Volunteers Help Clean Up Old Greenriver Cemetery

Annalee Thayn

On June 29 a large group gathered at the Old Greenriver Cemetery. There was Boy Scout Troop #289, children from the Green River Community Center, and several young adults with Outward Bound from Moab. They all came to help pull weeds and make the cemetery beautiful.

Young adults from Outward Bound are involved in a number of fun field trips together, but they also do service as part of the experience when they travel. They had just come from doing a Deso Grey Canyon trip on the Green River. They called the Community Center to find out where they could be of service while they were in Green River. Joni Pace told them about the Old Greenriver Cemetery Clean Up that was going to be happening that day.

Joanne Ekker, the sextant of the cemetery, gathered the group together and told them that just like when they enter a church, when they enter a cemetery they should also be reverent and show respect because a cemetery is a peaceful place, where we are remembering special people.

She told us about walking through the cemetery and seeing an old board that she was about to throw away, when she noticed that there were some initials and a date on it. She realized that it must have been an old grave marker. So she cautioned the children to be careful about what they threw away because it could have important information on it.

She told how sad she was to see that just in the last week someone had ridden their four-wheeler through the cemetery over the gravestones. She told the children that you show respect for the people buried there, by walking around the headstones, even if it was just a piece of rock.

Joanne is still trying to figure out how many people are buried in the old Greenriver Cemetery and she appreciates any help that she receives. She has found information through newspapers, Presbyterian Church Records, old letters and talking to people or having people stop and tell her the name of someone who was buried in the cemetery. As of right now she has a list of 80 names of people who she believes are buried there, but not all of those 80 names have been confirmed. She is always looking for help and would love to hear from you. If you know of someone who is buried there, call Joanne Ekker at (435) 564-8137 or write her at P.O. Box 232 Green River, Utah 84525.

Please come visit Old Greenriver Cemetery and if you see a weed pull it out.

Let’s help keep this cemetery a place of honor and reverence for our ancestors.

Art Lovers Gather For Shirley Venus Day

Art lovers gathered at the John Wesley Powell River History Museum on June 30 for Shirley Venus Day, a benefit for the museum.

Shirley Venus, the wife of artist Joseph Venus, passed away last year from cancer and the day was set aside to honor her memory.

Joseph Venus, his daughter Shirley Spain and son, Joe Venus Jr., presented Venus’ painting Broken Oars to the museum during a special ceremony. Green River Mayor Ed Bentley accepted the painting on behalf of the museum.

“It’s been about a year since my mom passed away from brain cancer,” said Shirley Spain to an audience of art lovers and supporters of the Venus’. “My mom made my dad into the artist he is today and this is the last piece that they did together.”

In an emotional presentation, Joseph Venus presented the painting to Mayor Bentley, praising the community of Green River for its museum and gallery.

“You really have a jewel in the desert here. Don’t take it for granted. Thank you for all coming. Shirley and I spent a lot of time here. Green River is a special place,” he said.

During the all day event artists from throughout the area were available for visitors to ask questions about their craft.

A meal catered by Melon Vine Bakery and Deli kept everyone’s appetites in check and musical performers included the 9 Mile Players from Carbon County and flutist Arlo Johnson.

A limited edition print of Venus’ painting Sioux Courtship was raffled during the day. The print, number 900 of a 950 limited edition printing, was won by Frank Hiler of Pittsburgh, PA.

A number of other items were available for silent auction, including a basketball autographed by Utah Jazz Coach Jerry Sloan.

Museum Management Structure Changes
to Adjust to Demanding Workload

With the popularity and prestige of the John Wesley Powell River History Museum growing ever larger over the years and the success of the Green River Archives, the city of Green River recently reorganized the management of the museum and archives to provide for an increasing need for more personnel.

“We had one person trying to do everything and it is just too hard,” said Green River Mayor Ed Bentley.

Jo Anne Chandler, director of the Green River Archives, has worked for the archives for three years through a program administered by the Easter Seals. The program is designed as a training program with the intent that the individual would be hired on staff once trained.

As part of the new structure of the museum management Jo Anne has taken on the role as Museum, Exhibits and Archives Director. Annalee Thayn, who has served as Chandler’s unpaid assistant, was named Archives Assistant Director and hired to work 19 hours a week.

JoAnne Wetherington will manage both the Gift Shop at the museum and the Information Center, which will allow her to develop two areas of the museum that draw large numbers of visitors.
“It takes more than one person to do this,” Mayor Bentley said.

The Visitors Center was recently funded by the Emery County Travel Board to the tune of $7,500 a year to allow Wetherington a resource to pay her staff. The Visitor’s Center has proved a valuable resource to point tourists toward attractions in the Green River area.

“If we can hijack and stall a tourist for a little while longer that’s a great way to help the economy,” Mayor Bentley said.

The management team of Chandler, Wetherington and Thayn at the museum and archives will help position to museum for greater things in the future.

Chandler and Thayn working together in the Green River Archives have already been able to gather historical artifacts with energy and enthusiasm that is contagious. According to Chandler the two work well together because they play off each other’s strengths.

“The things that she hates I like and the things I hate she likes,” Chandler said.

With their new positions at the museum Chandler said they have things in store to make the museum even better in the near future, one of which is to add to the Hall of Fame, stating that it has been more than 10 years since anyone was added to the hall.

Community Center Youth Pitch in and get Involved

The Community Center/Boys and Girls Club of Green River is holding their annual summer school program. This years theme is School of Rock, where participants will learn about rocks (real rocks), rock and roll music and they will rock through the ages (learn about cultures in different time periods), learn safety, skills, and read.

One of the goals at the center is to help these kids improve their reading levels, and to keep them on track for the next school year. The youth who participate in this program have fun while learning.

Rocky Pace teaches them safety, skills, tricks and responsibility in the Center’s 6th Gear Skating Program, a tobacco awareness program developed through a partnership with the Utah State Department of Health. To participate in this program youth must have homework and school projects completed. The center stays in contact with parents and teachers at local schools to assure that the kids receive help targeted at their needs.

The Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice provided funding to purchase 20 skateboards and the Utah State Department of Health provided funding for helmets. Rocky along with Kollin Robertson, Elisao Trejo, and Logan Spadafora put these skateboards together and made sure they were ready to use.

The youth at the School of Rock also do a service project every Friday in conjunction with the Commission on Volunteers, Summer of service. They have cleaned the baseball diamonds at the city park, helped remove weeds at affordable housing, cleaned up weeds and refuse along main street, cleared weeds and cleaned up Elgin Park and many other projects are planned. After completing their service project, the youth enjoy water sports at the city park where Fire Chief Howard Burnet provides water for a water slide, and ice cream can be purchased from the chief for a cool tasty treat.