Cleaning a family cemetery

[KathieB]

Have any of you been involved in cleaning up a cemetery? There is a small cemetery (about 14 in-ground graves and a dozen cement block above-ground tombs) in Lloyd's family that we are trying to rescue from oblivion. Some cousins mow at irregular intervals throughout the summer. We're having cement copings built around a half dozen graves that had been grown over, one of them revealed by ground penetrating radar. Some of the older copings have sunk into the ground. One tombstone is listing badly and needs to be reset. I'm organizing a clean-up day the end of October that would include pulling weeds the mowers miss, trimming some encroaching brush and whitewashing the tombs. L & I have ordered markers for the six graves with the new copings, and I'm hoping to have a little dedication ceremony and maybe have a local clergyman bless the cemetery on that day. 

I'm looking for suggestions as to how to encourage volunteers from the community, recommended tools, suggested supplies (there is no water source at the site). There are several websites that provide general guidelines. I'm hoping for some comments from anyone with hands-on experience.

You can see the cemetery here, although the photos from 2012 are a bit out of date. More tombs have been added. Updating the blog is on my [very long] list of Things to Do.

[jdodyd]

I don't have any experience to add anything helpful - but I sure do applaud your efforts to prevent graves from being forgotten!  Good work!

[jbresr]

1 hour ago, jdodyd said:

I don't have any experience to add anything helpful - but I sure do applaud your efforts to prevent graves from being forgotten!  Good work!

I too applaud your efforts. I"ve no experience in this either but if I were there I would surely lend a helping hand.

[minilover62]

I have no experience either, but an idea to get help is announcing the activity at the closest churches, congregations or groups that are usually willing to help with this things. At an upcoming carnaval or activity where people are going to be gathering. It is not too big, it can be done in no time. Maybe the local firefighters can help with the water.

[KathieB]

Good ideas, Carmen. Thank you.  

I learned today that one of the cousins already has a power washer lined up to clean the tombs and another one has the whitewash ready to repaint them. That's a big check mark on my punch list.

[L Swearengin]

NOLA. Cemetery?  Aren't most supposed to be above ground?

[rodentraiser]

You could try asking the people who have family buried there or the near neighbors, I suppose. Most people living near a cemetery want it looking nice and people with relatives buried there are usually pretty good with lending a hand. You might try to look up some other cemeteries around the country that have been cleaned up and contact them to find out how those people accomplished it. I know sometimes Boy Scouts will volunteer and maybe even convicts that are eligible to be on road cleanup detail might want to do something like that as a group.

[KathieB]

1 hour ago, L Swearengin said:

NOLA. Cemetery?  Aren't most supposed to be above ground?

Most are, especially in the large city cemeteries. In the country, smaller family plots, it has become apparent that the above-ground tombs, which are usually made from cement blocks by local craftsmen, tend to explode when penetrated by flood water. The trend in many places is toward more in-ground graves. The coffins are less likely to float away.

45 minutes ago, rodentraiser said:

You could try asking the people who have family buried there or the near neighbors, I suppose. Most people living near a cemetery want it looking nice and people with relatives buried there are usually pretty good with lending a hand. You might try to look up some other cemeteries around the country that have been cleaned up and contact them to find out how those people accomplished it. I know sometimes Boy Scouts will volunteer and maybe even convicts that are eligible to be on road cleanup detail might want to do something like that as a group.

There are cousins in the area who mow the cemetery. They are putting out the word around the area with other local relatives. There is not all that much to do, especially since some of them are already planning to power wash the tombs and paint them, the biggest part of the clean-up. I've ordered a dozen white crosses for the currently unmarked graves; those need to be put in place. With the email blast to all of Lloyd's relatives, the local word-of-mouth, the notice in the parish weekly newspaper's "Save the Date" column, and some fliers distributed to the houses in the subdivision adjacent to the cemetery, I'm thinking we'll get a good crew. I've been after the local Boy Scouts for several months, but they haven't seem interested.

[thresadep]

Applaud your efforts too. You could make a Facebook group? 

[KathieB]

7 hours ago, thresadep said:

Applaud your efforts too. You could make a Facebook group? 

I have a Facebook group for the cemetery, set it up a few years ago. Believe it or not, many family members are not on line or if they are, they don't seem interested in joining. I'm hoping that a hands-on, personal encounter will fan some interest in the future of the cemetery. 

[rodentraiser]

19 hours ago, KathieB said:

Most are, especially in the large city cemeteries. In the country, smaller family plots, it has become apparent that the above-ground tombs, which are usually made from cement blocks by local craftsmen, tend to explode when penetrated by flood water. The trend in many places is toward more in-ground graves. The coffins are less likely to float away.

