Caring for your Cemetery Day, April 25th & 26th

 

Long Overdue Update

 Although this blog has not been updated since 2022, steady maintenance of the cemetery grounds has continued. In 2025, the two primary caretakers stepped down from their volunteer lawn upkeep at the cemetery. One due to a serious illness and the other due to aging out as he is approaching 85 years of age.

However, a passing of the torch has occurred. A new crew of former South End residents and former Evangelical Protestant Church members stepped forward and are now volunteering their time and efforts to continue the lawn care at the cemetery. Some of these former Albanians now live in the southern tier of the Adirondacks; which equates to a minimum of an additional two hours of roundtrip travel time! 

The new crew has done a fantastic job with maintaining the grounds. The grounds never looked better! The cemetery grounds and its permanent residents are blessed to have these volunteers tackle this needed task. The crew have created a Facebook group, "Friends of the Evangelical Protestant Church Cemetery- Albany, NY." Please check out the FB group for further information.

The growing season will be upon the cemetery by early to mid-May. To stay ahead of the work, the crew have joined in with other like-minded individuals in a two day program of volunteerism to support local cemeteries in New York State. The program is called "Caring For Your Cemetery Day." It will be held April 25th and 26th. The focus of these days will be to clean up the cemetery including the perimeter areas and to get things ready for biweekly mowing of the grounds. Raking leaves, brush clearing, and fallen limb removal will probably be on the agenda.

Please consider joining in with helping maintain the cemetery. The grounds are truly beautiful and peaceful. A great bunch of guys and gals are tackling this project, and they can always use an extra set of hands. 

June 2022 Update

 The grass growing season is in full swing. We are trying our best at keeping the lawn mowed and weed wacked. Presently the grounds are well kept. We had quite a battle with the lawn last week. But we were victorious! There are three primary people working on keeping the cemetery looking good. BTW their ages are 81, 63, and 54. 

Weed wacking the grounds is the most labor intensive part of maintaining the cemetery. It takes one person eight full hours to fully weed wack the complete cemetery. This task was timed over a period of three days. Please feel free to stop by and do some wacking. There should be no fear that you might take the grass down too low. Alas, it always always always grows back. And very quickly also. 

Very soon gravestone restoration work will be in full swing. We had a few new casualties. Some stones were found toppled and some broken. The cemetery will always be a work in progress, especially keeping the grass mowed.

Late January 2022

 Spring is on the way! Well, in 49 days. But the time will go fast. Soon, instead of shoveling snow we will be mowing grass. This post is sent out in the hopes of acquiring a riding lawn mower. The lawn mower will be used exclusively at the Evangelical Protestant Cemetery in Albany. Myself and others are still volunteering our time to keep the grounds manicured. Most times the grounds are mowed by people with multiple self-propelled walk-behind lawn mowers. It takes one person 12 hours, solo, to mow the cemetery with a walk-behind mower. It also takes 8 hours for one person to fully weed whack the grounds with a high-powered gas whacker.

 None of us are giving up on the cemetery. The cemetery has come such a long way that we refuse to let it go back to being overgrown and dangerous. During the Spring, Summer, and Fall the grounds are picturesque and beautiful. The Friends of the EvangelicalProtestant Cemetery are looking for a good used or donated riding lawn mower to make our task much easier for our volunteers. Our only request is that the mower must have a deck size of 46" or smaller to fit inside a storage area. Please contact us through this site if you have a good riding lawn mower that you are looking to sell or donate.

Late November 2021 Update

 Below is a short group of photos showing a few of the gravestones that were recently restored. 

The marble gravestone for Frederich W. Hirt who died on 14 August 1874 at age 25 years, 5 months, and 24 days was severely leaning. His stone was moved, the lower marble base was also removed and releveled upon a crusher run and stone dust aggregate foundation. The gravestone was reset upon the lower base.

The marble gravestone for children, Martha Maria Loeper, born 09 April 1869 and died 10 March 1872; and Friedrich Sarl, born 07 August 1873 and died 30 January 1875 was severely leaning. Her stone and base were both removed from the earth and reset upon a level crusher run and stone dust aggregate base. 

