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Continued from page 37 Other executive members included Secre- tary R.H. Tomlinson and Treasurer Mark Currie. They created a company with members required to purchase shares at $5.00 each. The sale of shares raised $535 enabling the committee to buy from Abner Hurd an eight acre parcel contain- ing all of the burial sites and spend $300 to have the cemetery fenced. At their first meeting the board also decided to name it the Ontario Pine Grove Cemetery, but today it is more familiarly known simply as Pine Grove Cemetery. Initially, homes and shops stood along the west side of the cemetery, which is the east side of Jeffrey Street. It should be noted that today’s Jeffrey Street was originally called Queen Street. This was changed when the residents of Queen Street in Prince Albert had their addresses confused with those on Queen. Street in Port Perry. The original Hurd cemetery was expanded in 1890 and again in 1915 to in- clude all of these Jeffrey Street properties. In 1890 the board purchased a further four acres from John Jury and in 1915 the Luke property for $800.00. At the north-east end of the property is the “Paupers’ section reserved for those who could not afford to buy a plot or a headstone. A casual walk around the cemetery will reveal that in 1875 and 1876, almost a hundred burials took place in Pine Grove, twice the normal number for any compa- rable period. This was due to a typhoid epidemic which took its toll across the country. Prior to the mid twentieth century, diseases such as typhoid fever and respiratory ailments such as T.B. and influenza were deadly. Particularly viru- lent outbreaks of typhoid fever occurred in the mid 1860s and mid 1870s and a strong influenza virus appeared in 1881. Unfortunately, the most vulnerable to these diseases were the infants and the elderly. Three monuments typify the outcome of these epidemics. 1. The Forman monument, a tall grey needle-like monument which lies against the south fence tells us that Thomas Forman, the chairman of the cemetery board, lost his wife Marga- ret in April 1863, his 15-month-old daughter Janet in April 1864 and his nine-year-old daughter Annie in August 1865. Forman married Eleanor Taylor but she lost their first child, an infant son in July 1866. 2. One of the most poignant monu- ments in the cemetery reads simply: “James Moon, 1819-1896, Catherine Mark his wife, 1830-1916 and nine in- fant children.” Research in the Scugog Museum Archives reveals that on July 20, 1876 their daughter Sarah died of typhoid fever. In September that year, their daughter Susan died and exactly a week later their daughter Maria suc- cumbed to the epidemic. James’ brother, William Moon of Seagrave lost his daughter Susan, also in September 1876. The monument to the Moon family is a simple low, red granite slab a few me- tres north of the south entrance on the right hand side of the driveway. 3. The Robinson monument at the south east corner of the cemetery reflects the tragedies of the 1881 influ- enza epidemic. George and Elizabeth Robinson celebrated the first birthday of their son on June 6, 1881. A week later he died. Less than a week afterwards, their two-year-old daughter Florence Maude also succumbed to the epidemic and then George's 59-year-old mother Mary died in October from the same disease. Only four years later George and Elizabeth's 3-year-old son died and two years later they lost their three-day- old infant son Norman. George lived for only another two years after the last tragedy. He died in 1889, no doubt from a broken heart. Elizabeth lived for 52 years as a widow. Part Two of Pine Grove Cemetery will appear in next month’s issue of Focus on Scugog. Pine Grove cemetery walk reveals secrets of ancestors Local historian Paul Arculus, will share his wisdom and humour dur- ing a guided walking tour of Pine Grove Cemetery later this month. Organized by the Lake Scugog Historical Society this popular tour will take place on Wednesday, September 14. The walk will begin at the south end of the cem- etery, the oldest section. Graves of the rich and poor, the famous and the humble will be covered in the walk. The stories revealed in this beautiful cemetery range from the tragic and heartrending to the mysterious. There are even some humourous tales to be told. The walk begins at 6:30 p.m. and lasts about. an hour and a half. There is no charge for the tour but a collection for the Lake Scugog Historical Society will take place at the conclusion of the walk. Everyone is invited and reminded to bring an umbrella in case of rain. FOCUS - SEPTEMBER 2011 43