open to Lot Owners at any time. We do discourage the use of artificial decorations during the good weather period of the year. Our By Laws state that
 "Article 9 - To encourage the use of natural decorations, artificial flowers and arrangements will only be allowed between November 1 and April 15 - Grounds-keeping personnel will remove any remaining artificial decorations prior to Memorial Day. "

Christine Gillette has advised us that in place of (or in addition to) the Historical Walkthrough she normally does annually, she is planning a Scavenger Hunt. She is still working on the details for this but it will not take place until after Memorial Day. We are hoping that this will draw families to our facility. More details will be provided once the date has been set.

We are in the planning stages for preparing for Memorial Day 2016. I'm looking forward to having the Broome County Sheriff's Department provide a work party in early May and the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend. More on this when it is confirmed.

News From 2015

4/21/2015 - Annual Meeting at the Mary Wilcox Memorial Library, Main Street, Whitney Point, NY at 7:00 PM. Lot owners are encouraged to attend.

5/9/2015 - Work Party at the cemetery. This went very well. We had a work group from Broome County Corrections to assist us and was able to complete approximately 80% of the brush situation at the back of the cemetery. This gave us a huge improvement in the looks along the back road. The Potters Field Section was significantly "spiffed up".

5/23/2015 - Work Party at the Cemetery. A 'clean sweep' of the cemetery in preparation for Memorial Day on Monday. We want to look our best.

5/25/2015 - Memorial Day
I have been attending the American Legion's Parade and Ceremonies at the cemetery for over 20 years and this was, by far, the best yet. The attendance was great and the ceremony was very professional and moving. Many thanks to our local American Legion Post for all they do for our community, especially on this solemn occasion. 

5/30/2015 - Historical Tour of Riverside Cemetery
Christine Gillette conducted a Historic Tour of our cemetery pointing out sites of interest -- with a concentration on Civil War participants in our cemetery. We would have preferred a larger turnout but very informative. The weather again cooperated with us for this event.

News Release 2015      Whitney Point, NY – Riverside Cemetery Association will host a Free Historic Tour of Riverside Cemetery (1/2 Mile South of the Rte26 Intersection on Rte 11) in Whitney Point, NY on Saturday, May 30, 2015 at 1:00 PM. The tour will concentrate on the Civil War Veterans currently interred in our historic cemetery with interments dating back to 1792. The tour will be conducted by Ms. Christine Gillette, Town of Barker Historian. Christine is a member and secretary of Mrs. Benjamin Harrison Tent 2 Daughters of Union Veterans, Civil War and also a member of the Binghamton Civil War Historical Society and Round Table. This is the second year that Riverside Cemetery has hosted a tour by Christine. The tour may also point out some of the more colorful or prominent ‘residents’ in our cemetery. Attendees will initially gather at the North end of the cemetery. Parking will be available along Rte 11 and Collins Street.
WWW.RIVERSIDECEMETERYWP.COM
Any questions can be referred to:
Dave Hughes, President,
Riverside Cemetery Association
2750 Hickory Street
Whitney Point, NY 13862
(607) 692-3263

News From 2014

May 8, 2014 - Road Improvements - The Town of Baker completed a major upgrade to our roads within the cemetery. Riverside Cemetery owes Supervisor Lois Dilworth, the town Board of  Trustees and the Town of Barker Highway Department Crew a HUGE thanks for their efforts. I received a call early May6 8 advising that I might want to stop over to the cemetery to insure everything was proceeding to our requirements. At mid-morning, one road was completely 'scalped' and the second one was underway. By lunchtime, all of the roads were leveled and by mid afternoon a new road base was down and rolled. In addition, the boys improved the entrances, removed a dead tree and made a number of other improvements. Within a week, Dave Mackey, Town of Barker Highway Superintendent, advised me that  he dropped off some fill for the muddy two back intersections (their equipment was too large to go any further). Our cemetery superintendent, Bill Pratt, then used his small backhoe to finish these improvements. A big WELL DONE to the Town of Barker.

May 26, 2014 - Memorial Day Recognition - By my observation, it may have been the best we have ever seen in Riverside Cemetery. The parade appeared to be longer, the attendance was much larger and the ceremonies may have been more robust than ever. There was a portable PA System this year which allowed more people to be involved. The trumpet rendition of TAPS was outstanding. The prayers were superb and could be heard by most and the WPCSD chorus rendition of the National Anthem was excellent. I hope I gave credit to everyone correctly. Of course, we can't forget the Village of Whitney Point and the Whitney Point Volunteer Fire Department and, also we can't forget the other area fire departments who always help Whitney Point celebrate occasions such as these.

Last but, by far, not least, I would like to salute the George F. Riordan Post 974 of the American Legion here in Whitney Point, NY. They have been a close friend of Riverside Cemetery for many years, assuring that our veterans are properly recognized and remembered. The flags flying above all of our veteran's graves (provided by the American Legion) make the cemetery a thing of beauty. I wish more people could visit our cemetery, especially on Memorial Day. I plan to put up some photo's I took Memorial Day in the near future. I hope that you enjoy them. Thanks to all who helped recognize and salute our fallen veterans.

May 31, 2014 Historical Walkthrough - Christine Gillette, Town of Barker Historian, conducted a Historical Walkthrough of our cemetery pointing out points of historical interest. This Walkthrough started at 1:00 PM. Chris has been a big supporter of our cemetery for many years and has extensive records concerning our facility.

 

 

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