First Historical Cemetery Cleanup A Success, More To Come

by | May 8, 2014

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Volunteers at the historic cemetery at the end of Wine Street. Credit: EGHCAC
By Jason Beaumier
The East Greenwich Historic Cemetery Advisory Commission is pleased to announce our first successful round of cemetery cleanups. On May 3, with nearly perfect weather, the Commission, with the help of numerous volunteers, cleaned and restored Historic Cemeteries 23, 24, & 25 on Cedar Ave, Historic Cemetery 62 on Wine Street, and Historic Cemetery 31 on Sleepy Hollow Road. These cleanups removed over 55 bags of lawn debris, 2 tires, an old push reel mower, a couple of paint cans, and large amount of briars. These cleanups would not have been possible without our crew of volunteers, and for that the Commission would like to express our sincerest appreciation and gratitude for their help and support. We really could not have done it without your help. All of you should be extremely proud of what you did. The volunteers that aided us are as follows:
Cemeteries 23-25: Ramon Alfers & Janet Koladay.
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Ramon Alfers gathers leaves at one of the cemeteries in a line on Cedar at Kenyon. Credit: EGHCAC
Cemetery 62: Janice Sarafian, David Sanford, Joanne Balzano, Paul Roberti, Glen Carpenter, Michelle Place, Gleason, Joe Gleason, Maeve Gleason, Tess Gleason, Catherine Feisthamel, Lauren Salvadore, Annie Bainchi, Andy Berg, Clark Roscher.
Cemetery 31: Luke Eller, Mark Formisano, John Granatiero, Olivia Granatiero, Shiv Patel, John Hare, Margaret Rodrígue, Andrew Stern, Elise Kaplan, Landon Kaplan. Special thank you to the Kaplan family for the wonderful hospitality you offered us, and for Kim’s cinnamon buns. They were well received amongst the crew.
We would also like to thank Benny’s and Salk’s for their generous donation of lawn bags, Lenny Arvidson of Arvidson’s Auto Repair for getting our equipment up and running, and Graphics Innovation for creating signs for us.
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Cleaning gravestones. Credit: EGHCAC
While this is a strong start, our work is only just beginning. The Commission has tentatively planned its next round of cleanups for June 21, cemeteries to be announced. We still need the support of the community. If you would like to volunteer for that cleanup please contact vice chair and volunteer coordinator ML Formisano at [email protected].  If you have any questions or are just looking for general information, contact Assistant Town Planner Lea Anthony at 886-8643.
The East Greenwich Historic Cemetery Advisory Commission was formed in December 2013 and is tasked with restoring and rehabilitating the 91 area historic cemeteries, amongst other duties, including raising public awareness. Consisting of five members appointed by the Town Council we are happy to serve the town and look forward to future cleanups and to continue the process of getting these cemeteries back into the condition they belong in.
Respectfully yours,
The East Greenwich Historic Cemetery Advisory Commission

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Jason Beaumier
Jason Beaumier
May 9, 2014 12:06 am

If people feel strongly about us and would like these successful cleanups to continue we ask that you voice your support to the Town Council to fund us for the coming fiscal year. While cleanups will continue regardless of funding they will be much more successful with the support of the Town.

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