Civil War veteran Christopher Marcy had a newer government issued gravemarker delivered. But, somehow it broke. The lower piece become lost and the gravestone was never set into the ground. A slotted base was fabricated so that the gravestone segment could be set upright.

The modern granite Lang monument toppled over in 2020 and was reset level upon a crusher run and stone dust aggregate foundation. The monument shall be cleaned in Spring 2022.

The marble gravestone for Anna, daughter of Charles and Margaretha Strohmaier who died on 14 August 1877 at age 19 years, 6 months, and 8 days was severely broken due to iron pinning. After the lower base was releveled. The broken gravestone was cut flush so that it could be repinned with fiberglass rebar pins. Natural Hydaulic Lime (NHL) 3.5 was also used to attach the gravestone to its base.

November 2021 Update

 Well, nothing has been posted on this blog all Spring, Summer, and Fall. But us volunteers have been working at the cemetery all along. The big project for this season was keeping the lawn mowed. One of our volunteers has mowed the lawn numerous times with a self-propelled walk-behind lawn mower. That takes eleven hours to complete. I timed the weed whacking process and that takes me a full eight full hours to complete and I move quick. Obviously, these tasks are not finished in one day. 

In 2022, to make work easier on us, we plan to get a riding lawn mower. This will make the work so much easier. Please contact us if you know of a good riding lawn mower that someone is looking to part with.

Two days ago, we finished the final lawn mowing and weed whacking sessions for the year. April and May will be here soon enough and the process will begin again. The flags for our veterans that were not looking decent have been replaced. Presently the cemetery grounds are looking fantastic. Over the next week we will be removing the spring and summer artificial flowers from the gravesites. Winter and Christmas flowers are very much welcome! 

With the lawn maintenance tasks and other family duties only a handful of gravestones were uprighted this year including a military gravestone for Christopher Marcy. His stone was broken and the stone was uprighted by placing his stone in a newly fabricated base to hold it upright.

Now that the grass will not be growing until Spring, it is too bad that the weather is too cold for gravestone repair. To be continued...

December 2020 Update

How time flies! December already and we have not posted since June. Much work was accomplished this season and the work is still continuing as we write this.

Without viewing my notes upwards of sixty gravestones were restored. Most of them were smaller in size but we also corrected numerous gravestones that were medium sized. We also reset two obelisks that were leaning severely.

Due to Covid19 and other issues, work was not completed as hoped for finishing the restoration of the graves; but fortunately we have roughly thirty more stones to go. Completion of the project should happen mid Summer 2021.

One enormous plus that occurred this year was when a local neighbor, Mike, became the primary lawn mower of the cemetery grounds. He mowed the grounds at least twelve times this year. This was done with a self propelled walk behind lawn mower. Mike mentioned that it takes approximately eleven hours to mow the grounds. Mike was also instrumental in cutting the grass when it grew to over three feet in length. THANK YOU! Mike.

Presently, the perimeter of cemetery grounds are being cut back. When we began this project scrub brush was growing into the cemetery obscuring rows of gravestones. The brush is being cut back again to stop this before it becomes an issue. 

Unfortunately many photos were not taken of the gravestone restoration. But below are a couple of pictures of gravestones and lots that were highlighted in our June post. 

This is what the Griessman lot looks like today. The sunken gravestones and grave rails have been excavated and raised. Next year flowers will be planted in between the rails.

The gravestone of eleven year old Johann Meyer, son of J. and D. Meyer who died on 22 September 1868 is brightening up nicely. This is an example of the power of D2 Biological Solution. Johann's stone and base fell backwards and sunk into the earth. 

To see what these sites looked like previously, please view the previous, June 2020, post. Have a great holiday season, stay safe, and healthy!

June 2020 Update

As of today, 02 June 2020, work is progressing nicely at the Evangelical Protestant Cemetery. In March, 81 gravestones were marked for attention. Today there are 44 left to complete. Most of this work was accomplished over the last three weeks and will continue until complete!

