Memorial Day 2023

When Riverside Cemetery opened in 1876, Denver was a young city hoping to appear civilized by dedicating a park-like setting to remember its dead. In 1876, Decoration Day was also a relatively new observance, created to honor soldiers killed during the Civil War. After World War I, the holiday included American military personnel from all wars and gradually was referred to as Memorial Day.

Today, Riverside Cemetery is home to over 1,200 Civil War veterans, both Union and Confederate, who came to Colorado after the war to seek their fortunes in the gold fields, homestead, ranch or farm. Others found work on the railroads, as storekeepers, tradesmen, lawmen, politicians and preachers. Block 27, the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) Block, is the location of the majority of Union soldiers buried at Riverside. 

By the time Globeville was incorporated in 1891, its citizens were familiar with death and dying. Men lost their lives in accidents in the area's smelters, foundries, and railroads; children succumbed to diphtheria, typhoid, measles and women died in childbirth. Families would gather on Memorial Day to plant flowers, clean the graves, have a picnic lunch and share stories of their relatives buried there. Services at Riverside Cemetery might also include military bands, religious ceremonies and speeches.

Lydia Gerhardt Heck was born in 1906 and fondly recalled, "Years ago when we were kids, on Memorial Day (which we called Decoration Day), we'd take our lunch and go over to Riverside Cemetery. A lot of our family - my folks and my husband's folks - are buried there. We young folks would hear stories about our relatives - it was like a family reunion."

Memorial Day has come to mean the official start of summer with backyard barbeques, outdoor activities and three days off from school or work. But before heading into a busy season, families might want to schedule an outing to honor and celebrate those who came before us.

There will be a FREE history tour of Riverside Cemetery on Sunday, May 21st, from 10:00 am
to 11:30 am. Historian Ray Thal will be your guide with entertaining stories.
5210 Brighton Boulevard  •  Denver, CO 80216
https://fairmountfuneralhome.com/riverside-cemetery/

Veterans stand together at Riverside Cemetery

New entrance to Riverside Cemetery

Decoration Day

Memorial Day has come to mean the official start of summer season with backyard barbeques, outdoor activities and three days off from work and school. But for many Globeville families, churches and fraternal orders, the day was once centered around family, ceremony, honor and remembering the dead. Lydia Heck recalled, "Years ago when we were kids, on Memorial Day — and they didn’t call it Memorial Day — they called it Decoration Day — we would take our lunch and go over to Riverside Cemetery. A lot of our family, my folks and my husband's folks, are buried there." Lydia's sister, Pauline Rodie continued, "It was like a family reunion. People would gather, pray, reminisce, clean the graves and plant flowers. We young folks would hear stories about our ancestors. It was real nice."  The day might also include military bands, orators and political speeches in ceremonies honoring the many servicemen interred at Riverside.  

Many of Globeville's Catholic families would visit their relatives at Mt. Olivet Cemetery. June Jackson remembers going with her father and the Knights of Columbus. "While they were praying, I would walk around the monuments and gravestones. Then we would visit our family members and lay wreaths on the graves. It's what people did those days." 
Before heading into a busy summer filled with activities, families might schedule an outing that included a visit with and reminiscences about those who came before us.

Family members are still remembered at Riverside Cemetery

Riverside Cemetery

Mt Olivet Cemetery

Memorial Day 2012

The rumble of freight trains and trucks is constant and the smell of diesel and the nearby refineries competes with that of the native flowers. But when Riverside Cemetery opened in 1876, Denver was a young city hoping to appear civilized by dedicating a park-like setting to remember its dead. In 1876, Decoration Day was also a relatively new observance, created to honor soldiers killed during the Civil War. 
Today, Riverside Cemetery is home to over 1,200 Civil War veterans, both Union and Confederate, who came to Colorado after the war to seek their fortunes in the gold fields, homestead, ranch or farm. Others found work on the railroads, as storekeepers, tradesmen, lawmen, politicians and preachers. Block 27, the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) Block, is the location of the majority of Union soldiers buried at Riverside. 
The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization open to all men who had honorably served in the Union Army or Navy, regardless of race. The motto of the GAR was "Fraternity, Charity and Loyalty" and the organization lived up to its ideals, with members looking out for former soldiers in the area. A needy veteran and his family might find a box of groceries or a load of coal on their doorstep. The fraternal was instrumental in obtaining increased government pensions, the creation of federal and state veterans' homes and government-supplied headstones. In Denver, any veteran who was financially unable to afford a funeral was given one paid for by the post.
As the veterans of the Civil War passed away, the GAR also faded into history. There are many ways to hear their stories at Riverside Cemetery, including several self-guided tours and booklets.
(Information about the GAR can be found in a booklet by Raymond C. Thal "The Civil War at Riverside" available from the visitor's center at Riverside, open Thursday and the 1st Wednesday of each month from 10:am to 3:00 pm. 5201 Brighton Blvd. Denver, CO 80216    303-293-2466) 
http://fairmountheritagefoundation.org/

Decoration Day 2012

Riverside Cemetery

1876. The United States would celebrate its first centennial, Colorado would achieve statehood and Denver would begin to evolve from a rough mining camp to a respectable city. The stability was an incentive for business and families to put down roots and create permanent institutions: churches, schools and cemeteries. 1876 was a fitting year for the founding of Riverside Cemetery.
Globeville would evolve as well, from an area populated with prospectors and homesteaders to an industrial hub with smelters, railroads and meat packing plants, incorporating as a town in July, 1891. Many of Globeville's early settlers are buried at nearby Riverside Cemetery, in the company of mayors, Colorado governors, moguls, madams and military veterans. You can visit the well known and the humble at this historic and park-like burial ground. 
Riverside Cemetery will celebrate its 135th anniversary this Saturday, October 1, from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm with free history displays, vintage baseball and historic tours. For information, see 
http://fairmountheritagefoundation.org

Top photo by Mary Lou Egan: office, chapel and crematorium
Bottom photo by Mary Lou Egan: chapel