First Historical Cemetery Cleanups a Resounding Success

The folks in the East Greenwich Historical Cemetery Commission held its first round of cleanups over the weekend with nearly perfect weather in the skies above and numerous volunteers working hard to remove a veritable mountain of debris.

Fifty-five bags of lawn debris, two tires, a push-reel mower, paint cans and plenty of briars were hauled out of historical cemeteries 23, 24 and 25 on Cedar Avenue; cemetery 62 on Wine Street and cemetery 31 on Sleepy Hollow Road.

"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 commission said in a statement.

The commission also wanted to thank the generous donations and hospitality from others, including the Kaplan family who provided some cinnamon buns that pleased the cleanup crews and Benny's and Salks, who donated lawn bags.

Also worth a mention is Lenny Arvidson of Arvidson Auto Repair who got their equipment up and running as well as Graphics Innovation for creating signs.

"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 TBD.  We still need the support of the community," the statement read.

Here are the volunteers:

Cemeteries 23-25: Ramon Alfers & Janet Koladay

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 Rodrigue, Andrew Stern, Elise Kaplan, Landon Kaplan.

If you would like to volunteer for that cleanup please contact Vice Chair and Volunteer Coordinator ML Formisano at mlformisano@cox.net.  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 5 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.