FCA Asks Public To Be Thoughtful With Decorations
The Fairbury Cemetery Association has recently expressed concerns about excessive decorations on grave markers. Although a short-term allowance is made for flowers, flags, and similar tokens of remembrance during observed holidays such as Memorial Day, the Cemetery Association prohibits the use of decorations on grave markers that are not a permanent part of monuments or their foundations.
According to the association, “The safety of our groundskeeping staff is the number one reason behind this rule. So many temporary decorative items can end up falling into the grass around markers, and these items can easily get overlooked, caught up in mowers and trimmers, and turned into dangerous projectiles. Furthermore, it compromises the efficiency of groundskeepers’ work if they are constantly having to contend with obstructions such as trellises or statuettes or pinwheels or the like while keeping the cemetery groomed.”
Another concern is the type of decorations. During the Halloween season, some people set out some more “macabre” decorations. Charles Endorf, a member of the Fairbury Cemetery Association, told FJN, “I don’t have any problem with it, myself, but some people might think it’s in bad taste.
The association’s website states, “Since not everybody’s sense of style is compatible with everybody else’s, the Fairbury Cemetery Association board have no choice but to use their best judgment as arbiters of what is generally agreeable.”
