There have been several different Dayton Cemetery Associations over the years since the first burial in 1835, The current group was organized in 1956, with the object of cleaning up the cemetery, which had been allowed to go wild, and building a fund for providing on-going maintenance and support.
The first job was to mow the tall weeds.
Cleaned around the stones and trimmed branches
The annual meeting of the Association is held on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, and for many years met at the home of Grace and Charles Clifford, in Dayton.
Mabel Myers, Sandra Dunavan, and the 10th anniversary cake – 1966
As the years went by, the group grew larger.
1980 – taken on the Clifford lawn
In 1996 Secretary Carrie Ann Green searched through the minutes and created a timeline of the organization up to that point. The timeline and the program Carrie gave in 1996, can be seen here.
Every year the meeting concluded with a historical program, frequently a story of families buried in the cemetery. More of the old programs will be added to this site as I get around to it.
In 2000, after the Cliffords moved from Dayton to Ottawa, the annual meetings were held at Skydive Chicago. The traditional potluck meal and the historical program following the business meeting carried on the traditions, regardless of location.
2007 – We had to draft someone from the skydivers to take our picture.
In 2014 we worked with John Heider, a professional cemetery restoration expert. That year we restored 20 stones and the following year he came back and we did another 30 or so.
In 2020 Covid changed everything and we went to Zoom for meetings (though not for the pot-luck meals). In 2024 we are returning to Skydive Chicago and a more normal existence.
A view to the west
Dayton and the Greens 
Thank you for sharing the timeline and program that I had prepared and presented in 1996. It helped me to recall my excitement in studying the past minutes from our previous secretaries, several that I had not known in life, but who became distinct personalities to me from reading their careful note taking; the minutes that they wrote; and the annual meeting invitations that they had sent. The board secretary position came with a big, heavy, tattered cardboard box of files and it was a labor of love to go through these and assemble this overview of the first 100 years of the Dayton Cemetery’s management. Here’s to another 100 years!
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Dear Anonymous, I’m looking for contact information for the Dayton Cemetery Association, and looking for a copy of The Story of John Green By Dorothy V. Masters May 28, 1972 (Given to The Dayton Cemetery Association). I found this information on Find-A-Grave. If you wish to share information please email me at 2PurplePixie@gmail.com
Thank you for your time
Pat Schwartz, Plano, IL
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