Hillcrest Cemetery Memorial Association

05/25/2026

Wishing you all a safe and reflective Memorial Day.

“Let their remembrance be as lasting as the land they honored.”
— Daniel Webster

05/18/2026

First official reel, though we are celebrating our 25th anniversary as a nonprofit taking care of this abandoned 15-acre cemetery.

05/18/2026

May 17, 2026 update from Hillcrest Cemetery, East Point, Georgia.

05/16/2026

I plan to be at Hillcrest for a few hours on Sunday (5/17/26) to do some research and make a couple videos. If you prefer to visit while someone is around or need location help, please feel free to stop by. You can message me here to confirm times, but I’m thinking I’ll be there at least from around 10 to 1. If you need research help, try messaging me today so I can look things up on the computer before I leave. But please see my other post from today regarding traffic issues in the area this weekend, and maybe avoid Hwy 166 as you approach.

05/16/2026

Alert for visitors the weekend of May 16-17, 2026: The DOT has shut down part of I-285 on the west side of Atlanta this weekend. The alternate route is Hwy 166/Langford Parkway/Lakewood Freeway right past Hillcrest, then the 75/85 connector and I-20. (This means the connector will be a big mess too.) We recommend approaching Hillcrest from the airport side. I’ll be coming from Athens Sunday and will take 285 to 75 at the airport then Central Ave through Hapeville and local roads. (In the map, Hillcrest is just left of the “Detour” marking.)

05/08/2026

To all of our families, Happy Mother's Day! 🩷

(This post originally warned about traffic and road closures in Atlanta this weekend but I just learned they have been cancelled.)

05/08/2026

Any video editors interested in occasional volunteer work?

Over our 25 years, hundreds of people have volunteered to restore and maintain Hillcrest, and it never would have happened without you. We've had a few long-term folks, teams from other organizations, groups of random people for well-publicized events, and individual family and community members. I've recently had an idea for another kind of volunteer. I would like to find someone to work with on some videos about Hillcrest. It's history, our organization, how to find a grave (walk-through of the sections), other general topics and even spotlights on interesting people who are interred here.

I've done some stand-alone videos, posted without any editing. What I'm thinking about is setting up a HCMA YouTube channel for hosting some edited videos—dropping in photos over the voice-over or walk-through, stitching together multiple clips, dropping a map of Section 4 into a video where I discuss how it it laid out, or inserting old photos into a current video while the voice-over continues. Nothing too fancy, just basic editing.

(A side idea to this is expanding our social media presence beyond Facebook, with some short-form videos.)

I'm mostly available to go there on Sundays these days, and some Saturdays. Editing could be at your leisure after meeting to record a theme or two. I'm a graphic designer by trade (never got into video) and I know the burden of being asked to do free work. I just thought I'd put this out there in case someone local is looking for community volunteer opportunities.

04/12/2026

04/12/2026

April 12, 2026 Hillcrest update: Seeking the Waller/Briggs family.

03/16/2026

So this is something new I haven’t thought to do before. (But might start doing more?) I have been helping a family locate an ancestor from 1935. I’ve already let them know we can’t pinpoint the location since it in the middle of an area of unmarked single burials with no documentation of exact locations. They want to place a memorial in the approximate location anyway.

While visiting today, I made this video to send them. It was too large to send via email, so I’m uploading it here for them to view, and also to show you how we do some of our research for families. (If I do this more I'll provide more context, but this one was intended just for emailing the family in context of other discussions.)

This is in the back of section 1, which was an impenetrable forest when we started. It’s been cleared a couple times, most recently by David, but is not suitable for power mowing, so it remains fairly natural. Most of the graves in this area are unmarked single graves. You see a marker covered in briars at one point of the video. (I can’t seem to go a day without a hand injury lately!) I later determined it was for David Treyz, a 2-month old who died in 1934. Looking up his recorded location helped me give the family a more confirmed location of their relative in the next lot over.

This is a part of this project I love doing, and don’t get enough time to do now that it’s over an hour from home.