City Announces Memorial Day Service, Decoration Policies at City Cemeteries

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 23, 2017

For more information, please contact:
Barb Dunbar, Operations Coordinator, City of Bloomington Parks and Recreation, 812.349.3498 or [dunbarb@bloomington.in.gov|mailto:dunbarb@bloomington.in.gov]

Richard Dunbar, Commander, American Legion Burton Woolery Post #18, 812.336.5720

Bloomington, Ind. - The City of Bloomington Rose Hill Cemetery will again host the annual Veterans Memorial Day service, presented by the American Legion Post 18, on May 29 at 9 a.m.

The American Legion, with assistance from area Boy Scout Troops and other volunteers, will place more than 2,300 flags on the graves of veterans at Rose Hill and White Oak Cemeteries on May 27. Anyone interested in helping place flags is invited to meet at Rose Hill Cemetery at 8:30 a.m.

Other Memorial Day decorations may be placed directly on graves at Rose Hill and White Oak. Grave decorations not firmly attached to gravestones may be removed by Bloomington Parks and Recreation staff the week of June 12. The use of glass containers to hold grave decorations is not permitted.

Cemetery rules and regulations are available at the Rose Hill Cemetery office at 930 W. Fourth St. For more information about Memorial Day decoration policies, contact Barb Dunbar at 812.349.3498 or by e-mail at dunbarb@bloomington.in.gov. The Rose Hill Cemetery office will be closed May 29 in observance of Memorial Day.

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About Rose Hill and White Oak Cemeteries
The City of Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department is responsible for the landscaping, administration, and maintenance of Rose Hill and White Oak Cemeteries. Rose Hill Cemetery was begun around 1820, and the premises were conveyed to the town board in 1868. The Ladies Cemetery Association assumed the management of the City Cemetery in 1892, and renamed it "Rose Hill" for the roses that grew lavishly over the grounds. The City's Parks and Recreation Department assumed maintenance responsibilities for the 28-acre cemetery from the Public Works Department in 1997.

Originally the United Presbyterian Cemetery, White Oak Cemetery was purchased by the City of Bloomington in 1914 and renamed White Oak in 1983. The first burial in White Oak Cemetery occurred around 1837.