Route 66 in the News
Volunteers Restore Cemetery in Pontiac
2005-03-25 07:44:53
Men, women and children buried decades ago in a Livingston County cemetery for paupers were nearly forgotten in their weed-choked graves, but not anymore.
Volunteers have been cleaning up and restoring the cemetery behind Livingston Manor on Old Route 66 south of Pontiac, and they hope to be finished this summer.
"It a historic site," said Livingston County Board member George Knudsen, who has led the cleanup effort with his wife, Germaine. "It is nice for the people who are buried to have the respect and dignity they deserve."
Last week, the County Board took another step toward preserving the site by making it a parcel separate from the Livingston Manor. That means the county can keep the cemetery if it ever sells the nursing home property.
The move also allows the county to maintain a new gravel road to the cemetery.
The restoration includes the recent installation of a new monument, which is engraved with names of those buried there who could be identified. About 120 people are buried in the cemetery, but only half have marked graves.
Fencing and a flagpole also have been added.
The Knudsens and several members of the County Board took on the cleanup effort about a year ago.
The cemetery, off County Road 1400 North, used to be on the county's "poor farm," where people worked the land to earn their keep. Records show burials took place from 1877 to 1934, but the cemetery has existed since 1860.
Knudsen said more has to be done at the site, including adding flowers, shrubs and a bench. He said a formal dedication is a possibility.
"It's a good feeling," he said. "It was something that needed to be done. A lot of people helped out. Now, it is going to be able to stay that way forever."
County Board Chairwoman Jeanne Rapp praised the work. "It is something everyone in the county can be proud of. They really worked on it to make it an appropriate place," she said.
The Knudsens searched old records, some of which were incomplete, to find who was buried in the cemetery.
The cemetery is in three sections. The oldest and newest sections have unmarked graves, but the graves in the middle section have markers that bear numbers, not names.
The restoration cost about $7,500 for materials, and most of the labor was volunteer. The county's engineering department completed the road to the cemetery and removed some of the trees and brush.
~Karen Blatter, Pantagraph.com
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