Grove Restoration Project

A cemetery restoration event will take place on Sunday, February 3rd between 10:00 A.M. and 3:00 P.M. The efforts will consist of burning recently cut material and performing minor clean-up of the general area. All volunteers will meet at the cemetery itself and no tools will be necessary for this event.

Come keep warm while enjoying a visit to the area. The hot coals should keep everyone warm for many hours and the pond might even be frozen enough to walk on. See you all this Sunday!

A cemetery restoration event will take place on Sunday, September 16th between 12:00 P.M. and 3:00 P.M. The restoration efforts will consist of removing invasive brush and litter pick-up in and around the cemetery. All volunteers will meet at the Rubio Woods Forest Preserve parking lot between 12:00 P.M. and 12:15 P.M. where all of the necessary tools will be provided. If this is your first time volunteering please see the Directions page for assistance.

Last month an announcement of the Bachelors Grove Memories of Tomorrow Picnic had taken place over at the Bachelors Grove Cemetery & Settlement Recreational Center website and an email had been sent to all volunteers. This special event is to help celebrate the efforts of all volunteers and to enjoy some good company while discussing the many topics surrounding Bachelors Grove. If you are a current volunteer that has attended past restoration events and did not have a chance to sign-up please email a coordinator to set up arrangements for access to free food and drinks. If you are currently signed up as a stand-by member and have not yet attended an actual event you are still welcome to attend. Stand-by members are encouraged to provide their own food and drink as all supplies are limited.

Last month the office of Cook County Commissioner Joan Murphy had informed us that the Sheriff's S.W.A.P. team will be coming out to trim overgrowth within the cemetery. They also stated that if S.W.A.P. does not perform a visit within the month of August that they would follow up with the Sheriff's office to ensure that some maintenance is provided in September. Please feel free to voice your support for maintenance by leaving a short message with Joan Murphy's office at 708-389-2125.

See you all on the 16th!

A cemetery restoration event will take place on Sunday, May 27th 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. All volunteers will meet at the Rubio Woods Forest Preserve parking lot between 12:00 P.M. and 12:15 P.M. where all of the necessary tools will be provided. If this is your first time volunteering please see the Directions page for assistance. Due to the warmer season it would be wise to bring along some bug spray and as always please be sure to pack yourself some refreshments.

Results from the previous event are astounding. Although restoration efforts for the western area were planned, volunteers from as far away as Michigan as well as many new faces came together to focus on the path near the south side of the cemetery. As witnessed below, two brush-piles were created which will be disposed of, and as the efforts continue additional sections will be cared for resulting in a much safer and scenic view. To the 20+ volunteers in attendance, Bachelors Grove salutes you! If you wish to view more photographs of the event feel free to visit the new Gallery currently under construction over at www.bachelorsgrove.net

See you all on the 27th!

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!!