Although the cemetery lawn presently looks fantastic, the lawn maintenance continues to be a challenge. So far, a lone volunteer from last year, Mike S. has mowed the lawn five times. This was done with his self-propelled walk-behind mower. Yes that number is correct; Five times! I helped mow the lawn twice; but, Mike S. is the dominent force behind this task. Please note: the cemetery is four acres in size with many gravestones. Mike S. estimates that it takes approximately 11 hours to accomplish this by himself.

Either before or after the lawn is mowed, the area around the gravestones need to be weed whacked to keep the cemetery groomed and looking great. Brian D., Mike W., and myself have all chipped-in on this adventure. Below are a couple of pics near the cemetery entrance.

A prominent lot, the Griesmann lot, had four small crescent shaped marble gravestones that had severely sunk into the earth. Only two inches of the gravestones were visible. Also the stones were scalped numerous times over the years with lawn mowers. Please note: this lot is a work in progress. Each grave present is known as a "Cradle Grave." This was a surprise. Rarely do you see this type of Victorian grave because either the "rails" get removed or sink so far into the earth that they are no longer visible. Next month's update will document the final product.

A small project that came out excellent was that of the gravestone for Johann Meyer, an eleven year-old child who passed away in 1868. His small gravestone tipped over and sunk into the earth. Using D2 Biological Solution, his gravestone should clean-up nicely.

 

On Memorial Day, a couple from the Sheehy-Palmer VFW Post stopped by the cemetery and removed all of the old and tattered flags for the veterans whom are buried in the cemetery. Each veteran received a new flag for his grave.

April 2020 Update

Finally, the season for conservation is here! But, the Coronavirus has tipped everyday life upside down. At the moment work is not progressing as it should be regarding the restoration of the Evangelical Protestant Church Cemetery. Full-time work, work sequester, and other issues are prohibiting work for the moment.

Fortunately a solid game plan was made. Work will begin when it can. Previous to the outbreak of the Cornonavirus pandemic, the cemetery was walked and surveyed. Eighty-one gravestones were counted in the survey. That is the number of gravestones that need to be addressed this year. If this is accomplished, then the reclamation / restoration project will be complete.

Fortunately the vast majority of the gravestones that need attention are smaller stones and many of them are clustered near each other. This makes work easier since many stones can be worked on in one particular area without moving equipment and supplies all over the place. I am sure that there will be a pop-up stone here and there that needs attention.

This year we are lucky that there appears to be very little Winter damage to the stones. Also, no one has driven off the roadway and into the cemetery and damaged any gravestones this winter. Last Fall and Winter, two separate incidents occurred where knuckle-heads jumped the curb with their car and drove into the cemetery and damaged the same gravestone twice. The gravestone of Civil War veteran John Apply was hit twice and damaged both times. Last year his stone was repaired and it still looks great.

Maintenance of the lawn will most likely be an issue again. We already know that the Pastor/s who now own the former Evangelical church building and cemetery will not maintain the cemetery grounds. So cutting the lawn will most likely be done by volunteers again. Hopefully every is well rested! One such volunteer from last year, Mike, was given wild flower seeds to plant on the hilly areas of the cemetery. Hopefully these seeds take and beautiful wild flowers bloom. If this happens it should make those areas of the cemetery look great and also remove the need for maintaining the steep hills. The hope is that the flowers choke out the weeds. Time will tell.

During late March some gravestone restoration work was begun. Roughly ten small gravestones were raised out of the soil, cleaned, and leveled. Minor work needs to be done to finish these stones. Some pictures of this work before, during and after the work are below.

January 2020 Update

The New Year is just around the corner. Hopefully 2020 will be a better year for the Evangelical Protestant Cemetery. Obviously the restoration season is long over and fortunately the mowing season will not get into full swing until May.

Until now there has not been an update on the cemetery since September. The grounds were last mowed in mid-October. Just three weeks after the September mowing. And although the growing season was winding down at that point, the grass desperately needed mowing. The grass grows phenomenally fast.

As many readers know from earlier posts, the grass at the cemetery reached heights of over three feet in length. Most of the gravestones were completely obscured. It was dangerous to trek inside the tall grass. Low gravestones were unseen and a major tripping hazard. Low spots and ground hog holes also contributed to unseen dangers on the cemetery grounds.

