Cemetery cleanup effort a success

More than 20 volunteers spent Saturday morning clearing debris and brush from the Old Spray Cemetery in Eden, located across the street from First Wesleyan Church.

David Clay, a member of the cemetery committee for the Eden Preservation Society, said the group got 75 percent of the cemetery cleared of rubbish, but the next part will be a little trickier.

“We got a lot accomplished last weekend and I’m very pleased with where we are now,” he said. “There is a lot more to do in the back section, which is where we’ll be going next. There’s a lot to be cleared in that part of the cemetery.”

Clay said a couple was already looking in the cemetery after they finished on Saturday. He said he hopes the community will get involved, and those who have loved ones buried there will come forward.

“We are trying to build a plot map of the cemetery so we can find out who’s in there and where,” Clay said. “We really need the community’s help on this. We’re looking for old pictures of the cemetery, and if anyone has any relatives, we want to know where they are buried.”

There are many graves in the cemetery without markers or with damaged headstones. Clay said he hopes to restore some of them and have markers placed on unmarked gravesites. He also wants to have a wall built to protect the gravesite in the future.

Another community cleanup effort is being planned for March 20. For more information, contact David Clay at (336) 427-5711.