View From Fairview Cemetery

This past weekend the Morning Call reported on current efforts to tame Fairview Cemetery, located on Lehigh Street, just west of the 8th Street Bridge. The article was very kind to the current operator, who should have been keeping the cemetery mowed. The article mentioned my efforts there, over a decade ago. At that time, although the cemetery was generally neglected, it was still in better shape than this year, before the current volunteer efforts began. While the reporter mentioned only one funeral in an old family plot, he didn't report on the numerous new burials taking place in questionable places. These places include former designated walking paths between plots,  and spots in old family plots, where new outsider burials should not be taking place at all. Although the operator wasn't mowing this year, he now more income than ever from the new burials.

When I became involved in the cemetery in 2008, Chris Casey was already caring for his inlaws' plots. While he and other volunteers are now mowing more and more of the cemetery, he realizes that his labor is ironically making the operator's funeral business more marketable.

Last month I encouraged Tyler Fatzinger to start a facebook group, where those interested in Fairview can congregate. Tyler, in addition to an enormous amount of hard work at the cemetery, has managed to get the attention of the local media. So far two meetings have occurred, one with the operator himself. Tyler is a young man in this challenge for the long haul.  His informal group has begun exploring the possibility of creating an organization dedicated to the cemetery's upkeep.