Grove Restoration Project

A cemetery restoration event will take place on Sunday, April 1st between 12:00 P.M. and 3:00 P.M. The restoration efforts will consist of removing invasive brush between the west end of the cemetery and the creek along with conducting a brush-pile burn and litter pick-up. This particular area will receive a lot of attention in the next few months in order to prepare for the proposal of benches to be installed in the area some time this Summer. An example of what the benches will look like can be viewed below.

Also on the proposed list of activities is spreading wood chips in key areas in and around the cemetery. The installation of benches and the spreading of wood chips is a joint project between the Eagle Scouts, the Grove Restoration Project, and the Forest Preserve District. More information and the status of the proposal will be provided on the website during the next few months. At this time we wish to thank Eagle Scout leader Anthony Coccaro for bringing this project to our attention and we look forward to assisting all of them in obtaining approval through the Forest Preserve District and the Real Estate Management Office.

Volunteers will be meeting at the cemetery itself on April 1st and all necessary tools will be provided. As always please remember to bring yourself something to drink and to use the sign-in sheet upon arrival.

See you all on the 1st!

A cemetery clean-up is scheduled for Sunday, October 30th, between 12:00 PM and 3:00 PM. The clean-up will consist of litter removal from the main path leading to the cemetery and the cemetery itself. All necessary gloves and garbage bags will be provided courtesy of the Forest Preserve District.

We apologize for the cancellation of the last event. At 9:15 AM weather conditions had changed and the status of the Feedback line was updated about an hour later once Internet access to its settings was possible. We are still experiencing mass text messaging errors through our current service provider otherwise a message would have been attempted to save volunteers the trouble of coming out. Please make note of the Feedback line number on the main page of the website and save it in your phone for future reference.

Earlier this month a letter requesting cemetery maintenance was sent to the Real Estate Management Office of Cook County on behalf of volunteers and family members of those buried at the cemetery. The request was in regard to consideration for temporary maintenance of the cemetery by S.W.A.P. for 2011. As stated in the past, the cemetery is not owned by the Forest Preserve District. During 2009 a land survey and other legal paperwork had been prepared in order to transfer the property over to the Forest Preserve District. Due to time constraints and changes in leadership within the Cook County government at that time, various properties were not able to be approved, or denied.

A meeting has been scheduled this month with Cook County Commissioner Joan Murphy in order to discuss the transfer and other related matters concerning the cemetery and its surrounding area. As always, we will keep you updated as to the results of the approval process. For the moment, all Temporary Use Permits that used to allow the Grove Restoration Project to perform proper maintenance within the cemetery are still frozen due to liability reasons. This is caused in part by the use of power tools necessary to maintain the area. If and when the property is transferred, volunteers that have obtained their Power Equipment Operator certification through the Forest Preserve District may assist in the use of power tools.

If you are a volunteer and still wish to obtain your Power Equipment Operator certification please make sure to respond as soon as possible to any notices you receive about upcoming classes. Upon your certification, you will also receive a photo I.D. which in essence makes you an official Steward for the Forest Preserve District of Cook County. The classes are short, educational, and very rewarding but seating is limited each year.

We hope to perform additional restoration activities this year, specifically on the west end of the cemetery between the fence and creek, as well as portions of the main trail leading to the cemetery. As part of the approval process, Resource Ecologist Daniel Spencer performed a visit earlier this year to evaluate additional areas of interest and we are expecting feedback by November. Joe Swano of Volunteer Resources for the Forest Preserve District was also available during the evaluation and has done an excellent job in responding to the needs of the area.

Stay tuned and see you all on the 30th!

The Bachelors Grove Prairie team will be performing restoration activities out at Bachelors Grove Prairie on Sunday, October 16th, between 9:00 AM and 1:00 PM. Some of the volunteering efforts will include the removal of invasive plants and attending brush-pile burns.

Everyone will be meeting in the far east end of the parking lot to Bur Oak Woods at 9:00 AM. All necessary equipment and gloves will be provided.

For directions to Bachelors Grove Prairie, and to obtain help with finding Bur Oak Woods, be sure to visit the Directions page.

