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Ravenna City Council Hoping to Honor Deceased Resident’s Request

Joseph Ciccolini 0 Comments

Ravenna City Council is looking to develop the back portion of Maple Grove Cemetery with help from the Urban Design students in the Kent State University College of Architecture.

Maple Grove Cemetery is the main cemetery for residents of the city of Ravenna and its township. Its start came in 1813, according to Record-Courier, which makes it one of the “oldest continuously used public places” in the area.

In 1880, a group called the Ladies’ Cemetery Association was founded and helped to expand and develop Maple Grove Cemetery. Originally called Evergreen Cemetery, the association helped plant maple trees all over the land to give it the name that it is called now. 

In 1997, the cemetery switched ownerships.

Now, the cemetery is run by a union between the city and the township, with both communities helping to pay fees that help run it. The city and township also appoint one respective representative to conduct business and oversee the cemetery.

Jack Schafer, a businessman and professional architect, left $100,000 upon his death in April 2018 to Maple Grove Cemetery for development of the backside to become consistent with the rest of the cemetery’s 19th century design.

Schafer’s obituary remembers him as playing a prominent role in the efforts to revitalize and preserve Ravenna. Some of his accomplishments included the restoration of the Ravenna Flagpole and the creation of Main Street Ravenna, while serving on various boards in the city.

Ravenna City Council member, Bruce Ribelin, discusses Schafer’s vision and how the board can assist in the fulfillment of the plan.

Ravenna City Council member, Bruce Ribelin

He was particularly interested in preserving Ravenna’s architecture and using it to help with the growth of economy.

With Maple Grove Cemetery, Schafer had a vision for the development of it, and wanted to ensure that his vision was followed.

“His request was that [the representatives] needed to do certain things before the money was given,” Joe Bica, president of the Ravenna City Council, says.

Ravenna City Council President Joe Bica

To make sure that Schafer would be proud of what the cemetery developed into, Ravenna turned to Kent State and the College of Architecture.

For a project such as this one, first the dean of the college is contacted. The dean then passes the work down to the professors, who helps the students get involved. 

“We’ve worked with the Urban Design students in the 1970s and 1980s,” Bica says. “The comprehensive design for downtown [Ravenna] came from the school.”

The Urban Design students also helped with the development of buildings and commercialization in Ravenna in the past.

“It’s a good fit,” Bica says. “It’s so close, and we’re familiar with the professors.”

Both the city and the township of Ravenna are extremely focused on this idea of restoring the cemetery. 

“One of the biggest reasons is that we’re running out of space,” Bica says. “We acquired a large area that gives 50 years’ worth of life for cemetery, which is extraordinary.”

The extra land, originally once a ravine, was leveled to add to Maple Grove Cemetery’s already-large 69 acres. 

As of right now, the city and the township are still in the works of discussing a concrete plan so that they may move forward with the development. 

 

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