Oysterville Cemetery – Looking North from Stevens’ Plot

We drove up to the cemetery yesterday to see how it was looking now that the huge spruce tree has been removed.  There is still a lot of blowdown, but the north end of the pioneer section looks fabulous – better than it has in many months.  Dead tree limbs and twigs that litter the cemetery after winter storms have been gathered up into six or seven neat piles – about a pickup load each – and await a trip to the dump. (Volunteers, take note!  Feel free to help out by taking a pile!)

Contrary to popular belief, there have been no invisible just-come-out-at-night cemetery elves at work here.  The cleanup can be attributed almost entirely to Corky and Ron Biggs.  They have put in hours and hours of work raking, hauling, and tidying.  They’ve been doing it for years but it has taken the magical transformation following our tree disaster to make their work really obvious.  They are definitely the unsung heroes of the Oysterville Cemetery.

Stevens’ Marker, Knocked Off Its Base

For almost three decades, Ron has served as President of the Oysterville Cemetery Association.  As such, he signs deeds and other important documents, but mostly he handles the physical aspects of cemetery stewardship.  When it comes time for a burial, it’s Ron who stakes out the plot so that Penttila’s will know the correct location.  When the road around the perimeter gets rutted, it’s Ron who arranges to get the gravel and, usually, it’s Ron who’s up there with his shovel doing the necessary road work.

Once, when we had a vacancy on the Cemetery Board, I suggested that Ron’s wife, Corky, might fill the position.  “Why would you do that?” she asked.  “As long as you have Ron, you get me, anyway!”  And, that is the absolute understatement of all time.  Often, it’s Corky who goes up to the cemetery after a storm to check it out.  She’s usually the one who spots a problem and sees to it that it gets fixed.  And, if there were medals for Cleaner-Upper Extraordinaire, Corky would have a trophy case full of them.

Fence Remnants Found Hidden in Salal

What’s even more impressive to me is that Corky never ever says a word about what she’s done.  Ron brags on her a little, sometimes, as a good husband should!  But, I doubt that the general public has a clue about her efforts over the years.  If you see her, you might tell her “thank you.”  But, knowing Corky, she’d be more pleased if you just pitched in and helped.  There’s more blowdown to gather at the south end of the cemetery.  And, if you have a truck and a little time, there are all those piles that need to be taken away.