A cemetery restoration event will take place on Sunday, October 2nd between 10:00 A.M. and 4:00 P.M. The efforts will consist of a brush-pile burn in order to dispose of material from September.

With the cooler weather upon us this should be a relaxing event. All equipment will be provided but as always we suggest that you bring something to drink.

See you all on the 2nd!

The efforts for September 4th were a success. Over a dozen volunteers assisted with the removal of Buckthorn and other invasive brush between the pond and cemetery. Along with helping to fulfill Community Service hours for High School students, it was also an honor to have Lawrence Varkalis, President of the Midwest Cemetery Preservation, available to lend a helping hand. There were a lot of new volunteers, some of which also made this their very first visit to Bachelors Grove cemetery.

The holiday weekend created a lot of casual visits to the area. As brush was being removed and placed into a large pile to be disposed of later, many of the visitors stopped by to see the positive results in action. Some have gained an interest in the activities and we look forward to many more new volunteers in the future. Bill Fath of the Bachelors Grove Prairie team also spoke with some of the visitors on the importance of ecological restoration and as always we are proud to be a part of his own efforts in restoring a portion of the old Bachelors Grove settlement.

Volunteer Kathy Baltz was once again available to help capture photographs of the event. If you would like to see some of her work you may visit our Facebook page for details. Although the live video streaming had a minor technical difficulty we are currently working on resolving the issue. On a more positive note, we received an additional monetary donation from volunteer Charles Petrey which has brought us near completion of our yearly goal. If you would also like to help reach our goal we currently have a limited number of Topps Allen & Ginter's Bachelors Grove Cemetery Cards available for purchase.

The photograph to the right shows a before and after shot of the work performed on the 4th. Comparing it to some of the scenic photographs found in the Archives this area hasn't looked this good in over 30 years. Great job everyone!!

During the September 4th event we will be streaming live video from the cemetery. This will be the first time streaming an event and anyone who is unable to attend can now watch the activities via Ustream or the Recreational Center. We very much welcome your input as to the reliability of the video stream and any ideas you may have. If there is enough interest with the on-line feed we will be sure to upgrade the video quality in the future in order to further enhance your interest in the restoration efforts.

For those attending, everyone will be meeting at the pond next to the cemetery at 12:00 PM. Please sign in when you arrive and if you happen to need validation for Community Service hours be sure to speak with a coordinator before you leave.

Cemetery restoration work will take place on Sunday, September 4th between 12:00 P.M. and 3:00 P.M. The restoration efforts will consist of the removal of invasive brush next to the pond just outside of the northern entrance to the cemetery. We will also have garbage bags available for litter pick-up. All necessary tools will be provided but we recommend that all volunteers bring bug spray.

See you all on the 4th!

It turned out to be a beautiful day to perform another fun-filled Spring clean-up. As all of the volunteers eagerly waited for everyone to arrive, the clock was counting down for the headstone recovery effort at the nearby pond. Due to all of the fantastic assistance we are pleased to announce that the recovery was a complete success! With the recovery time falling under ten minutes everyone had a chance to relax in pride and enjoy the rest of the day in conversation.

Thanks to a wonderful monetary donation from Sylvia Moody of California, hip waders were able to be purchased in order to ensure a fast, safe, dry recovery. There are many more items to be recovered from the pond and only time will tell if more headstones will be on the list. But one thing is certain, those hip waders will come in very handy during those mud-sinking adventures.

If you too would like to help offset the monetary obligations endured by the restoration efforts please feel free to use our donation area found on the left-hand side of the website. Simply purchasing the Trail Map is a great way to help while receiving something extra in return. If enough money is raised from the maps we can also afford to develop a depth chart of the entire pond which could be available by next year. Rest assured that every penny makes an absolute difference in all aspects of the Bachelors Grove experience.

We are looking forward to fishing out a very large mysterious item that has been spotted in the pond over the years and we will keep you posted as to when that event will take place. In the meantime, you can view a preliminary video of the headstone recovery effort on YouTube in high-definition or in lower resolution by using the player below. Hopefully we will have all of the material recorded that day for a more complete video but for now enjoy the show!