Even though I'm halfway around the world, I was delighted to hear that a matching grant has been awarded for a survey and recommendations for Old Burial Hill by Massachusetts Historic Commission. I hope every 'Header will help match those funds that will lead to restoration of one of Marblehead's most famous landmarks. My family has been a close neighbor of the hill for over 40 years. We've never thought of it as a cemetery but more as a quiet and friendly resting place for generations of Marbleheaders, famous and otherwise. From General Glover's tomb and the graves of other Revolutionary War soldiers to the babes whose lives were measured in months to the monument for the fishermen who lost their lives in the Great Gale of 1846, the hill is full of stories of the town's history. Old Burial Hill is in need of repair. Gravestones are broken, pushed over or stolen; vines and invasive species have overgrown the stones; acid rain and age has made it impossible to read many of the inscriptions; steps and railings are in bad repair. Fortunately, the Cemetery Department and some of the Hill's neighbors have looked after it as best they could: picking up the litter, pruning back vines, even repairing and painting the bench on top of the hill. But it's not enough.
Peace Corps Volunteer Judy Gates writes: Old Burial Hill is in need of repair
LETTER: All the way from Mongolia, support for Old Burial Hill
Sun Jul 26, 2009, 07:36 PM EDT
Caption: Burial Hill by Elizabeth Thomsen Flickr Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.0 Generic
Marblehead -
To the editor:
Even though I'm halfway around the world, I was delighted to hear that a matching grant has been awarded for a survey and recommendations for Old Burial Hill by Massachusetts Historic Commission. I hope every 'Header will help match those funds that will lead to restoration of one of Marblehead's most famous landmarks.
My family has been a close neighbor of the hill for over 40 years. We've never thought of it as a cemetery but more as a quiet and friendly resting place for generations of Marbleheaders, famous and otherwise. From General Glover's tomb and the graves of other Revolutionary War soldiers to the babes whose lives were measured in months to the monument for the fishermen who lost their lives in the Great Gale of 1846, the hill is full of stories of the town's history.
Old Burial Hill is in need of repair. Gravestones are broken, pushed over or stolen; vines and invasive species have overgrown the stones; acid rain and age has made it impossible to read many of the inscriptions; steps and railings are in bad repair. Fortunately, the Cemetery Department and some of the Hill's neighbors have looked after it as best they could: picking up the litter, pruning back vines, even repairing and painting the bench on top of the hill. But it's not enough.
That bench, by the way, provides one of the town's best views of the mouth of the harbor as long as the trees don't grow up and block it. My husband and I often sat on the bench, enjoying the view and the peaceful setting. When visitors came, my husband shared a little of the hill's history with them, pointing out General Glover's tomb. At the same time, we were embarrassed that the hill was in disrepair.
Presently, I'm a Peace Corps volunteer living in Mongolia, and the problems of Old Burial Hill pale in comparison with the challenges we face here. Still, the hill represents to me the sturdy determination of our founding fathers and mothers to build a community that would support the ideals of freedom. Surely, we all can contribute to the preservation of this precious memorial. The Board of Selectmen has set up a donation account. Please help us in the first step to help restore Old Burial Hill. Donations can be sent to the office of the Board of Selectmen made out to the "Town of Marblehead." Be sure to write "Old Burial Hill" donation on the check memo.
Thank you. This is an important project for Marblehead.
Judy Gates
Pond Street
Peace Corps business volunteer
Mongolia
Blog: skyetalk.wordpress.com
