By Michael Pineda
Staff Writer
At Frisco Cemetery, the Memorial Day weekend not only serves an opportunity to honor those who served, it is a homecoming.
Volunteers visited the Frisco Cemetery Saturday morning to place flags on the graves of servicemen. Sunday, a potluck lunch was held at the cemetery pavilion.
The cemetery itself dates back to the 1800s. The graves include 24 members of the Union Grand Army of the Republic from the Civil War. Among the volunteers working Saturday were Jean Kyle and Pat McDaniel, whose great-grandfathers, George Griffin and Dr. John Jones, served in the Union army and are buried in the cemetery.
Each of the members who fought in the Grand Army were specially designated.
The Griffin family donated two of the five acres that make up the cemetery. Kyle said she joined the Frisco Cemetery board in 1997 and has served as the secretary ever since.
“We have the picnic and that has been going on for years,” she said. “The women had a club up until 10 years ago. We only meet now to organize this part. We used to meet every month and do things.
“All I can say is this is a place of love,” Kyle said.
There was originally a cemetery in Frisco but it was moved due to flooding issues, McDaniel said.
“There is a guy that worked all day marking it off and that evening he died,” Kyle said. “He is here somewhere but we don’t know where.”
The Memorial Day weekend kicked off with a meeting Friday. It was followed by the placement of flags on the graves of those that served, with the potluck picnic held Sunday.
“We don’t get as many old ones now as we used to,” Kyle said. “But it’s a pretty good crowd that comes. The food is good.”
McDaniel said the cemetery has expanded beyond the families that lived in the area over a hundred years ago.
“A lot of people that live in the additions around here have bought plots, and they are some of our good workers,” she said. “They want to be close to their families.”
