The Cemetery Trustees, Ruth Hammen, Fred Shaw and Brenda Boswak met on May 4, 2026 @ 9:30 a.m. at the Historical Society building.
OLD BUSINESS
Lane Hodgkin, Hodgkin’s Painting & Maintenance finished Spring cleanup in the cemeteries. Lane had a negative encounter with the property owner abutting Sanborn-Smith Cemetery on Swiggey Brook Road but was able to complete his work.
Ian Berkeley has cleaned up all the debris from a tree that fell from his property into Leavitt Cemetery. He has agreed to schedule and pay for the repairs to the chain-link fence. Chellis Call’s gravestone is slightly tipped from the tree landing close to it.
Ruthie shared her experience and information received from attending the New Hampshire Cemetery Association Spring seminar on April 7, 2026. There is a bill (HB1457) working its way through the NH House pertaining to legalizing the Natural Organic Reduction process of human remains. We will stay up to date on this action.
Brenda has scheduled with a Boy Scout troop to assist with placing flags on veterans’ gravesites on May 16 @ 1:00 beginning at Pineground Cemetery. We have purchased Betsy Ross design flags for placement on the Revolutionary War veterans’ gravesites in honor of the nation’s 250th birthday. Ruthie and Brenda will place these flags.
We were contacted by Perry Bros. to verify location of the Kathy Welch lot in Pineground Cemetery for a monument installation.
Brenda contacted the Town Administrator for authorization from the Select Board to proceed with scheduling gravestone repairs. The Board authorized proceeding, with restorations, with the condition that the vendor acknowledge payment of invoices will be after June 30, 2026. Brenda emailed NH Monuments to proceed with scheduling gravestone restorations for this season.
No progress on the bidding process for the removal of trees in the cemeteries. We will ask for an update at Department Heads meeting tomorrow night.
We contacted the Town Treasurer about a discrepancy we found in the 2025 Cemetery General Expense spreadsheet. No response from the Treasurer yet.
NEW BUSINESS It has come to the attention of the Cemetery Trustees that a trust was never created for Dede Hammond at the time of purchase of a burial lot in Row #3 lot #7 in Pineground Cemetery. We verified the Hammond check was deposited in the town’s bank account. Fred will submit the ‘sale of lot receipt’ and verification of deposit with the town to the Trustees of the Trust Fund to create a trust.
We revised the ‘Right to Inter’ contract to include the number of interments allowed on a lot, per ‘Cemetery Rules & Regulations’.
The Cemetery Trustees have requested the Select Board to appoint Gloria Beachy and Peter Hammen as Cemetery Trustee Alternates for a one-year term.
Brenda will attend the Department Heads Meeting tomorrow night, May 5, 2026.
The meeting was adjourned at 12:25 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Brenda Boswak, Cemetery Trustee, Secretary