The City of Albany was notified of the condition of the grounds in the cemetery. The City stated they would contact the property owner and demand that the grounds be cared for. Whatever attempt was made, failed. The City next stated that it would mow the grounds. The City reneged on its own statement. Most likely because it would not recoup its costs from the property owner. Typical.

Local news channels 10 and 13 broadcast stories about the conditions at the cemetery and after viewers saw the stories many volunteers came out and helped to return the cemetery back to the condition that it should always be in. The City stated that it will not let the cemetery become overgrown again. Time will tell if the City backpedals on its words, again.

During the warmer months of 2019 upwards of eighty plus gravestones were up-righted, leveled, cleaned, and repaired in various manners. When the grass grew to outrageous lengths it took almost one month to get the lawn back in shape. During this time, gravestone restoration practically ceased. So, the project was set back almost one month.

At the beginning of 2019 the plan was to finish the gravestone project. Unfortunately that did not happen. However 2020 should see the project finished. An estimation of forty grave markers are left in need of attention. Most of the tombstones are on the smaller side. It should be very feasible to complete the remaining gravestones this coming year.

For those who donated time, labor, and monetary funds to this effort, Thank You very much! This work would not be able to be completed without your help. We will need certain supplies to see this job to fruition in 2020. We are very close to the end. Supplies that will be needed in the Spring include top soil, crusher-run, stone dust, 80# bags of cement for fabricating new bases, and D2 Biological Solution. See you in the Spring!

September Update

Recently, the Evangelical Protestant Church Cemetery was mowed and weed whacked, again, by three volunteers over a period of a few days. The grounds look great, again. Most of the work was done by one individual, Mike, with his push mower. The grass will continue to grow until early November. The cemetery will need to be mowed at least once more this year. Until a permanent solution is found for the upkeep of the cemetery, if you notice that the grass is in need of attention, empower yourself, volunteer, and help with the upkeep. When the grass is at a reasonable length, it is much easier to maintain. Please do not forget that the grass was over three feet tall in July when Travis took on the task of mowing the lawn. Permission is not needed to do the right thing. Be careful, have fun, and feel good afterward because you just did a great thing! Let's all try to keep the cemetery in great shape. Thank you

August Update

August Update

The ongoing saga of the Evangelical Protestant Church Cemetery is a long and winding road. And still there is no resolution to the grass dilemma at the cemetery. To recap the past events of this sad scenario please follow the timeline:

- The Evangelical Protestant Church was established in 1850 by German immigrants residing in Albany's South End. Land was purchased in 1853 for use as a cemetery.

- Many years ago the Evangelical Protestant church merged with a religious body which is now know as the United Church of Christ (UCC).

- The last Pastor at the South End church was Reverend John U. Miller. After Miller died in 2012, the church board decided to close and disband the church. Stewardship of both the church and the cemetery reverted to the UCC. Since 2012, the UCC desperately wanted to sell both properties.

-  In early August 2018, we noticed that the cemetery grass was getting very long.  The UCC was notified about the length of the grass. The UCC stated that it sold both the former Evangelical Protestant Church building and its accompanying cemetery to a religious based fellowship operated by Pastor Ronald Myles Jr. For a number of years Myles longed to buy the church and he finally purchased it.

- Within days of contacting the UCC about the length of the cemetery grass, we went to the cemetery to take photographs to document how tall the grass was. The intent was to make a complaint to the city about the lawn not being mowed. However when we arrived at the cemetery, the former landscaping contractor who had been hired by the UCC for a number of years to mow the property monthly was present and mowing the lawn. I asked, "what's going on?" The contractor responded that the UCC contacted him and asked him to mow the grass "one last time." We believe that the UCC did this to make sure that the lawn was in good shape even after the property was sold and now that the property was in the hands of another organization, the UCC is off the hook from a possible negligence claim. At this point, the grass issue was now a moot issue.

- In late August, a friend who has numerous ancestors buried in the cemetery contacted Pastor Myles and asked him what his plans were for the upkeep of the cemetery. Myles responded, absolutely none. The Pastor mentioned that he had to take possession of the cemetery if he wanted to purchase the church building. Both properties were sold as a package deal. The purchase was rumored to have been extremely inexpensive also.

