Dear Friends of Gowanda Pine Hill Cemetery, January 2026 Goodness 2026 already! We hope this year will be a healthy and happy one for all our patrons. The entrance arch is now newly powdered coated and the letters painted in Sunburst Yellow providing both protection and “pop” for the lettering. We thank trustee Jason Pickering for his great effort to seeing this through to completion. Our Annual Appeal which was recently completed brought in $12,345. While less than the previous year, it will certainly help our cause. As I mentioned in our last newsletter there was a chance the immense help we have received for many years from the Collins inmates may come to a halt. That happened two days after our letter was mailed! Now we must decide whether to purchase machinery for leaf removal and perform this clean up ourselves, or to contract it out annually. Either way we are going to experience a steep recurring expense which must be addressed. Rural cemeteries like Pine Hill are suffering financially throughout the country. We have held our own in recent years, but we need to be vigilant and broaden our base of support. An unpleasant yet realistic fact is that our lives are temporary. GPHC has experienced the loss of several donors in recent years. No matter the size of their donations the smaller the base the greater the impact. We continue to seek your help in any way possible to increase the number of people who contribute. We also hope you will consider having GPHC be a recipient in your estate. The purpose of our newsletters, as you can imagine, is to keep you informed on our plans, projects, finances, and general operations. We hope you find these valuable. If we are omitting something please feel free to email me: [email protected] We continue to make progress on myriad details which improve our operation. As we enter the season of spring renewal I am confident our next newsletter will also be full of information and new developments. Come visit us anytime! Scott Campbell, President Gowanda Pine Hill Cemetery Board of Trustees October Address Friend's NewsletterTwo new members join the GPHC Board of Trustees  President Scott Campbell (middle) introduces our two new Trustees: Dean Evans (left) from Collins and Ben Shields (right) from South Dayton. “What moves through us is a silence, a sadness, a longing for one more day, word, touch and we may not understand why you left us, but little by little, we begin to remember not that you are gone but that you lived! And your life gave us memories too beautiful to forget!”  Get to Know a GPHC Trustee Martha Boutet, Vice President After my Mother Aline’s burial in 2015 in GPHC, I contacted the President, John Torrance. I asked if I could become a volunteer at the cemetery. He invited me to attend the next Board meeting to meet the Trustees. I discovered that afternoon that these were the people and the place where I wanted to donate my time, talents, love and care. I knew it was a good time to learn about GPHC. Born in 1950 to Paul and Aline Boutet of Kenmore, NY, I was the second of five children. Ken-Ton teachers and excellent schools provided me with opportunities to learn and work with others. Three of my teachers had worked at a ‘camp for children with special needs.’ Their influence and learning about CBC experiences intrigued me and shaped my future. During my college years at Brockport, 1968-72, Cradle Beach Camp in Angola, NY became my home for the summers. Taking care of children with special needs while playing, swimming, singing and feeding them were tasks of love. Meeting foreign counselors from Russia, France, England, Japan, China and Africa enriched all of us by learning about their customs. It was always sad to say good bye at the end of the summer to everyone. Communicating with deaf children in American Sign Language became my challenge. While enrolled at Canisius College, I studied and earned my Master’s Degree in 1979. Becoming a teacher of the deaf/hard of hearing in Grand Rapids, MI changed my life. Living there for 21 years opened doors to camping, hiking and travelling to beautiful sites like Mackinac Island and Bridge in the Upper Peninsula. In 2002, I retired and moved back to NYS because I missed my family. I decided to renovate and live in a family cottage in Hanford Bay near Silver Creek. Hired by SCCS as a teacher assistant, I was able to tutor kids who couldn’t pass tests and achieve at grade level. I became part of Chautauqua County, by joining volunteer organizations while developing a love for grape and blueberry farms and local nurseries full of flowers. My life is enriched with good people who serve others. Volunteering for Chautauqua Area Habitat for Humanity for the last 19 years have put me in touch with families in need. By committing to a mortgage and 500 hours of labor, families with children can obtain their first home and build up equity. My great nephews, Jackson age 7, and Bennett age 4 swim, play in the sand, build Legos and eat ice cream. I am blessed they keep me young as we experience the sunsets, bonfires and life on Lake Erie. Thank you  The refurbished arch with golden lettering welcomes visitors to “Our Gem on the Hill.” Holiday wreaths decorated the gates before the snow blanketed these sacred grounds. We are blessed for this site of peace and remembrance and thankful to our faithful donors for their generosity.
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EditorMartha Boutet, Vice President Archives
February 2026
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