Volunteers plan cemetery cleanup

TORONTO — Interested volunteers on Sunday attended a planning meeting for the renovation and cleanup of Island Creek Cemetery located behind the former Hilltop Presbyterian Church.

“A tombstone can be the only connection to a vital record in instances where other pertinent information was not kept,” said Flora VerStraten, president of the Jefferson County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society.

“People migrated to the county when land and land grants ran out in other areas,” she said of Jefferson County’s early days.

“Revolutionary soldiers lived, died and were buried in this cemetery and we should show our reverence to their burial spots,” VerStraten said.

“Before 1867, there were no marriage or birth certificates, so grave stones are our only recorded history. They tell the date of birth and death, will sometimes tell the date of marriage and even list other family members. And with no other records this is important” she said.

She told those in attendance that Island Creek Cemetery needs to have trees cut down and grave stones repaired and reset. She noted some stones are being discarded at the bottom of the hill, and “we need to get them matched to the right base, or in cases where a replacement has been made, get rid of the old one,” she said.

“It is important that we do this. We need the help of everyone with loved ones buried here. You need to get the word out to churches, individuals and organizations to donate for the materials needed to preserve the integrity of the stones and volunteer workers for the session we have planned for May 29 through 31,” VerStraten noted.

“We go through Sakrete like it is water, it is used to stabilize old tombstones. The genealogical society has been doing this for six or more years and we know what we are doing,” she added.

VerStraten explained three crews are need for the three work days. “Crew one will do digging and the lifting of tombstones and bases, setting and leveling them with cement and bricks. We need to get heavy equipment and straps in for this.

“Crew two will cut down trees, brush and scrub. Workers need to bring in chain and hand saws, clippers, trimmers and fuel oil. We would like the township to remove that which is cut down,” she said.

“Crew three will be reading and recording tombstone inscriptions and taking digital photos. You will need probes, gloves, small garden tools and surveyor flags, but we have some of this.”

Mark Clark, Island Creek township trustee, was in attendance, as well as Bob Meredith, cemetery trustee; Gail Komer, cemetery cleanup leader and genealogical society recording secretary; and Carolyn Walker, who is in the process of starting a Toronto Historical Society.

Richard Sutton told VerStraten his son Preston is having difficulty mowing in the cemetery in the present condition, as the genealogical society had made holes on the grounds in their pre-clean-up duties.

VerStraten explained this was necessary for their work, but it would be “improved greatly” when the work is done. She praised the township trustees for having the cemetery mowed twice a month, saying that many only did it once a month.

“We have 177 cemeteries in the county and most are in bad condition. On a scale of one to 10, yours is a three or four at the most,” she said, explaining that the work sessions would take care of the situation.



(McCoy can be contacted at emccoy@heraldstaronline.com.)