There have been a few references found that
referred to this cemetery as Cherry Hill Cemetery. Today it
is not known how this name was originated. However, Lyle Heiss
states that his father, Ivan, told him about an area of ground
south of the tall cottonwood tree that still stands west of
the cemetery. Ivan stated that this was a possible area for
early graves. It was a small circular area containing shrubs
or bushes. It is possible that this area was a site where early
settlers found and gathered sand cherries. This could have been
the area that was named Cherry Hill and the name carried over
to the present cemetery.
It is interesting to note that the Page Cemetery
was started in 1892 but not officially organized until 1904.
In 1892 the organizers of the cemetery formed a board and kept
records of their proceedings. We still have those records today.
But, it is interesting to note that in 1923 at one of the board
meetings, mentioned later in this writing, that the board is
stating that early records of the cemetery may have been lost
or misplaced. Today, we think that what could have been lost
was the early records of the board proceedings and attempts
to legally identify the cemetery. (See
appendix E)
Today, we know that the Village of Page was
officially incorporated in 1904. This means that Page was officially
registered as a municipality and set forth the rules and regulations
that were required of this registration. It is not coincidental
that the cemetery also was officially registered at this time
and became a legal association. Obviously, Holt County or the
State of Nebraska was urging or requiring all potential legal
entities to be legally organized. Both the Cemetery and the
Village of Page had been operating as unofficial legal entities
prior to 1904. From 1904 on, the Page Cemetery and the Village
of Page were both recognized as legal institutions. (See
appendix J)
It should be mentioned that the original cemetery
boards had the authority to “lay out” a cemetery
however they wanted. There was no law that stated which way
the graves must be placed or which way they faced. We assume
that the members of the Page Cemetery Board were following “tradition”
they had learned from their earlier places of residence when
they plotted our cemetery. Most cemeteries in the United States
are laid out similar to our cemetery at Page. However, Bob Berg
and Ron Grenze at Biglin’s mortuary in O’Neill tell
us that they have seen cemeteries whose graves are plotted in
a circular fashion throughout the cemetery.
