Ex-council member continues effort to fix up old African American cemeteries; fee hikes would fund some work

Google Maps image, labeled by Midway Messenger

By Tyler Parker

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 kept up his campaign at the April 15 council meeting, donating another $250, this time earmarking in for work at Sons and Daughters. He also gave $250 to have a tree planted with his name in Walter Bradley Park, “a crabapple or persimmon tree, to fit my personality.”

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.

St. Rose Cemetery is located on West Stephens Street just past the Midway Cemetery, while Sons and Daughters is located at the end of West Bruen Street. and the two cemeteries are about two-thirds of a mile apart, along the northwestern limits of the city.

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.