Wreaths For Evergreen!

Evergreen Heritage has honored our nation's military heritage for over 20 years. These events include historic walking tours, presentations and our annual Memorial Day Commemoration.

 In 2017, Evergreen Heritage introduced Wreaths Across America a community event honoring our veterans and first responders.

The fundraising aspect of the Wreaths Across America program is equally significant. Five dollars from each wreath purchased goes back to the nonprofit that sells the wreaths. In the past, several individual groups have raised substantial amounts for their specific causes, without any financial benefit for Evergreen Cemetery.

It's vital to understand that even though both cemeteries are city owned and operated, there is no city funding available for restoration projects. These cemeteries are enterprises, meaning they must be self-sufficient. To put this into perspective, other enterprises in Colorado Springs, such as the Pikes Peak Highway and Patty Jewitt Golf Course, have recurring revenue streams, which the cemetery lacks.

To undertake our restoration projects successfully, we need the financial support of our community through participation in our fundraising events. Our handful of dedicated volunteers cannot achieve this goal on our own; we need the entire community to join us in preserving our history.

Starting in December 2023, funding from wreaths purchased through Evergreen Cemetery Benevolent Society (Evergreen Heritage) will mark the beginning of the financial journey toward restoring the Evergreen Chapel. Our goal is to secure the necessary funds to commence the restoration within the next two years as we embark on the celebration of the 150th Anniversary of Colorado Statehood and the 250th Anniversary of the United States.

We warmly invite you to join us in supporting Evergreen Heritage/Evergreen Cemetery Benevolent Society, an organization that serves our entire community and strives to honor the memory of those who have served our nation. Your support is crucial in helping us achieve our mission.

Click the link below!

Purchase Wreaths For Evergreen Cemetery

Frank Maynard--Cowboy, Poet and Author

 

Frank H Maynard, Block 77

Cowboy, Carpenter, Poet, and Author

Francis Henry Maynard, known as Frank Maynard was an old-time cowboy of the American West who claimed authorship of the revised version of the well-known ballad, "The Streets of Laredo". After a decade of roaming the West, Maynard settled down in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Yet, his interest remained in reminiscences of his time as a cowboy and the desire to tell his special story for posterity.

Maynard was born in Iowa City in Johnson County in eastern Iowa, the second of five children of Horace Maynard and Georgiana Maynard. At the age of sixteen, Maynard left home to look for adventure, first along the Platte River. He lived for a time in Towanda in Butler County, Kansas. The other Maynard family members soon moved to Butler County, and for a time young Maynard and his father hauled freight from Emporia to Wichita, Kansas. In 1870, Maynard went on his first buffalo hunt in Kingman County, Kansas.

In the spring of 1872 at the age of eighteen, Maynard was "officially" a cowboy, a livelihood that he maintained until his marriage in 1881. In the spring and summer of 1872, he helped to drive a herd of horses, which had been wintered in Kansas to Jacksboro in Jack County in north central Texas. On the return to Kansas, he joined other drovers on a cattle drive.

After nine years as a cowboy, Maynard married and began work as a carpenter. He joined the Pikes Peak Chapter of the Modern Woodmen of America and was the treasurer of the organization by 1890. He became a partner in a speculative venture, the Buckeye Gold Mining and Milling Company located near Cripple Creek, Colorado.

Maynard began writing articles and poems about his western experience, particularly by 1911. He put new words to what became "Cowboy's Lament" as early as 1876. Maynard sang one of his poems over the grave of his friend, Ed Masterson, Marshal of Dodge City and brother of Bat Masterson. Marshal Ed Masterson was killed in a gunfight on April 9, 1878, in Dodge City, Kansas. Maynard wrote the author Jack London, who urged him to write short articles for magazines before trying to produce a book-length manuscript of Maynard's days in the Old West. In 1911, Maynard produced Rhymes of the Range and Trail, copyrighted and self-published, probably in few copies.

Maynard left a memoir that was discovered, edited, and published in 2010 under the title Cowboy's Lament: A Life on the Open Range, by Jim Hoy. In his memoir, Maynard relates about many events of the West, including stampedes, grasshopper pestilences, how to kill buffalo with a single shot, white outlaws posing as Indians, instances of genuine friendship on the plains, mistaken hangings, and his acquaintance with prominent western figures, such as Bill Tilghman, Wyatt Earp, and Buffalo Bill Cody.

Maynard was ill for much of the last year of his life, apparently a victim of cardiovascular disease and other ailments. The Maynard's are interred at Evergreen Cemetery in Colorado Springs.

Most of the information for this article is from Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_H._Maynard

Evergreen Heritage Story Boards Are Back!

We are thrilled to announce that our story boards have been revived, bringing to life the captivating history of some of the remarkable individuals laid to rest at Evergreen Cemetery. Our current collection of story boards shines a spotlight on the inspiring stories of the veterans buried here, showcasing their courage and sacrifice. But this is just the beginning! Stay tuned as we continue to unveil new stories, each one a testament to the extraordinary lives that have shaped our community. Join us in this journey of remembering these amazing heroes.

Memorial Day Commemoration

 

**Memorial Day Event**

Monday, May 29th at 10am-12pm

Evergreen Cemetery

Free Admission

10am: At the Evergreen Chapel, come enjoy Ford's Independent Company, a Civil War Historic Display. Also If you’ve never seen the inside of our incredible chapel that was built in 1909, now‘s your chance! Even the basement!

11am: The 10th US Cavalry Buffalo Soldiers Commemoration. Visitors can walk a short distance from the Evergreen Chapel to a nearby section to watch the Buffalo Soldiers post the colors.

11:30am: The event concludes back at the chapel with light refreshments.

Hope to see you there to help us honor the men and women who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms.

Evergreen Cemetery Self Guided Walking Tour

 Visit Our New Self Guided Walking Tour! Click the link and begin your journey thru history.