Page 10 - News On 7 May 2024

HAZZARD HISTORY NOTES

by Grant Ketcheson
REGINALD JOLLEY'S STORY...THE SEQUEL

In May 2021, the first history note from Hazzard's Cemetery appeared in the publication “News On Seven” and on the
Hazzard's Corners Church Facebook site. We told the sad story of Reginald Jolley, a fifteen-year-old boy from England,
who came to Canada with the British Young Migrants Program. In early spring 1931, Reg landed in Quebec City and, after
travelling to Belleville, was assigned to a farm near Hazzard's Corners.

The summer of 1931 was unusually hot, and young Reg's introduction to the rigours of farm life in Canada was as tough as
it could be: haying season! Unused to hard labour (and probably not wanting to admit it) Reg worked hard but succumbed
to heat stroke. He died a mere three months after arriving in Canada. Reginald Jolley was laid to rest in a lonely grave in
Hazzard's Cemetery, far from his home in the city of Crewe, County of Cheshire, England.

In the early 2000s, during a cemetery clean-up, we found his neglected gravestone, amid weeds and tall grass. Having
heard our parents tell the sad story of his passing, we made a special effort to restore Reg's stone to its rightful place in
our cemetery. It is rewarding that our efforts in restoring his grave were communicated to family members in England,
and we received a message of thanks, some eighty years after his death.

Fast forward fifteen years to late fall 2023, we were informed by a visitor to the cemetery that the monument to Reg Jolley
had toppled over! This person was visiting the grave site of her father and mother and noticed the state of the Jolley
stone. She sent a sizable donation for its restoration and added, “If this is not enough, I will send more.” The kindness of
this lady is remarkable in that she does not live in the area and although she does have many relatives resting in our
cemetery, she has no connection to Reg Jolley. Her generosity is an example of how passionate many are about the
preservation of this cemetery and our community's history.

Thus far in 2024, we have spent several thousand dollars repairing sixteen monuments. This year's work brings the total to
seventy stones repaired and/or re-erected over the last six years. Thanks to donations from people like the lady
mentioned above, this work continues. We welcome your input and your financial support. Thank you for caring.