On Sunday, August 27, my sisters and I will be at the Mendota Community Center for the annual Mendota Cemetery Homecoming or just what we call “Homecoming.” Everyone is invited. You do not have to have a family member buried in the cemetery to come and enjoy a potluck dish and fellowship.

The Mendota Cemetery is beautiful and continues its more than 100 year tradition of never charging a local family in need.

However, we worry about “what’s next?” Homecoming was once well attended, but it’s dwindled in recent years as the families that are faithful to attend are now resting in this cemetery or another cemetery elsewhere. If you are reading this and live in Mendota, I hope you’ll come.

The cemetery is very well maintained. This is much in part to Gerald Booher, the president of the Mendota Cemetery Association. We typically have a fundraiser such as a quilt raffle and this raffle–and those who provide monetary gifts–ensures things stay looking nice. My favorite quilt from all of the quilts we’ve raffled was the one below. It was won by Diane Salyer, and that is her parents Wave and Don Fleenor standing in front of the quilt.