The Friends of Evergreen celebrated its 25th anniversary Nov. 18 with a reception at the Baxter Building, which – reimagined and restored – is home to VIA Agency.

What’s the connection? A man who has “resided” at Evergreen Cemetery since 1921: James Phinney Baxter.

Evergreen Cemetery and the Baxter Building are among the legacies of the longtime Portland mayor. As historian William David Barry told the Friends of Evergreen, Baxter made his fortune in the canning business, then spent the rest of his life giving back. That included constructing the Baxter Building in 1888 to house the city’s first public library.

Not only did some party guests remember the Baxter Building as a library, some hadn’t been inside since the library left in 1978.

“James Phinney Baxter loved books, he loved history and he understood the importance of history,” said John Coleman, chairman and founder of VIA. “And he was kind of a cantankerous activist. When I think about the Friends of Evergreen, I think it’s exactly the kind of organization we’re going to need more of.”

Evergreen, a 239-acre garden-style cemetery, is the state’s largest graveyard. Its supporting organization, the Friends of Evergreen, is the oldest “friends” group in the city.

“When we were first considering moving to Portland, we visited Evergreen,” said Michael Mertaugh, now a board member who likes to cross-country ski and bike through the cemetery, learn about ship captains lost at sea and take his grandkids to look at the ducks.

“The monuments – for people great or small – are extraordinary,” said Sonia Robertson. “It’s one of the most special places in Portland.”

“You wouldn’t think it would be interesting to go to the cemetery and spend hours there,” said Bonnie Harradon of Portland. “But our tour guide’s intellectual curiosity was phenomenal. I was amazed.”

“I love people’s life stories, and you can constantly find new stories,” said Carol Jenkins, a Portland history docent who gives tours focusing on the SS Portland disaster of 1898.

“I love the research,” said Mary Foley, who gives tours focused on suffragists buried at Evergreen.

“I grew up in the neighborhood and have been going to the cemetery my whole life,” said Bobbi Cope, president of Friends of Evergreen, mentioning that she planned to visit her parents’ grave with her sister, Katie Mahoney, the next morning.

“It’s so huge that some people don’t know how to get out, but I know every inch,” she said. “I learned how to drive a standard in that cemetery. I went parking with a boyfriend in that cemetery. I walk in there and just go, ‘Ahhh,’ and everything else doesn’t matter.”

Amy Paradysz is a freelance writer from Scarborough. She can be reached at amyparadysz@gmail.com.