Newly installed archway at Mount Bloom Cemetery to be dedicated Aug. 5

The Friends of Mount Bloom invites the public to attend a ceremony to celebrate the new entrance and archway on the north side of the Mount Bloom Cemetery at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 5, located on 1000 N. Ave. West of Tiskilwa.

This event marks the final major project of the group that formed in 2008. The brief ceremony will recognize the many volunteers who made the final phase of the group’s mission come to fruition.

The group formed after an old pine free crashed down on a “Waiting Room” on the south side of the cemetery in 2008. When cemetery trustees determined that it couldn’t be save, the group of volunteers formed to take action.

By raising money through private donations, the group has since completed several projects including replacing the central structure with a gazebo, repairing the 1915 steps that climb the hill on its east border, recreating the stairway entrance that had been given away during a scrap metal drive in WWII, designed interpretive signs of all areas and finally creating a new entrance arch on the north side, which had never before been identified as part of Mount Bloom.

Last fall the brick columns were constructed by Alvaro Cadena and over the winter Doc and Tom Schertz donated the labor to craft a new arch matching the metalwork on the south entrance.

The new structure was officially installed on May 15 by local volunteers.

Now the Friends of the Mount Bloom is asking for public support by attending the dedication and to also consider a donation to cover final expenses.

The Tiskilwa Historical Society has served as the financial agent for the group since 2008.

A check can be made out to Tiskilwa Historical Society, Box 87, Tiskilwa, IL 61368 with “Friends of Mt. Bloom” on the memo line.