There are cousins in the area who mow the cemetery. They are putting out the word around the area with other local relatives. There is not all that much to do, especially since some of them are already planning to power wash the tombs and paint them, the biggest part of the clean-up. I've ordered a dozen white crosses for the currently unmarked graves; those need to be put in place. With the email blast to all of Lloyd's relatives, the local word-of-mouth, the notice in the parish weekly newspaper's "Save the Date" column, and some fliers distributed to the houses in the subdivision adjacent to the cemetery, I'm thinking we'll get a good crew. I've been after the local Boy Scouts for several months, but they haven't seem interested.

Girl Scouts and Brownies.

[Sable]

On September 16, 2016 at 5:03:21 PM, rodentraiser said:

Girl Scouts and Brownies.

How fitting that you are doing this at the end of October, Halloween time. I see Girl Scouts creeping themselves out.  

[havanaholly]

If they're anything like the Scout troop I was in as a girl, we'd have loved it!

[rodentraiser]

Kathie, this is a long shot, but maybe a local ghost hunting group would be interested in volunteering to help, maybe in exchange for permission to investigate the cemetery one night.

[KathieB]

2 hours ago, rodentraiser said:

Kathie, this is a long shot, but maybe a local ghost hunting group would be interested in volunteering to help, maybe in exchange for permission to investigate the cemetery one night.

That sounds like a lot of fun! I wonder how I'd find a group like that.  

Actually, I think we have a core group of workers committed to getting the job done. I don't want to round up too many people and not have something for them to do. It's not a big cemetery. 

[rodentraiser]

 

Ask and ye shall receive.   Friends Of Dusana (friends Of The Spirit)	Shreveport	Website
Ghosthunters Of Louisiana Paranormal Society	Baton Rouge	Website
Ghostquest Paranormal Of Louisana	Ponchatoula
Graveyard Shift Paranormal Society	Lake Charles	Website
Guillot Paranormal Investigations (g.P.I)	Metairie
Houma Paranormal	Houma
In To The Light Paranormal Investigations	Thibodaux
Louisiana Ghostin' Generations	Quitman	Website
Louisiana Paranormal Investigators	Lake Charles	Website
Louisiana Paranormal Research Society	New Orleans
Louisiana Spirit Seekers	Dubach	Website
Louisiana Spirits Paranormal Investigations	Pineville	Website
Louisiana State Paranormal Research Society	Abbeville	Website
Manifest Paranormal Investigations	Shreveport	Website
Maui Paranormal Investigations-Bogalusa	Bogalusa	Website
Maxwell Paranormal Investigations	Barksdale Afb
New Orleans Ghost Hunters	New Orleans	Website
Northeast Louisiana Paranormal Investigators	Rayville
Old No. 7 Society	Lake Charles
On The Edge Soul Seekers	Port Barre	Website
Paladin Paranormal	Abita Springs
Paranomolies	Slidell	Website
Paranormal Informers	Prairieville	Website
Paranormal Search Of New Orleans, Louisiana	New Orleans	Website
Paranormal Society Of New Orleans	New Orleans	Website
Paranormal Society Of Ponchatoula	Ponchatoula
Pranormal Searchers	Metairie	Website
Professional Paranormal Research And Investigations	Ponchatoula
Red River Parish Paranormal	Castor	Website
Souled Out Paranormal Group	Many	Website
Southern Paranormal Investigations (spi)	Shreveport	Website
Spirited Away Paranormal Society	Kentwood	Website
Spirits Of Caddo Paranormal Investigation	Vivian
Tangipahoa Parish Paranormal Society	Independence	Website
The Cajun Demonologist	Ponchatoula
Underground Paranormal Inc	Shreveport	Website
Unseen Paranormal Investigative Society	Provencal	Website
Unseen Paranormal Investigative Society	Natchitoches	Website
Veritas Research Group	Hammond
Vernon Investigators Of Spiritual Encounters	Pitkin

 

 

Or, you could go to the TAPS page and find a TAPS family group:

http://tapsfamily.com/

 

And you thought I knew a lot about dollhouses...!

[KathieB]

30 minutes ago, rodentraiser said:

And you thought I knew a lot about dollhouses...!

Oh, my! Who'd a thunk it? Thanks, Kelly. 

[rodentraiser]

You're welcome! Just to let you know, I live here on the Kitsap Peninsula - translated that means it's a pain in the patootie to go anywhere else in Washington state. Last I heard there were 65 ghost hunting groups in Washington - including a TAPS group in Seattle - but no ghost hunting groups on the peninsula. I've been in one group and tried to join a couple others, but they all disbanded after a couple of weeks. Maybe it's my deodorant....hmmmm.