The first chapter of redevelopment at Lincoln’s historic Wyuka Cemetery is complete — or will be, officially, next month.
Wyuka Funeral Home & Cemetery
KLIN News received word from Wyuka Facilities Directors Greg Osborn that the cemetery/public-park will be hosting a ribbon cutting ceremony on Thursday, October 10, at 10:30 a.m. to unveil the revitalized pond on the southwest side of the grounds.
Osborn, who has championed the project since talks began in 2017 among the Wyuka Board of Trustees, says it’s more than just a “beautification” effort. The pond plays a vital role as the stormwater runoff area for 255 acres south of “O” Street.
“The pond had filled up with sediment, and that’s how this all kind of started,” said Osborn. “Then we decided to try and make it a lot prettier than it was.”
The rejuvenated pond will now function with hard limestone sides, a forebay that makes it easier to clean out and maintain the pond, and six jet nozzles that will spray in fresh water into the pond in addition to the rain.
“If we have a dry period without much rain, similar to this past summer, we can now supplement the pond with water from our on site wells to make sure it stays fresh and filled,” Osborn described.
Osborn says the completed pond marks the end of the “infrastructure” portion of the Wyuka’s redevelopment. The next phase is the highly anticipated revival of Lincoln’s Iconic Pershing Mural.
“We’re still raising a little bit of money for that. We have had some really very, very generous people and get involved in that. We originally started out with needing about $4.2 million, and we have about $1.6 left to raise,” he said. “Next summer, hopefully late spring, we’ll be starting on putting the structure up for the mural.”
The Pershing Mural
Remaining after the mural, Wyuka will begin work on the west side of the pond, creating a green space/picnic area. Then the final phase, Osborn says, will be the construction of an inclusive all-ability-level children’s playground to the west of the mural.
Osborn hopes the park/cemetery will be full renovated “in the next two or three years.”
While Wyuka already resides on the National Register of Historic Places, Osborn says the inclusion of the Pershing Mural will “gives us additional history for Wyuka and the surrounding area.”