Volunteers needed for Memorial Day weekend clean up event at St. Louis’ historic Greenwood Cemetery
The Friends of Greenwood Cemetery Association is seeking volunteers to participate in the annual Memorial Day Weekend Clean Up Event at Greenwood Cemetery on Saturday, May 25, 2013 from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm.
The Greenwood Clean Up Event allows for upkeep of grave sites and family plots at this historic cemetery where local St. Louis legends lie in interment.
Greenwood Cemetery is the oldest non-sectarian cemetery for African Americans in the St. Louis region. Founded in 1874, Greenwood Cemetery is rich with history, and is the
final resting place of several noted legends in the African American community including Harriet Robinson Scott (wife of Dred Scott), Charlton Hunt Tandy (Civil War veteran and captain of Tandy’s St. Louis Guard), Jesse Johnson (music promoter and dance instructor), and blues musician Walter Davis. The cemetery, one of only 17 African American cemeteries listed the National Register of Historic Places, has been an educational resource and teaching tool for local anthropologists and historians.
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Greenwood Cemetery had suffered severe neglect mostly in the past 30 years of its 140 year history. Now owned by small not-for-profit The Friends of Greenwood, restoration and beautification efforts are underway.
“We rely mainly on family members and volunteers to keep up on the landscaping and maintenance of the cemetery,” says Etta Daniels, Friends of Greenwood Board Member and Cemetery Historian. “We’ve made great progress, but with more than 31 acres of land and 50,000 graves there is still a lot of work to be done.”
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The Friends of Greenwood coordinates several organized volunteer events throughout the spring, summer and fall to
maintain its work and to continue to clear land, preserve burial sites, and uncover the rich history that lives on at the cemetery. The annual Memorial Day Weekend Clean Up
Event, this year scheduled for Saturday, May 25, 2013 from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm, officially launches the cemetery’s volunteer season.
“Volunteers are always welcome to support the upkeep of Greenwood Cemetery,” Ms. Daniels continues. “Even if you don’t have loved ones buried here we invite you to get involved, learn more about Greenwood Cemetery’s history, and plans for the future.”
The Friends of Greenwood are also in need of landscaping and gardening supplies such as lawn mowers, weed trimmers and rakes for the event. Please contact Etta Daniels at 314-772-7466 or ettadaniels@charter.net for more information.
About the Annual Memorial Day Weekend Cleanup Event
WHEN: Saturday May 25, 2013 from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm
WHERE: Greenwood Cemetery, 6571 St. Louis Ave, Hillsdale, MO 63121
About the Friends of Greenwood Cemetery Association, Inc.
The Friends of Greenwood Cemetery Association, Inc. organized on February 27, 1999, and incorporated on March 1, 1999, as a not-for-profit corporation, for the
purpose of acquiring, restoring, and preserving Greenwood Cemetery and operating it as a historic site and as an important educational resource for St. Louis County and the State of Missouri, reflecting the rich African American heritage of the region.
About Greenwood Cemetery
Greenwood Cemetery is 31.25 acres lying within the municipality of Hillsdale and bordered by Velda City and Velda Village Hills. Founded in 1874, Greenwood Cemetery is the oldest non-sectarian cemetery for African Americans in St. Louis County. It is the final resting place of more than 50,000 people, many of whom significantly influenced St. Louis history, including an aid to Abraham Lincoln; civil rights leader Charlton Tandy; promoter and restaurateur Jesse Johnson; veterans of the Civil War, the Spanish American War, World War I, World War II, and the Korean War; and many great blues musicians, businessmen and educators. Greenwood Cemetery is one of only 17 African American cemeteries listed the National Register of Historic Places.