- Cemetery Hours Are From Sun Up To Sun Down.
- The Cemetery Is ‘seasonal’, And Will Be Closed To Vehicle Traffic During Winter Months. The Cemetery Will Open When Weather Conditions Dictate.
- All Winter Decorations Must Be Removed By April 1st.
- Interments Allowed Per Grave: 1 Casketed Burial Or 1 Casketed Burial + 3 Cremains Or Up To 4 Cremains. Ash Section – 2 Cremains
ALL THE FOLLOWING ARE PROHIBITED:
- Stones & Or Wood Chips Around Monument
- Metal, Plastic Or Glass Containers With Flowers
- Planting Rose Bushes, Shrubs Or Trees
- Planting Flowers More Than 18 Inches On East Side Of Monument
- Fencing Or Other Objects
- Alcoholic Beverages
- Speeds Exceeding 5 Mph
GRAVE DECORATING FLAGS IN CEMETERIES – AS REPORTED FROM NYS DIVISION OF CEMETERIES
Several times a year, just prior to national holidays, civic, military or veteran’s groups place inexpensive, cotton flags on the graves of veterans and patriots. Rarely do these groups return to remove them. Asking them to do so could imperil the decoration of graves in future years.
On these holidays it is moving to see our symbols of freedom fluttering in unison. However, several days later it is not uncommon to observe these flags wet, tattered or scattered throughout the cemetery, laying on the earth and mud.
Common protocol requires that the American flag be displayed only during daylight hours unless illuminated. Common protocol requires that the American flag be displayed during inclement weather only if it is constructed of a weather- proof material. Common protocol requires that the flag never touch the earth. Yet, these etiquettes are inadvertently violated in most cemeteries throughout the nation.
Cemeteries have the dilemma of satisfying well-intentioned, but poorly informed, lot owners by allowing the American flags to be improperly exhibited, or removing them within an appropriate period to avoid desecration, risking the wrath of zealous and emotional Americans.
National Cemeteries allow for grave decorating flags only on Memorial Day.
National Cemetery Administration Directive 3220 prescribes policy related to displaying, handling, storage and disposition of flags in Veteran Administration National Cemeteries. This directive says, in part, that “graves may be decorated the weekend before Memorial Day and the flags should be removed shortly after Memorial Day. This will result in unilluminated flags in place during non-daylight hours; however, this is an authorized deviation from the flag code made necessary by logistics.”
The directive reminds that flags be treated with dignity and respect, and requires that unserviceable flags be disposed of appropriately (“in a dignified way, preferably by burning”) and that serviceable flags be stored in a dignified manner out of public view.
As cemeterians, you must walk the fine line between absolute American flag protocol and emotionalism. Written and conspicuously displayed rules regarding your flag policy would go a long way to educate your lot owners and help them understand that the protracted exhibition of the United States of America flag could result in its own desecration.