There were 33 burials as of December 31, 2006; 16 full Interments 17 Cremations.
HILLSIDE: 6 Burials; 4 Cremations
HILLCREST: 10 Burials; 13 Cremations
There are ten Town owned cemeteries maintained by this department. They are as follows:
BENNETT ROAD CEMETERY HILLSIDE CEMETERY
BETHANY ROAD CEMETERY (one acre owned by the town) MAIN STREET CEMETERY
BRIMFIELD ROAD CEMETERY STAFFORD ROAD CEMETERY
BUTLER ROAD CEMETERY MOULTON HILL RD CEMETERY
HILLCREST CEMETERY NORTH MAIN ST. CEMETERY
Also maintained by the Cemetery Commission is the Common (Soldiers Monument).
The Monson Cemetery Department welcomed two new faces in 2006. Long term Commissioner Julian E. Szarlan elected not to run for another term in April . We wish him well and thank him for his many years of service. David F. Martin III was elected our new Commissioner and we look forward to working with him for many years to come. The Cemetery Department also welcomed Bill Plante. Mr. Plante was hired by the Cemetery Department on July 1, 2006 to replace John Nothe who resigned in September 2005. Mr. Plante transferred from the Highway Department where he had worked for several years.
This year, the Cemetery Department purchased a pole saw for trimming trees in our cemeteries. With the use of the bucket truck borrowed from the Fire Department and the wood chipper borrowed from the Highway Department, the Cemetery Department was able to save approximately $10,000.00 by having their employees remove dead branches and prune the trees. This was a huge safety feature in the cemeteries with our very limited budget. Also, four large diseased maple trees were professionally removed, two at Bennett Road Cemetery and two at Hillside Cemetery. New fence was installed along the front of Bennett Road Cemetery following the removal of the two trees. The removal of older, diseased, hazardous trees will hopefully continue for several years.
Two new riding mowers were purchased, replacing two older lawnmowers at no cost to the town. The money for the riding mowers and wall repair in Hillside Cemetery came from the Cemetery Gifts & Bequest Interest Account which is donated by past residents to be used for the care of the cemeteries.
In 2006, blacktop was repaired above the wall in Hillside Cemetery. A year ago the wall was repaired for $25,000.000 at no cost to the town. Now all that is needed there is a load of stone for drainage to complete this project.
The Cemetery employees are trying to straighten older monuments with a limited amount of money each year whenever time allows. The employees have started to remove brush in Hillcrest Cemetery for future expansion of the Cemetery. The expansion is a large project that will take several years to complete with limited manpower.
The secretary, to assist the public with genealogy research, is still adding recorded burials in the older cemeteries to the cemetery’s web site at monson-ma.gov.
In closing, we would like to thank the Highway Department, Police Department, Water Department and all the other departments, as well as outside private contractors for their help during this past year as it is greatly appreciated.
Respectfully submitted,
The Monson Cemetery Commissioners
Robert E. Pease
Albert T. Wilcox
David F. Martin III
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