Bankhead Cemetery

Monday, March 13, 2017

Decoration Day 2017

Announcing Decoration Day, Sunday, May 28, 2017, 10:30 AM to Noon with lunch following ("dinner on the grounds"). There will no no afternoon session this year. Please help us pass the word.

Sunday, May 22, 2016

Honoring ...

Today we presented a rose and memorial to each family who lost a loved one who was buried at Bankhead Cemetery since last year's memorial service:

Catherine Bailey
Ovie Blalock
Margie Coots
Mary Ann Jones
Sally McPherson
Hal Phillips
Bobbie Smith
Charlotte Smith
Donnie Smith
David Wright

Sunday, April 3, 2016

The Annual Bankhead Cemetery Decoration Day celebration will be May 22, 2016. Before Sunday, volunteers will clean up the cemetery, and many families will decorate graves the day before and the morning of the celebration.

The memorial service will begin inside the Chapel at 11:00 AM CST. The guest speaker of the morning will be The Rev. Dr. Don G. Brock.

Everyone is invited to bring a picnic lunch. Tables are provided. This is a great time of catching up with friends and family.

Lunch will be followed by a Business Meeting of the Bankhead Cemetery Association at 1:30 PM in the Chapel. The short business meeting and election of officers will be followed by an afternoon of singing by local singers and special guests Point of Honor.

It is a good and honorable thing to remember and memorialize family members who have gone on before us. Be a part of this great tradition.

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Decoration Day 2015

What we believe is the 75th annual Bankhead Cemetery Decoration Day celebration will be May 24, 2015. Many families will decorate graves the day before and morning of the celebration.

The service will begin inside the Chapel at 11:00 AM CST. It will begin with a presentation concerning the historic American Indian Trail Tree that stands in front of the Chapel. The guest speaker of the morning will be Rev. Dennis Chambers.

Everyone is invited to bring a picnic for Noon. Tables are provided. This is a great time of catching up with friends and family.

Lunch will be followed by a Business Meeting of the Bankhead Cemetery Association at 1:30 PM in the Chapel. The short business meeting and election of officers will be followed by an afternoon of singing by local singers and The Sharps from Fort Payne, AL.

It is a good and honorable thing to remember and memorialize family members who have gone on before us. Be a part of this great tradition.

Thursday, April 9, 2015

2015 Decoration Day

Decoration 2015 will be observed the fourth Sunday in May. That will be May 24, 2015. The public is invited. Please help us pass the word.

Prior to that day, we will be cleaning the cemetery and chapel. Many will add flowers to the graves of loved ones in memory of them.

11:00 AM - Morning Memorial Service
12:00 Noon - Lunch (Bring "Dinner on the Grounds") (Some outdoor picnic tables provided.)
1:30 PM - Bankhead Cemetery Association Business Meeting followed by Singing

Sunday, May 4, 2014

Bankhead Cemetery Association Looses Long-Standing Trustee

Mrs. Charlotte Jo (O’Rear) Carson (August 20, 1930 - April 30, 2014) left this life on Wednesday, April 30, 2014 following a brief illness. Her family served Bankhead Cemetery for three generations. Mrs. Carson had been a Trustee of the Bankhead Cemetery Association for many years.

Mrs. Carson is survived by her son: Tommy Carson (Gail) - Daughters: Janice Matthews (Charles), Lynn Hammon (Ronnie), and Cathy Carson - Brother: John O'Rear (Charlene) - 6 Grandchildren and 12 Great-Grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, Howard Carson, and her son Randy Carson.

The funeral was held Friday, May 2, 2014 at 2:00 PM at Burt Funeral Home in Valley Head. Burial was at her beloved Bankhead Cemetery. Rev. Ron Reynolds officiated.

The Trustees and Board of Directors of the Bankhead Cemetery Association express sincere gratitude for Mrs. Carson’s service over the years. She was dedicated to the preservation of the cemetery and annual events. She will be missed by everyone.

(Mrs. Carson's husband, Howard, served for many years a Program Chairman of Decoration Day.)

2014 Decoration Day

Fourth Sunday in May.
May 25, 2914
Service begins at 11:00 AM (CDST).
(Bring lunch.)
Singing in the afternoon.

11:00 AM - Morning Service
12:00 Noon - Lunch (Bring "Dinner on the Grounds") (Some outdoor picnic tables provided.)
1:30 PM - Business Meeting followed by Singing

Let's keep the tradition going. Bring your children and grandchildren.

Decoration Day

Memorial Day is an official holiday in most states of the United States. It was observed on May 30 until 1971, when for federal employees, the date was changed to the last Monday in May. With the exception of Louisiana, all states observing Memorial Day adopted the change. It is also known as Decoration Day.

The custom of placing flowers on the graves of the war began on May 5, 1866, in Waterloo, NY, and Waterloo has been recognized by Congress as the official birthplace of Memorial Day. In 1868, Gen. John A. Logan, then president of the Grand Army of the Republic, declared that May 30 would be a day to decorate with "flowers the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion."

After World War I the day was set aside to honor all of the American wars, and the custom was extended to pay homage to deceased relatives and friends, both military and civilian. The most solemn ceremony conducted on Memorial Day is the placing of a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns located in Arlington national Cemetery.

Some Southern states observe Confederate Memorial Day – April 26 in Georgia, the last Monday in April in Alabama and Mississippi, and May 10 in South Carolina. Alabama, Mississippi, and South Carolina do not observe the general holiday, and in Virginia the last Monday in May is called “Confederate Memorial Day." [From the Encyclopedia Americana, 1991 edition]

History of Mentone

The first Lookout Mountain settlers arrived shortly after the Cherokee Indian removal of 1838-1839. These pioneers had been too late for homesteading the good farmland in northwest Georgia. They now turned their attention to Lookout Mountain. With stubborn determination they put their axes to the grindstone and with a keen edge hacked their way through the mountain wilderness. They chopped logs and built primitive houses, cleared land for patch farming, and hunted the abundant wildlife for food. Among these early settlers were the families of Force, O’Rear, Crow, Jones, Smith, and Hammit.

For years not much changed in their lives. Times were hard. During the Civil War Federal troops were on the mountain. They dealt severely with the settlers taking their animals and meager stores of food. Still these hearty souls managed to survive and remain on their homesteads.

In the post Civil War era more affluent settlers arrived. Among these was the Mason family from Bellefountain, Iowa. They were great community workers and generous with their resources. John Mason and his son Edward were the founders of Mentone. John was instrumental in the opening of the Vernon Gap and the new road from Valley Head to Menlo, Georgia in 1882. John and Edward bought the hardware for the covered bridge and the community did the work. Edward gave money for a church and a school. They shared Moon Lake for community activities. Alice, daughter of John, named the town Mentone and gave the land for Bankhead Cemetery.

Mentone eventually became incorporated in 1936. Those opposed to incorporation feared losing their independence and higher taxes. The threat of becoming part of nearby towns convinced a majority to support incorporation.

Despite great progress in Mentone since its founding, the advice of John Mason still has a ring of truth. “Don’t come here expecting to make a fortune, but if your fortune is made, Mentone offers the good life.”

(Ernest H. Smith)