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Never forgotten

Lowell’s Women of the Moose work in Greenlawn Cemetery

HANNAH KITTLE The Marietta Times Tina LeMasters, officer of the Women of the Moose who is also heading up the project, adjusts a flag for one broken headstone at the Greenlawn Cemetery in Lowell on Monday.

LOWELL–Halloween is near; however, at least at the Greenlawn Cemetery, not everything is centered around fear.

Recently, the Women of the Moose at Lowell Chapter 2261 have been doing fundraisers to spruce up the deteriorating headstones at the community cemetery.

“We were driving by and we’ve seen a lot of them that were stacked on top of one another,” said Tina LeMasters, officer of the Women of the Moose who is also heading up the project. “We were walking through and seeing that a lot of them were in disrepair and we thought that would be a good project for the Women of the Moose to do.”

LeMasters noted that there are 151 headstones in Greenlawn Cemetery on Greenlawn Lane, Lowell, that need to be replaced which will cost approximately $15,000. They are holding fundraisers and are accepting donations to buy granite plates to place on the salvageable headstones and to place on the ground for the headstones that are not.

“They’ll have their name, date of birth and their date of death,” explained LeMasters. “They are black granite and will be a little bit bigger than a block.”

Additionally, they will be adding the branches of the military for veterans and other decorations to honor those who have passed and to make the cemetery a nicer place to visit.

“Just because we don’t see them doesn’t mean they are gone,” said Carolyn Farmer, officer of the Women of the Moose. “I think they still deserve to have the recognition there for them; we’ve got people who are willing to help us do fundraisers and we will continue to do fundraisers of our own throughout the year.”

LeMasters said they want to place American

flags on the graves of those who have served and, in addition, other decorations for those in the cemetery.

The cemetery has more than 3,000 graves, including four for Revolutionary War soldiers, five for veterans of the War of 1812, 82 for Civil War soldiers and dozens for veterans of each way to follow.

The cemetery began around 1800 with a donation of land from Robert Allison and the first burial was in 1806.

Farmer said the community has reacted positively towards the project and feels that the maintenance is needed.

“They are satisfied with what we are wanting to do,” she said. “I think if we get this project going and it does well, other people might take interest in their own local cemeteries.”

The importance is clear, noted Farmer. She said it’s a part of community and holds its history.

“It’s a part of our heritage, our history,” she explained. “Whether you personally know someone there or not, it’s a part of the community history.”

Due to recent fundraisers, the group has collected enough money to build seven headstones.

“We had a booth at the (Lowell) Octoberfest and we had enough money to get three markers and we just had two cheese raffles,” said LeMasters. “We are working on trying to do a basket bingo in March or April; we’ve got a lot of things planned to help us raise the money to get this going.”

According to LeMasters, they will have to wait until May to actually begin work in the cemetery.

“(The trustees for the cemetery) don’t want us to do it now because they don’t want them to crack because of winter,” she noted. “They want time for (the headstones) to cure in the spring before winter hits again.”

The cemetery is owned and maintained by Adams Township. LeMasters said keeping the cemetery maintained is not only respectful to the people who rest there, but it is also important for the history of the town.

“We have a lot of history in there and I think it’s good that upcoming generations can see the history that we have,” she said. “It’s a big help for us that the community is wanting to get involved.”

Farmer added the cemetery is special to a lot of families in the area and they are happy to be able to improve a space that many hold near to their hearts.

“It is the community cemetery; it’s the only one there I know of right in Lowell,” said Farmer. “We have decided to back (LeMasters) in this; however long it takes, we are going to back her up in it.”

At a glance

¯Those who would like to contribute can go to Peoples Bank and make a donation to the Women of the Moose’s account.

¯ Upcoming fundraising dates will be announced as they are confirmed.

Source: Tina LeMasters.

 

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