For the next few days, I’ve been working on some posts about things I am thankful for, in honor of Thanksgiving. I want to preface these by saying that I framed the posts considering what walking through cemeteries make me grateful to have or experience.
And to kick things off, today I am especially thankful for non-profit cemetery foundations. Composed of dedicated, motivated volunteers, these organizations maintain and restore cemeteries because they value them and care about what happens to them. There are of course multiple cemetery foundations in the Cleveland area, but the one that I have had the most reason to appreciate is the East Cleveland Cemetery Township Foundation.
As I’ve written about previously, my great great uncle Ralph rests in East Cleveland Township Cemetery, struck down at age 27 by tuberculosis. Now Uncle Ralph may not have a stone (my research hasn’t been able to determine if he ever did), but thanks to the efforts of this foundation, his final resting place does have a nice new sign, a restored office, and a park outside that makes it more visible. The cemetery is also now maintained (raked in the fall, mowed in the summer). The foundation volunteers have removed dead and diseased trees, righted fallen monuments, and made cemetery records accessible online. In short, they have brought this cemetery back to life.
A Grave Concern 
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