Eugene Masonic Cemetery Association eNewsletter
Hope Abbey Mausoleum
 

In This Issue
Music To Die For
Did you Know?

Sam Friendly  
(1840-1915) was the owner of the S.H. Friendly & Co. department store, Eugene mayor, and UO Regent.  He was also an enthusiastic Ducks fan.  During pre-game rallies, students would lift him up to the speaker's platform where he would shout "Victory must be ours!"  He and his wife are interred in Hope Abbey.

You probably recognize his name from the Friendly Area" Neighborhood" and the street that runs through it. 
The Eugene Masonic Cemetery has available space for burials and cremations. For cremains, we offer the Scatter Garden, niches within Hope Abbey and in-ground burials. Email to Administrator Sally Dietrich emca1859@gmail.com for more information, or
call (541) 684-0949.
Link to
  

BE A HISTORICAL PRESERVATIONIST!

Consider making a contribution today through PayPal, available on our website. When you click below, you'll be taken to the EMCA website where you can access the PayPal donate button. Help us preserve this important part of Eugene's history. Thank you. 

 

 

Please  Click to Donate 
Music To Die For 
Home Made Folk Music 

The Porch Band 
(Sunday, August 30th at 2 PM) 

The Porch Band will be the featured performers this weekend at the Eugene Masonic Cemetery's free Music To Die For in Hope Abbey. They have been part of the Eugene musical community since 2008, and is comprised of three talented guys, Dan Bilderback (guitar), Rich Spence (mandolin and mouth harp) and Scoop McGuire (upright bass).

In 2008, The Porch Band became the "house band" for KLCC's live radio program, Front Porch Revue, which continued through 2010. Joining The Porch Band at Hope Abbey this Sunday will be Corrina Bilderback, a frequent guest vocalist with the band. Corrina was the announcer and vocalist on The Front Porch Revue  radio show on KLCC. She has also been a vocalist for the band Epiphany Road , as well as being a voiceover talent in the Eugene area.

The Porch Band was featured in the first year of the Music to Die For music series. We welcome them back.
 
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Here's the rest of the Summer's performance lineup:

September 27: Ensemble Primo Seicento A group specializing in seventeenth century music for voices, cornetto, violin, sackbut, and organ.

October 25th: Alder Street Winds A very local woodwind group.

These Music To Die For summer concerts are presented at 2 PM on the last Sunday of the months of June through October, and are free to the public. Additional Information on performances will be posted as it becomes available.
Public Square Monuments
Many of you know what I'm talking about when I refer to the Masonic Cemetery's Public Square. It's called that because when Eugene still had an operating streetcar system a century ago, citizens would pile on with their picnic baskets and ride to the stop at the north end of the cemetery. From there they'd wend their way to the clearing at the top of the hill that is the Public Square.
 
There are no plans for using the Public Square for burial plots, but surrounding the Square are some very fine monuments that for years have been obscured by foliage overgrowth. Our grounds crew has recently thinned and trimmed the area, more clearly revealing these tributes to lives gone by.
 
A couple months ago, a crew of volunteers began work cleaning the stones of moss, dirt and other debris. As a result of their elbow grease and dedication, these monuments are renewed and clearly visible to visitors.
 
One monument stood out for its message which initially didn't mean much to the volunteers. It's the one illustrated at the top of this article. The inscription below the initials reads: "S.P. Fireman at rest".
 
It didn't take long to figure out that S.P. stood for Southern Pacific and that this was a railroad worker. If you look closely at the very light etching above the lettering, you can see the outline of a steam locomotive, perhaps a "Pacific 4-6-2", widely used by Southern Pacific during his career.
 
A special thanks to Wendi Probst and Steve Kuchera for their work clearing, and to Denny Hellesvig, Merinda Persi, Bob Brokaw and Rich Maris for a spectacular cleaning job. The next time you're in the cemetery, please stop by and look at the "new" monuments.

Sincerely,
John Bredesen
eNewsletter Editor