News From Vale

Memorial Geraniums Available

Since 1866 we have honored the memories of our loved ones who have served in all the wars and most especially, those who made the ultimate sacrifice to our country. It is also a time to remember departed friends and family.

Again this year, Vale is offering to plant potted red geraniums (three plants per pot) on specified graves, which will last through the summer. The first pot purchase is $35 and each additional pot is $25. The price includes the planting and careful maintenance of the entire plot. Two or more pots are recommended.

For more information or to purchase pots, you can download an order form or contact the Vale office at: (518) 346-0423.

05/08/2013

Vale Going Green

Metroland recently published an article highlighting Vales commitment to green burials. From the article:

In June of this year, Schenectady’s historic—and nondenominational—Vale Cemetery will offer the second green burial option in the area. Though Vale opened in 1857, there is enough space on its rambling, bucolic grounds to accommodate new burials for a couple of centuries. (Vale currently buries between 30 and 50 people per year, and averages 100 cremated remains per month.) And a beautiful dell on the property is being turned into a meadow for green burials.

04/25/2013

Become a VIP

You can become a VIP (Vale Important Patron) with a membership in Vale Patrons.

You will receive:

Two newsletters a year
Free tickets for all public tours
Notice of Vale Cemetery Board meetings

Membership levels and fees:

Individual – $25
Family – $50
Supporting – $150
Benefactor – $1000

Contact Vale’s office for details at 346-0423.

04/18/2013

"Transition Network" Gardening in Vale

The "Transition Network" will garden in Vale for four years, Roots & Wisdom, a program about growing produce and teaching inner-city youths about agriculture and nutrition, maintained a large garden plot in Vale. However, the program was downsized due to decreased financial support, which now leaves some space for other gardening projects.

Schenectady Transitions Network, a group concerned with organic farming and self -sufficiency through locally grown food, is now using some of that growing space.

Winter wheat was planted and in the spring vegetables will be planted. Excess produce will go to the Farmers’ Market and Food Pantry.

For details about Transitions, visit http://transitionnetwork.org.

12/12/2012

Vale Cemetery Named to National Park Service List

The National Park Service’s Underground Railroad Network to Freedom has announced that Vale Cemetery will be included in its historic itinerary. Vale is the resting place of Moses Viney, a runaway slave from Maryland who became Union College President Eliphalet Nott’s chauffeur and confidant.

Upon Nott’s death, Viney received a bequest from Nott that enabled him to establish a livery business and subsequently became a highly respected businessman in the community. In addition to Viney, Richard P.G. Wright, a documented Underground Railroad agent, is also interred in Vale as are abolitionists, Rev. Isaac Groot Duryea, John Wendell, and Francis Dana.

Erica Fugger, a Union College student intern, researched Vale Cemetery’s application to the National Park Service.

Inclusion on the Park Services’ list of recognized sites is expected to increase tourist and Underground Railroad scholars’ visits to Vale and should enhance Vale’s chances of qualifying for future historical grants.

12/01/2012

Bike Paths Improve Stockadathon Course

Thanks to financial support from the Hudson Mohawk Road Runners, Fenimore Asset Management Foundation, and Metroplex, Phase II of the Urban Loop Bike Path in Vale was completed in October. An additional stretch was paved along Millionaires’ Row and the Social Service section.

This will allow the hundreds of Stockadathon runners to enter Vale Park at Nott Terrace and exit Vale Cemetery at Brandywine Avenue. Moving the race from State Street reduces the need for additional police at several intersections and decreases traffic patterns that negatively impact church attendance along the course (note: The run is usually held on Sundays). Many Stockadathon runners lauded these improvements to the course.

The Stockadathon is one of the older 15k running events on the East Coast and draws entrants from a wide geographic area.

The Bike Path Downtown Loop enters Vale Park at the Nott Terrace gate after coming up Franklin Street. Passing through Vale Park, it enters the cemetery near the Green Burial area, wending along the road past Millionaires’ Row and the Social Service area, exiting via Brandywine Avenue, continuing up Brandywine to Bradley Boulevard and into Central Park.

06/28/2012