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Victoria Bradford and William Bradford tend to some family graves at the Madill Cemetery
Victoria Bradford and William Bradford tend to some family graves at the Madill Cemetery in 2017 (Doppler file photo)

Remember and reconnect at Huntsville’s annual Cemetery Decoration Day on July 15

By A Sponsored Profile, Community

“It’s a great opportunity for families to reconnect with previous generations and share memories with a younger generation,” says Colleen MacDonald, the Town of Huntsville’s Manager of Parks and Cemeteries. She’s referring to the annual Cemetery Decoration Day, a community celebration which invites local residents to pay respect to loved ones, enjoy the fellowship of neighbours doing the same, or just to experience and explore the history of the area.

Now in its fourth year, the casual event is gaining popularity, as similar events have in other communities.

“In places where this is a long-standing event, it is very social,” notes MacDonald. “Just as we have neighbours and community where we live, we have neighbours and community at the cemeteries where past generations of our families are at rest.”

MacDonald remembers attending cemetery decoration days as a child and appreciated the opportunity to hear family stories and find the final resting place of her ancestors.

“I think it helps young people to make the connections on their family tree and learn about previous generations,” she says. “Eventually they will pass that information on to future generations.”

Members of some of Huntsville's earliest settler families are interred at the Madill Cemetery

Members of some of Huntsville’s earliest settler families are interred at the Madill Cemetery, including Captain George Hunt, our town’s namesake (Doppler file photo)

Local families often will attend church, go for lunch and then head to one of Huntsville’s cemeteries in the afternoon for Cemetery Decoration Day. Some will bring flowers or decorations to place on a grave, but that’s secondary in importance to just being there, says MacDonald.

If you want to visit the grave of a loved one but don’t know where it is, contact MacDonald in advance for help rather than randomly searching up and down the rows—Hutcheson Cemetery alone has more than 10,000 graves and the others are sizable as well. She can be reached at 705-789-1751 extension 2360 or at [email protected].

Cemetery Decoration Day takes place on Sunday, July 15 from 1-3 p.m. at Huntsville’s five active cemeteries:

  • Hutcheson Cemetery – 485 Muskoka Rd. 3
  • Ilfracombe Cemetery – 4101 Ravenscliffe Rd.
  • Locks Cemetery – 320 Brunel Rd.
  • Madill Church – 254 Old Muskoka Rd.
  • Stephenson Cemetery – 280 Muskoka Rd. 10

Decorations are a welcome but not required part of Huntsville’s Cemetery Decoration Day. More important is just being there. (Doppler file photo)

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