- Throughout the remaining Summer and Fall of 2018, certain sections of the cemetery were weed whacked and mowed a few times by a couple of volunteers. But the vast majority of the cemetery remained un-mowed.

- Fast forward to June 2019. The grass is now waist high. Pastor Myles certainly kept his word that he has no intention for caring for the cemetery. Neighbors and other city residents are beginning to notice of the conditions at the cemetery. Complaints now started to pop  up on various venues of social media. Meanwhile, on June 10th, I took it upon myself to write an email to certain elected individuals and city officials about the worsening conditions at the cemetery.  The email is below.

Dear xx

This note is to inform all public and elected officials of the shameful condition of the grounds at the Evangelical Protestant Cemetery located in Albany on Krumkill Road and Bender Lane. The grass in the cemetery has not been mowed since August 2018. The grass in most areas of the cemetery is approaching three feet in height. This is unacceptable. The cemetery grounds are presently unkempt and uninviting. Numerous lot owners and families of loved ones whom are buried there are taking it upon themselves to mow and clear pathways to their family plots. 

The Evangelical Protestant burial grounds is likely the oldest cemetery within city limits with the land being purchased for use as a cemetery in 1853. Aside from thousands of former Albany citizens, the cemetery is the final resting place for numerous Civil War, World War I, World War II, and Korean War veterans. These former soldiers and their families deserve much more than this.

The deplorable condition of the cemetery grounds is dangerous. Low spots and rabbit holes in the ground are unseen due to the height of the grass. Low lying gravestones are also a tripping hazard. With the cemetery grounds appearing to be abandoned, this is inviting for vandals, illegal dumping, which has occurred there in the past, and other undesirable activities. 

The church building of the former Evangelical Protestant Church, located at 82 Clinton Street, in Albany and its accompanying cemetery, on Krumkill Road were both sold in July 2018 to Pastor Ronald Myles Jr. of the Healing from Heaven Friends Fellowship. Myles was contacted last year in the Fall about the height of the grass. He indicated that he has no plan to care for the cemetery whatsoever. Under City Code Regulation # 313-51.1, can the present owner of the cemetery be mandated to mow and keep the grounds in a more desirable condition? It is hoped that this dilemma can be rectified as soon as possible before conditions deteriorate further or an unfortunate incident occurs. 

Below are three avenues for contacting me on this matter. I shall be awaiting a response and for notice of what actions are unfolding on this situation.

- The email was sent to Jack Flynn, the Common Council seat for the 8th Ward. Flynn responded that he was passing this information on to Code Enforcement and the Department of General Services (DGS). Gary W. Domalowicz of the 10th Legislative District was sent the email. He did not respond. We are thinking that he was not interested in the cemetery. Please remember him and his lack of initiative when he is seeking your support. Joshua Gold, Senior Code Enforcement Officer, never responded to his email. And Molly McGuire, the Community Relations Coordinator in the Department of General Services also failed to respond. Does there appear to be to be a pattern of no action here?

- After a few days of no response from the Department of General Services, Ms McGuire was contacted and asked what is the status of the complaint. I was told that it was under review and that the property owner will need to be contacted and after five days of failing to comply with an order to get the grass mowed, the city would come in, mow the lawn, and charge and fine the property owner. I said fair enough. I will contact you in two weeks on this matter.

- Two weeks pass and instead of calling the DGS office I visited its office in person on July 2nd. I spoke with Ms McGuire and was told that the grass will be cut by the city. Excellent, I said. OK, now when will this occur? I asked. Not quite sure, but it will be scheduled and then done. Many people were extremely happy that the grass was finally going to be cut.

- On July 11th, Ms McGuire was called again and asked "when is the grass scheduled to be cut at the cemetery?" Now, her response was a volte-face. A complete turnaround. Now, I am told that the city may not be legally allowed to mow the lawn at the cemetery. However, do not think for one moment that they would not mow your unkempt lawn, charge you, and fine you. What probably happened is a DGS supervisor or foreman went out to the site and saw what they had on their hands. A complete disaster. Lots of work. Not an easy fix. Hmm, we need to back pedal on this. And the grass continues to grow. At this point the grass is so tall that it cannot support itself. It is beginning to fall over. Most of the grave markers are now completely hidden and obscured by the grass.

