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University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media
The old saying “Put your money where your mouth is” is
something previous Midway City Council member Johnny Wilson has no problem
doing when it comes to the town’s historically African American cemeteries.
At a council meeting in January, just after he had serve out
an unexpired term, Wilson raised the issue of the St. Rose and Sons and
Daughters of Relief cemeteries.
Wilson reported to the council that 71 of the 303 headstones
in the cemeteries need resetting, repair or replacement, and gave $1,000 to
help fund the work.
“I know what little
money I put in is not good enough to fix everything, but it’s a start,” Wilson
said in an interview. “There’s history there. You want to respect the people
that come before you and what they’ve done in Midway.”
Another recently departed council member, John McDaniel,
said in an interview, “John definitely put the pressure on them, when he handed
them that money.”
Mayor Grayson Vandegrift thanked Wilson for his dedication
to the cemeteries, but in a later meeting said that the process of getting them
fixed up “will take time.” Meanwhile, a committee of council members concluded
that the upkeep of the cemeteries will be more complicated than it initially
seemed.
Johnny Wilson |
Wilson also said he thinks there will be funding for the cemeteries in the upcoming budget.
Vandegrift told the Messenger that he plans to fund the work with part of the extra revenue from increasing cemetery plot prices, which would be raised by an ordinance the City Council is considering.
Wilson said in the interview that a Memorial Day walk
through the city’s three cemeteries prompted his eagerness to get the stones
repaired. “Compared to the main one, the African American cemeteries were in
really bad shape,” he said. “The tombstones were down and some were broken.
Trees had even taken over some of the gravesites.”
Generally, upkeep of the two African American cemeteries has
been the sole responsibility of the families of the deceased. Wilson and
McDaniel contend that since the last burial in either cemetery was in the late
1980s, and many family members of the deceased are no longer in Midway, the
cemeteries should become the responsibility of the city.
“I’m disappointed
that the city couldn’t take care of them,” Wilson said. “It was very
disappointing to see the shape they’re in and no money to fix it.” He said the
costs will surpass “well over $1,000.”
McDaniel said, “Some of the stones are difficult to read now.
I would like to figure out who is there and at least put a marker to recognize
those people.”
Both Wilson and McDaniel mentioned that markers on the
stones are an ideal goal for them, as well as regular maintenance and repairs
to the stones that no longer have a base and that have been heavily damaged by
weather.
The chair of the council’s Cemetery and City Property
Committee, Sara Hicks, proposed at the committee meeting on May 1 that the city
provide markers for graves in the Midway Cemetery, if one hasn’t been provided
after one year.
The committee added the provision to the proposed ordinance
that would increase the price of a single grave from $650 to $750 and increase
the cost to open and close a grave to $700 rather than $600. Vandegrift had
already approved temporary markers for each grave, which will be provided to
families of the deceased two days before the funeral, but with an expectation
that each family will provide a permanent marker.
UPDATE: Due to the amendment, second reading and possible passage of the ordinance will be delayed until May 20, Vandegrift told the Messenger.
UPDATE: Due to the amendment, second reading and possible passage of the ordinance will be delayed until May 20, Vandegrift told the Messenger.
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