Park Day to be Observed at Highland Cemetery
Volunteers Needed and Welcome
by Christopher Miller
LOCK HAVEN – “Perpetual care” was a phrase that was used in the purchasing and maintenance of final resting places. Monies would be set aside in Wills and Trusts for the care and upkeep of family graves. Now these places of solitude and reflection need our help.
This April 2 Park Day, which is a day of volunteering at participating parks and national sites was established by The Civil War Trust to bring history enthusiasts together in an effort to help keep our nation’s heritage not only preserved, but pristine.
Entering it’s fourth year of the volunteer-run program, Highland Cemetery Association will be participating in this nationwide day of volunteering and park maintenance.
Throughout the Commonwealth, only three places are participating in this year’s day of volunteering. Unless you reside in the greater Gettysburg or Philadelphia area , you might just miss out on your chance to participate in something heartwarming and long-lasting.
What makes Highland Cemetery a viable Park Day-approved participant are the number of armed services personnel residing on the sprawling acres built into the hillside. Of the over 600 veteran burials in Highland Cemetery, most are men who fought in World Wars I and II. However, some reside here from modern conflict, the Civil War and even the Revolutionary War.
This day is the culmination of weeks of hard work completed by the Cemetery Board, Lock Haven University student volunteer coordinators and the man who helped to bring Park Day to our part of the state, Dave Wallace.
“This one day sees the greatest amount of work completed in the shortest amount of time,” exclaimed Dave in an interview this week. Maintenance projects such as extensive road work, the repairing and resetting of tombstones and tree cutting keeps the dozens of volunteers very busy on this day. The best part of this work day for the non-profit cemetery association is that all of these goods and services are provided as a donation. As Dave says, “we are extremely thankful for all of the donations we receive from the community in time, supplies and food…it takes a large assortment of food to feed the volunteers who come to help us on this day, and we are so very thankful for their hard work!”
The Highland Cemetery Association holds monthly Board Meetings at the Ross Library which are open to the public on the third Monday of each month, 6 p.m. The public is always invited to attend and volunteer.
The Fourth Annual Park Day will take place April 2, 2016 beginning at 9 a.m. People interested in volunteering for the event are encouraged to meet at the end of Akeley Lane between Sloan Fine Arts Building and Bentley Dining Hall. A sign-in sheet will be available to keep an accurate record all volunteer hours. “Please, if you are interested in volunteering for the event do dress in layers in case of cold temperatures,” Dave recommends. The public is invited to bring gloves, hand spades and rakes if you have them, but please mark them in a way so they can find their way back to their owners.
For any questions, Dave Wallace can be reached by calling him at home 570-748-5080 or by email at davewallace56@verizon.net.
