CASSADAGA — Members and guests of the Cassadaga Cemetery Association held the annual meeting recently in the Jefferson Hall.

President Scott Dibble welcomed all to the meeting and led the group in the Pledge of Allegiance and prayer. The fiscal year for the cemetery association is from May 1, 2018, through April 30, 2019.

The Cassadaga Cemetery dates back to 1817, and this marks the 202nd year. The cemetery is located at the west end of the former village boundary next to another village called Burnhams. Burnhams had its own post office, which was located in one of the buildings of the Fredrickson Builders Supply. When Burnhams became a part of the village of Cassadaga in 1942, the village line was extended farther west to the edge of the Stockton hill, said John Sipos, Cassadaga Village Historian.

The Cassadaga Cemetery is divided into five sections and labeled A, B, C, D, and E. Anyone of these sections may be accessed from Maple Avenue.

Treasurer Sue Penhollow read the minutes of the previous meeting, and the financial report of the cemetery. Mrs. Penhollow was thanked for all of her efforts and work in maintaining the records of the cemetery. It was announced that the 108th annual meeting of the Chautauqua County Federation of Rural Cemeteries will be held on Wednesday, June 12, in the Cassadaga Community building, beginning at 10 a.m. with registration. After the registration will be the business meeting of the group, followed by a luncheon and a speaker.

There will be people attending representing all cemeteries of this county. From Cassadaga, attending will be Dibble, Penhollow, Trustees Diane Shaw, Cheryl MacKinder, Dan Thorp, Thomas MacKinder, and guests Susan Washington Sipos and John Sipos.

Cemetery grounds keeper Jedidah Walter spoke of some the maintenance of the cemetery and projects which will be completed for the Memorial Day weekend. A crew of Dibble, Thorp and MacKinder will help with some of the projects. Walter also spoke of equipment which needs to be replaced for use with maintenance. President Dibble suggested a fund raiser campaign to raise funds to replace the needed equipment.

A list will be composed and a request letter will be sent. Maintaining the cemetery is a continuous effort, and when lots were sold with perpetual care, one never considered that inflation would take over, causing maintenance costs to rise.

The cemetery association always welcomes donations to help to improve equipment and maintain the cemetery. All donations may be sent to the Cassadaga Cemetery Association, P.O. Box 351, Cassadaga, NY 14718.

Penhollow read a list of rules and regulations for the cemetery, and said that they will be posted on the cemetery bulletin board. Some of the items include: summer items placed at the cemetery need to be removed by Oct. 1, and winter and Christmas items need to be removed by April 1.

All items placed at the cemetery must be a permanent material, and outlining a grave is not to be done, as it makes mowing difficult. A new survey map of the section E was shown to all, and Thorp said about the amount of work which went into the road work and design of cemetery lots in that section. Thorp reported that water is available in various locations of the cemetery.

Elections were held for 2019-20, and Dibble will serve as the president in the next year. Penhollow will continue to serve as the treasurer and the secretary. Trustees elected include: Diane House Blizzard, Diane K. Shaw, Cheryl MacKinder, Dan Thorp and Thomas MacKinder. The next meeting of the association will be on Monday, June 10, at 6:30 p.m. in the Jefferson Hall.