Where are the gravestones?
Hidden in three feet tall grass

-  On July 16th, I was contacted by reporter Anya Tucker from Channel 10 news and asked if I will do an interview at the cemetery on its present condition. Absolutely, yes! It is unknown to me where she got my contact information because I am not the person who contacted the news station. When I arrived at the cemetery Dan Levy from  Channel 13 news was already present. That day I gave interviews to both news reporters which were aired numerous times.

- Thankfully, a man from Corinth, Travis and his girlfriend Billie, either saw or heard of the conditions at the cemetery. On Monday July 22nd, he took it upon himself to drive over 50 miles to the cemetery and begin mowing the lawn. This was done in the pouring rain! Fortunately, Channel 13's Dan Levy stopped by the cemetery and did a story on Travis. Many saw this story and were touched by the kindness and big heart that Travis has. The next day at least six more people showed up to help Travis. The following day approximately 20 to 25 people showed up to help. Those being relatives of those buried there, people from Greene County, and Claverack in Columbia County. Two coaches and numerous football players from UAlbany team helped for a few hours.

- Travis got the ball rolling on the mowing project. Along with Travis others including Dan and Mike have been present almost every day since July 23rd either mowing, raking, and dragging cut grass. The media has brought this sad story to light and the those who follow the same mantra as myself as in "Do the Right Thing" have made extreme progress in reclaiming the cemetery from neglect. There is still quite a bit of work necessary. More weed whacking, mowing, raking, and grass removing is necessary. Travis and the others are going to see this through until it is finished.

- However, all who are following these developments need to remember that was has been accomplished so far is just temporary. The grass will continue to grow until early November. The grass can easily reach the same heights that it was two weeks ago if further maintenance is not done. Those who have volunteered and helped bring the cemetery back need to know that many people are extremely happy with your extreme dedication and generosity that has been exhibited during this process.

- More importantly; how can someone especially one who is supposed to be a Pastor allow the sacred and final resting spot of these former Albanians to be neglected to this extreme. You should be ashamed of yourself. Within the grounds of the cemetery there are hundreds of veterans buried there and the majority of them fought in the Civil War. Please explain to me Ronald, why can you not be contacted? Keep hiding, inside you know that you are wrong. Do the Right Thing!

- Regarding the city, we will wait and see what your "action plan" is. The volunteers have not let anyone "off the hook" from their responsibilities here. Below is a photo that if the grass reaches this height hopefully the so called action plan will be invoked.

July 2019 Update : Grass Situation

It is impossible not to notice the height of the grass at the Evangelical Protestant Cemetery on Krumkill Road. This is an ongoing saga which will hopefully come to an end soon. As mentioned in the June 2019 post, the new owner of the cemetery, Pastor Ronald Myles Jr. of the Healing from Heaven Friends Fellowship, stated last Fall that he has no intention of caring for or maintaining the cemetery. As of today, Myles speaks the truth. The grass is over three feet tall and he has done nothing to maintain the property. The pictures below were taken two weeks ago. The grass is presently much higher. Matter of fact, the grass is so high that it is now falling over.

Many people including lot owners, families of those buried there, and neighborhood residents are taking notice of the grass predicament. Numerous venues of social media have postings where people are fed up with the grass situation. In mid June, a letter was written to two elected officials and also two city officials about the grass quandary. On July 2nd, after a visit to the offices of the Department of General Services was undertaken, we were told that the city was going to mow the grass, charge and fine the owner. As of yesterday, July 9th, the grass is still three feet tall. After another reasonable amount of time has passed, if the grass is not mowed, another campaign with a different approach is set to begin.

Regarding Myles, for a man who is supposed to be a Pastor, in my humble opinion he has a serious lack of character. How does one think or believe that he can own a cemetery and not care for it? Pastor Myles please explain this to me. 

June 2019 Update

Two more gravestones completed today. The weather is beautiful; almost too hot at times. The restoration of leaning, broken, and fallen gravestones began back in April with approximately one hundred stones needing attention. Today that number is now down to fifty-nine and that number will continue to drop as this project progresses.

