What a great job the Boy Scouts of Troop 153 did cleaning up the neglected African Methodist Episcopal cemetery on Route 842 here in West Marlborough. Restoring the graveyard was Will Horstmann's Eagle Scout project, and this past Sunday he and several other troop members put the finishing touches on the job.
The project had its genesis by pure chance. Will's father, Steve Horstmann, was foxhunting with the Cheshire hunt and saw a fox go to ground on the overgrown property. Steve said he saw what looked like a tombstone and asked a fellow foxhunter if it was a pet cemetery. No, said his colleague; I think it's a human cemetery.
Steve did some research, learned that some black Civil War veterans were buried there and felt strongly that something should be done to honor them: "It was a disgrace," he said.
Coincidentally, Will was looking for an Eagle Scout project, so they embarked on the lengthy process of tracing the ownership of the property and getting permission to do the cleanup work.
Several Scouts helped Will this past week with the actual physical work, clearing the weeds, grapevines, poison ivy and fallen trees and debris. One boy suffered several bee stings, which meant a quick trip to the ER at Jennersville (he learned that he is in fact allergic to bee stings. Good to know!).
I happened to drive by the site on Sunday when the boys were installing black metal fencing, putting up a sign and placing American flags on the veterans' grave. To wrap things up, they bowed their heads and recited the Lord's Prayer, and the leaders said a few words honoring the long-dead veterans.
Good job, men.
Will Horstmann at the historic African-American cemetery in West Marlborough, which he and his fellow Boy Scouts cleaned up for his Eagle Scout project.
This is the second time that this cemetery has been an Eagle Scout project for a young man in the community. I think that it would be good if the troop would take it on as a continuing project to keep it up.
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