Friends of Silverbrook Cemetery

2011 Annual Report

The Friends of Silverbrook Cemetery would like to thank the City of Niles, Niles District Library, Fort St. Joseph Museum, Bob Cooley (BCGS) and the many volunteers who have donated numerous hours of time, talent, and equipment to this effort.

2011 Veterans Flag Pole Project

Councilman Tim Skalla met with our local veterans for their Annual Meeting at the American Legion to present a Flag Pole Project on behalf of the Friends and the city of Niles.

In June of 2011, the Flag Pole Project was launched. Ginny Tyler was the Chairperson for this committee. Local Foundations, citizens and organizations generously donated so that a new Veteran's Service Flag display could be created at Silverbrook Cemetery. This display honors the over 2,000 veterans buried at the city cemetery, and honors all Veterans who have served to keep us free.

In September, this project was completed with the signage in production. The signage will be installed in the spring of 2012 with the dedication event.

The Annual Membership Drive and generous donations made it possible to purchase a 20 FT aluminum flag pole and flag for the grave of Silverbrook's Medal of Honor winner.

Highlights of 2011

The Friends and Bob Cooley (BCGS) held 4 Saturday work sessions with 4 volunteers giving 20 volunteer hours. Restoration repairs were completed on 10 headstones. Bob Cooley
worked alone in the cemetery this summer on days during the week. He has finished almost all current repairs of headstones that were down-broken.

The Friends web-site is maintained and updated by Bob Nightingale, Mary Ellen Drolet and Vicki Caison. We moved to our new provider in March 2011, we've had 61,312 visits to the
friendsofsilverbrook.org compared to 9,028 in 2010. A new feature has been added to the grave search page that links the obit to the photo. We currently have approximately 11,900
photographs and 2,800 obituaries posted for review. The Friends of Silverbrook Facebook page is maintained by Bob Nightengale and currently has 28 Friends.

Guest Speakers at our Monthly Meetings

*Nancy Studebaker, NDL, Book Series Project

*Bob & Nancy Cooley, BCGS, Indexing a Cemetery

*De Beaumont, Regent of the Rebecca Dewey Chapter of Daughters of the Revolution

*Peter & Anita Rodgers, Preserving our Heritage from Stone to Internet

*Barbara Cook, World Trip on the Queen Mary

*Bob Nightingale, Camp Letters: 1942-1945

The Friends participated with Dave Roeder and the Brandywine History Club in the 1st Civil War Walking Tour held in May. A "Living History" tour with re-enactors representing local

Civil War Veterans interred at Silverbrook. Featured soldiers included: Col. Francis Quinn, Capt. Horace Cummings, Lt. Col. David Bacon, Gen. Henry Morrow, Col. Franks Graves and Mrs. Evan J. Bonine.

In November 2011, the Friends filed the application with the U.S. Department of Veteran's Affair for a military grave marker for the unmarked grave of Hiram Chilson (1797-1889), one of the earliest settlers of Niles, who was a veteran of the War of 1812.

Membership

The Annual Membership Drive is held in April of each year. The membership roster currently has 155 Members listed.

Membership Projects Funded in 2011

*Purchase of a 20 FT Aluminum Flag Pole for Medal of Honor Veteran, Joseph Nolan.

*Purchase of 8 gallons black paint for chain link fence in the Garden of Memory.

*Annual Fee for Friends web-site.

*Purchase of cleaning and restoration supplies.

*Printing of Membership letters, Thank You note cards, FOS letterhead, envelopes and brochures.

*Postage for mailings.

Thanks you for your continued support in this endeavor.

Respectfully,


Candace Skalla
President

Many of the Friends of Silverbrook are involved in genealogy.  At the January 2012 meeting of the Tree Climbers, the grave search database on www.friendsofsilverbrook.org was helpful in finding attendees' family members buried at Silverbrook Cemetery.  See www.nileslibrary.com for more information.

The Friends of Silverbrook Cemetery work with local history and genealogy groups.  Here are some upcoming events that you might be interested in attending.

From www.southbendtribune.com:

Genealogy series to begin Dec 3

The Local History and Genealogy Department of Niles District Library will host a series of gatherings for the beginning genealogist on the first Saturday of every month,  beginning from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Dec 3. Staff will provide a brief demonstration of how to use an aspect of the collection, each month highlighting a different resource. In addition, the community Room will be available for discussion. Experienced genealogist are also encouraged to participate in a mentoring role. Laptops and a projector will be available upon request. More information can be found at www.nileslibrary.com or by calling the Niles District Library information desk at 269.683.8545, ext 112. As always, any program or event at the Niles District Library is free to the public.

From www.southbendtribune.com:

German traditions topic of Dec. 7 talk

Carol Bainbridge, executive director of the Fort St. Joseph Museum in Niles, will discuss German Christmas customs at a gathering at 1:30 p.m. at the Center for History, 808 W. Washington Street, South Bend, IN. The "Insights in History" event will focus on German decorations, foods and other traditions. The program will include a guided tour of the first floor of Copshaholm, the Oliver family mansion. The house is decorated for the holidays. Admission is $3 per person or $1 for members. Reservation are required by Dec 5 by calling 574.235.9664.

April 2011

April is the month Friends of Silverbrook Cemetery reach out to our supporters with the heartfelt message - please help us continue to make improvements and repairs in and around the 60 acres of Silverbrook!

Your generous donations in 2010, as always, were put to good use. Partnering with the City, three new water lines were installed, making it more convenient for families to water plants at grave sites.  New color should also appear this spring. The Four Flags Garden Club and their John Gipner Memorial inspired us to add landscaping around the Bell Tower and the front entrance.  We're hoping the deer will leave it alone and allow it to grow!  Our website has been expanded, with photos and obituaries being added.  Genealogists LOVE to do research on this site.  Along with the tireless efforts of our volunteers, your contributions have allowed us to continue restoring some of our oldest grave markers. This past summer, thirty two stones dating back to the 1800's were repaired in the Bond section of the cemetery. We also continue to assist the City by providing walking tours, cemetery brochures, and flags honoring our veterans.

Please consider renewing your membership so our efforts can continue in 2011. You may renew in the traditional way using the form (click here) or, if it is more convenient, you may go to our website and utilize Pay Pal. We promise our non-profit group will use your money with the expressed intent of improving the cemetery to honor the 28,000 citizens interred there and the good families who remember them. Historic Silverbrook Cemetery has been a beautiful final resting place since 1836. Let us help the city of Niles keep it very special for all who pass through our gates.

Sincerely,

Ginny Tyler, Membership Chairman     Candace Skalla, President