Winter Blow Down Event – During the winter of 2022, our Cemetery lost its “SOUND-VEW CEMETERY” sign in a strong westerly wind that toppled the sign and posts down to the ground. The option of repairing the sign was deemed not practical due to rotted and soft wood and the effect of many years of weathering on the letters and backboard. DAHP Grant Program – Fortunately, the State of Washington, through its Department of Archeological and Historical Preservation (DAHP), has biennial grant funds available for Heritage Barns, Historic Theaters and Historic Cemeteries.
Grant Qualification – Historic Cemeteries must be old, of significant cultural and functional significance to the community, include graves of military veterans, and be well operated and maintained. Further, the Grant program emphasizes preservation of historic style. Sound-View Cemetery met the required qualifications by virtue of being one and a quarter centuries old; it was one of the first community assets to be established by settlers who initiated the culture of caring for each other in the community; it has been in continuous use reaching 409 burials to date and having nearly daily visitations; it is honored to be the final resting place of 90 veterans of the U.S. military including all branches – Army, Army Air Corp., Air Force, Marines, Navy, Coast Guard, Merchant Marine and Women’s Auxiliary; these veterans served in military conflicts including World War I, World War II, Korea, and Vietnam; it has been under continuous operational oversight and maintenance by a volunteer Cemetery Committee since 1938; and the reconstruction of the new sign was designed to be, as close as possible, an exact replica of the original sign in shape, color and style.
Grant Proposal Development – Grant requests are required to meet the qualification criteria, and to provide an improvement to the Cemetery. In our case, not only was the sign in poor condition, but it was located far back from the road making it difficult for people unfamiliar with the island to locate it easily. We were able to demonstrate the value of replacing the sign with one made of weather resistant materials for longevity and ease of maintenance, as well as placement of the sign at the front of the Cemetery adjacent to East Marrowstone Road for improved visibility.
Grant applications – Needed to show competitive bidding for work to be completed and justification for the materials and approach to be employed. A Request for Proposal was made available to more than a dozen firms expressing interest in the project. Two firms were selected, Edensaw Woods LTD to create the new sign using their large-scale computerized routing equipment (CNC) and Mallett Construction to build the sign support structure. Materials were selected for weather durability and ease of maintenance. Fir posts and beam to be treated with Shou Sugi Ban flame treatment for water resistance. Marine grade materials for the sign to be RichLite and King StarBoard polymers. Lettering to be recessed into the backboard and digitized to exactly match original lettering style, size and shape. Both firms selected have significant experience for their respective parts.
Grant Award – Notice of the Grant Award was received late last year and came with several standard conditions to ensure public monies are efficiently and properly spent. All contractor invoices to be paid by the Grant Recipient as work is completed with reimbursement from DAHP in the exact amount of expenditures upon successful completion of the project. A lien to be filed with Jefferson County to ensure repayment to the State in the event the improvement funded by the project fails to be maintained for a minimum of ten years.
Project Completion – Both contractors performed admirably, and the resulting replacement Sound-View Cemetery sign is a very pleasing replica of the original. After the final Project Completion Report is accepted by DAHP, a public celebration recognizing the Grant funding source and the successful completion of the project is to be held with the community, local media and public officials invited. Our celebration is tentatively scheduled for November 20 at Sound-View Cemetery.
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The Sound View Cemetery procedures file and the list of committee members were revised in May 2024.
Click here to view or download a copy of the procedures file.
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| Cynthia Rowe | (360) 941-4172 | Chair |
| Lisa Freiss | (425) 417-4194 | Secretary |
| Bruce Carlson | (360) 385-1756 | Member |
| Treasurer | (360) 385-1481 | Member |
| Linda Patterson | (360) 385-4608 | Member |
| Pat Patterson | (360) 385-4608 | Member |
| Tim Tibbals | (208) 301-1631 | Member |