All is going well with the cemetery project; however, there is a new dilemma unfolding presently. A question for you: have you driven through the cemetery lately? If you have, then you know the situation regarding the grass, if not, well, the grass is now about three feet high in length. Yes, that number is correct. The lawn has not been mowed since early August 2018. This is obviously putting a damper on the speed of the project. It is also forcing people to bring in their own mowers and weed whackers to knock down and remove the grass from their family plots. Do I need to say, "this is unacceptable!" Families should not have to do this, period!

A bit of background history on the Evangelical Protestant Church. In the 1920s, the Evangelical churches merged with another religious body that is now known as the United Church of Christ. When Reverend John U. Miller of Albany's South End Evangelical Protestant Church died in 2010; it was decided that the church would close. After this decision was made, the United Church of Christ desired to sell the former church building, the pastoral building, and its cemetery as a package deal.

Fast forward to July 2018. The United Church of Christ found a buyer for the properties in Pastor Ronald Myles Jr. and his Healing from Heaven Friends Fellowship. In September 2018, Pastor Myles was contacted regarding the height of the grass at the cemetery. Myles indicated that he only wanted to purchase the church building and not the cemetery; but, a contingency for the sale stated that he had to take all of the properties, including the cemetery. Myles then said that he has no plans to do anything with the cemetery including the care for it.

So, there we have it. An individual or a Fellowship church/congregation that intends to let the cemetery decay.

There is a plan in motion that will hopefully get Myles to at the least get the lawn mowed. Stay tuned...

March 2019 Update

Just a couple of days ago I took a ride through the Evangelical Protestant Cemetery. Unfortunately some gravestones have sustained some damage over the Winter. This adds a few more gravestones to the list that need attention. One such additional stone is that for the Civil War veteran that someone knocked over when his or her car was driven over the curb and into the cemetery. Plastic pieces of the car still remain at the site.

If all goes well, work will begin in the cemetery within two weeks. There are no set days for when the work will begin. Everything is weather, family, and work commitment dependent. We mentioned once before; there are approximately one hundred gravestones that need attention. Most are small and medium stones. However there are enough larger ones to keep us busy. Obviously we can upright more smaller stones in one day than the larger ones.

It is our desire to have the cemetery restoration project completed by the Fall of this year. If you are in the neighborhood of the cemetery, stop in to say hello, or to roll up your sleeves and join in with the project. Help will never be turned down.

January 2019 Update

Yes, this blog is still alive and the cemetery restoration continues! It has been a while since the last post. Many items of interest have occurred since the August article.

• Numerous gravestones were rehabbed during the 2018 season. Including three obelisks that were in danger of toppling over. We can think of three more that need attention this Spring.
• Approximately ninety more stones, most of them smaller in size, are still in need of attention at the cemetery. When Spring and warmer weather arrive work will begin at a fast pace. The plan is to complete the gravestone restoration in 2019. 
• More topsoil, stone dust, D2 (the go-to cleaning product), and bagged cement for fabricating new bases for certain gravestones will need to be purchased.
• Very soon a plan will be devised to reclaim the perimeter of the cemetery, again. This needs to be done, again, before the encroaching growth gets outrageous. Hopefully this work will begin in the Winter as soon as some of the snow melts. The plan is to have the perimeter cleaned up before the stone work begins.
• It appears that the littering and dumping has slowed down at the cemetery but violators are still sneaking in. Isn't it easier to just to put your garbage in front of your house?
• Recently, someone,perhaps a fool speeder, lost control of his/her car while driving around the bend. The car hopped the curb and drove into the cemetery. A stone of a Civil War veteran that was in the process of being restored was knocked over. Fortunately the stone was not completely restored otherwise a second repair would be even more difficult. Luckily the stone did not break further.
• Last year an attempt to replace the roof on the old cemetery vault building was moving forward but abruptly stopped. The roof is completely missing on one side due to tree branches rubbing the asphalt shingles over the years. The roof desperately needs to be replaced soon. The roof may even collapse this Winter. The reason for the halting of the roof replacement is next.
• In July, a congregation bought the former Evangelical Protestant Church building in the South End for its services. A requirement for the sale of the church building stated that the cemetery had to be included in the transaction. When the grass was getting "knee-high" a concerned individual whom has numerous ancestors buried in the cemetery contacted the new property owner and asked what are the future plans for upkeep of the cemetery? The response was "absolutely none... I didn't want the cemetery but I had to take it to get the church... I have no plans for doing anything with it"
• To be continued...

