CARBONDALE -- Caretakers for a cemetery in Carbondale say they need help. The city's founders are buried at Maplewood Cemetery, but as it gets older, it's getting harder and harder to maintain.
Maplewood Cemetery is plagued with several problems, some relating to its age. The earliest graves are from the 1830s and many of the markers are toppled over.
The cemetery also has a vandalism problem.
The people tasked with taking care of the cemetery are just trying to keep up.
We met Norma Doolittle during what's become a pretty regular pilgrimage to Maplewood Cemetery in Carbondale.
"As you get older, family and your family's history starts touching your heart a little bit more and you start looking for them, and you start wondering what their life was like," Doolittle said.
Some of her ancestors are buried in Maplewood Cemetery and we're sure they appreciate her dedication. She's made the trip from New York several times.
"It took me three trips here to find the stone I was looking for and it had quite a bit of shrubs around it."
Norma's not the only one who's had complaints about the cemetery that dates back to the 1830s.
"It looks terrible. It really does," said David McAndrew of Carbondale. "The tombstones are knocked over."
Some have fallen from natural forces. Many fear some were toppled on purpose. Garbage has collected in spots and some graves have been vandalized.
"I think the cemetery is very important to Carbondale; it's important to the whole valley," said Janet Price of Carbondale.
You'll spot familiar names, founders of communities and industry in the Lackawanna Valley.
"There are members of so many families elsewhere that started out here in Carbondale," said Dr. Silas Powell, Carbondale Historical Society. "I also have a special interest because there are quite a number of my ancestors that are buried there as well."
Maintaining Maplewood has been a labor of love for Powell. He's looked over the cemetery's endowment for decades.
The cemetery's endowment fund earns a few thousand dollars each year, but with several acres of land and 7,000 graves to maintain, that money doesn't go very far anymore.
Powell says the cash can pay for cleanup and cutting the grass in time for Memorial Day, but to solve its bigger problems, caretakers of the cemetery are looking for donations and volunteers.
They're hoping someone is interested in the history there.
"The cemetery needs friends and it has very few friends these days," said Powell.
The caretakers say they have a cleanup planned for this month to get the grass cut and do some cosmetic things in time for Memorial Day.
Anyone who is interested in helping out is asked to contact Carbondale City Hall.
