Preparing Shamokin Cemetery for Memorial Day

Memorial Day preparations at Shamokin Cemetery began with the work of its grounds crew. In May 1925, twelve men under Superintendent O. E. Dockey had spent two weeks working four to five extra hours a day, according to the News-Dispatch. Thousands of visitors were expected for the holiday, and the men were preparing the burial ground before those visitors arrived.

The spring cleanup included grading avenues and cutting the grass along driveways and on private lots. Three gasoline mowers and six hand machines were being used. Newly introduced evergreens, valued in the report at $250, brought a new element of landscape decoration, including shrubbery, to the cemetery. The improvements combined routine care with changes in the cemetery's appearance.

Larger projects were still ahead. Two macadamized roads were planned for the main avenues, with work expected to start after May 30 and a reported cost of $2,000. A community mausoleum remained in the planning stage. Ground east of an enclosure called the Soldiers' Circle had also been surveyed into three sections intended for private mausoleums. These proposals accompanied the crew's spring cleanup work.

The cemetery was entering the fifth year of its maintenance plan. The News-Dispatch praised the orderly grounds and credited Dockey's energy with their appearance. Its account made the labor behind the coming observance visible: the grading, mowing, planting, and sustained upkeep that gave a day of remembrance its setting.