August 2018 Update

What a wet and rainy season this Summer has been. We uprighted two and a half stones earlier today. We should have had three completed but a monsoon blew in and half drowned us this morning. Unlike the wicked witch of the west, we won't melt.

A thank you goes out to M-A C for her donation to this project. Thank you again!

Since the restoration season has begun over 35 gravestones have been uprighted and secured. Two of which were severely leaning obelisks and one obelisk that had already toppled over. Our goal is to correct the dangerous stones before they fall or possibly injure someone. Numerous Civil War veterans whose tablet style stones were broken were cleaned and uprighted by casting new cement bases for the stones of these former soldiers. One of which was Colonel Frederick Andes. He is once again standing at attention.

Does anyone remember his obelisk that had tipped over? The remaining pieces were disassembled, a new level stone dust base installed, and then the obelisk reassembled. The cross for the top of this obelisk will be replaced on top of the cap after it is re-pinned and re-mortared for safety.

The same was done with this severely leaning obelisk which is a little over 7 feet tall.

Before

After

New developments have surfaced where a new owner has purchased the properties of the former Evangelical Protestant Church, including the cemetery. We will see how this progresses. The lawn is very high at this point and desperately needs mowing. The former lawn contractor was told to cease mowing. We will keep you posted on this.

My plans to attempt a new roof for the vault building are now on hold because of the sale of the properties. Perhaps something can be worked out. Below are pictures of the outside of the right side of the roof and another from inside the building. If left like this it will not be long before the roof completely collapses. Left as is, I predict three years maybe less before it is gone.

Exterior View

Interior View

June 2018 Update

Although rehab work started later than expected at the cemetery. It is now going full steam. Materials were purchased for use. Numerous stones have been leveled and up-righted. Also, a large leaning tree that was leaning was cut down and removed. Photos of the work are below. The tree was completely removed. The photo show partial removal.

The photo below is the next obelisk that will be worked on this weekend. The monument is simply leaning too much now and is now a safety concern. Soon it will be dismantled, its base leveled, and then re-assembled. Photos to follow upon its completion.

February 2018 Update

Plans for the 2018 cemetery rehab season at the Evangelical Protestant Cemetery are made and work is underway. One would never know this though. What is being done presently? For years, much garbage and discarded plastic flowers were thrown into a corner of the old vault building. This garbage is being removed little by little. The rear shed behind the vault building is already emptied of its former junk. During the late Spring, it is hoped that someone might donate some expertise, time, and sweat to help replace the roofs on these buildings. If the roofs are left as is the buildings will collapse. Let's get this corrected before more damage is done.

Once the weather warms a little more; the hilly center area will have the remaining roots and vines removed, which should keep the extreme sumac growth down. Also the outer perimeter will be cleared of what has crept inward again.

Hopefully by early April stone work will be started. Since I am still recuperating from shoulder surgery smaller gravestones will be tackled first. The bases will be lifted and re-leveled. Any actual repairs to the marble stones and or mortar work on these stones will be taken care of by mid-May. When this season ends the section in between the driveway and the Route 85 fence will be completed along with the the furthest section in back heading towards the middle of the grounds. The far opposite side of the cemetery is complete now. All damaged and unlevel gravestones were corrected in 2016 and 2017.

January 2018 Update

The new year is here! Although, recent posting has not occurred here lately. Off site plans are being put together for another productive rehab season in 2018. Work ended in early November 2017 with the completion of the Bender plot. Cold weather, ice, and snow plus an operation has ended work at the cemetery for a few months for us. But we will be back!

The Bender plot, mentioned above, rests above the Civil War grove on a hill was finally finished. It was a work in progress throughout the Spring and Summer; and now it is complete. A video was made to show the progress of this project. A link to the video is below. See you in the Spring!