New sexton gets ready for Memorial Day

This year’s event, held Monday, May 30 from 11 a.m. to noon, will be hosted by American Legion Post 22. It takes place around the Walk of Honor; its border of small plaques identify each Hood River County veteran who has passed away.

The ceremony will highlight the experience of Nisei in America and Hood River in particular during World War II.

This will be Gaylord’s first Memorial Day as sexton, and he will be onsite to help people find graves and answer any questions they may have about the cemetery.

It’s a role he’s played numerous times since officially beginning as sexton in July 2021.

“I’ve had a couple of families stop in to find their great-grandfather and made it a family vacation to come out,” he said. He credited the “Find a Grave” website (www.findagrave.com) with helping those from out of town discover the cemetery.

Gaylord, who graduated from Hood River Valley High School in 1996, has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Oregon State University, as well as an associate certificate in paralegal studies; the latter is helpful in this new position because it involves a lot of recordkeeping, he said.

The cemetery keeps records of who is buried — and where — along with their dates of birth and death. There are backups of backups of these records, he said, so even if one set is lost due to unforeseen circumstances (like a fire), the information will not be lost.

“We have computer records and multiple copies of written records, so we know where each person is, even if there’s not a marker for them,” he said. “Sometimes, the husbands have markers but the wives do not.”

That’s something that has surprised him since taking over the position — just how many people are buried at the cemetery without gravestones or markers.

Besides recordkeeping, Gaylord also helps families order headstones. And many hours are devoted to landscaping.

He removes all glass containers when he finds them on gravesites. “It can break,” he explained. “We have plenty of temporary vases that can be used.”

He also wants to remind visitors to keep their dogs leashed at all times and pick up after them — both of which don’t always happen and can cause issues for other visiting families.

About 8,000 people are interned at Idlewilde, which became a cemetery in 1895 and, at that time, was located at the edge of town. The oldest grave, however, dates to 1877. Idlewilde also includes a pet cemetery.

About Memorial Day

Memorial Day, an American holiday, is celebrated on the last Monday of May and honors the men and women who have died while serving in the U.S. Military. It was originally known as Decoration Day, its origins dating back to the years following the Civil War; it became a federal holiday in 1971 (www.history.com).