Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, November 7, 1994 TAG: 9411080046
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KIMBERLY N. MARTIN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
He wanted to prevent the overgrown land from being auctioned off to someone who would disturb his family's graves.
Noell couldn't stop the sale, but he did the next best thing - he enlisted the support of the man who bought the land, Joseph Abbott. Their combined efforts have cleared more than three-fourths of the once-forested land on Liberty Road next to Lincoln Terrace Elementary School.
But some are saying their cleanup methods are causing the desecration Noell tried hard to prevent.
The accusations began two weeks ago, when a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans spotted a front-end loader shoving debris across the cemetery's soft ground.
The veterans organization had been one of the chief supporters of the Springwood Burial Park cleanup. Springwood is the resting place for many Roanoke Valley blacks, some of whom were World War and Korean War veterans.
"We didn't care what color they were, we got involved because of the veterans buried there," said Robert "Red" Barbour, commander of the veterans' group.
In July, the veterans helped Noell begin to clear the land, using chain saws and weed trimmers to painstakingly remove the trees, poison ivy and berry vines that sprouted among the graves.
Noell, 81, worked every day, and the veterans came in a couple of days each month.
But when Barbour heard about the use of heavy equipment, he pulled the veterans' support.
"We took care not to damage the markers, which is really hard to do, so when we go back and see a bulldozer in there ... we didn't want anyone to think we did the damage," Barbour said. "It's not that we didn't want to [help]. It's just that there's a proper way of doing things."
And damage has been done.
Some of the tombstones are chipped and have been moved and many of the metal markers are missing or bent beyond recognition.
Noell doesn't deny that his tractor and the rented front-end loader may be responsible for some of the damage. But using the heavy equipment was the only way he knew to get the job done before winter, he said.
"It could've happened like that; but if it did, it wasn't intentional," Noell said. ``Our whole idea was to preserve the cemetery.''
Naomi Hairston, who has four relatives buried in Springwood, doesn't fault Noell if damage was done.
"It had been so we couldn't get in there for so long," Hairston said. ``It was overgrown and seemingly dangerous, so I'm very pleased with the work going on. ... It would be nice to know where your loved ones are, but I know they can't do miracles.''
Elizabeth Macklin, who was able to visit family members' graves in Springwood for the first time in years, is also happy with Noell's progress.
Still, there is more work to do.
There are tons of trash to dispose of, a field of grass to replant, and areas bordering the sidewalk that only the city can clean.
According to Roanoke Public Works Director Bill Clark, the city has cleaned its right of way once and will continue to maintain it.
And then there's the matter of Abbott's convenience store, which is the reason he paid $20,000 for the 12 acres.
"I had no idea it was a cemetery until Tom showed up [at the auction] and said 'Hey, what about the graves in here.' ... The land was zoned for apartments," Abbott said. "The auctioneer said, 'Oh, there are a couple of old graves.' But we've got 1,500 graves now.
"I only needed a half-acre for my convenience store, so I said the community could have the rest of the land on one condition: You clean it up and maintain it."
But it was a job the community didn't want to do.
Many of those who showed up at the auction to voice their dissent disappeared when it came time to clean up, Noell said.
That left Noell and Abbott - with more work than either of them had bargained for.
Noell, who retired just last year from his construction business, began working full time to get the cemetery cleaned up. And Abbott was stuck with navigating through a legal thicket to get about 30 graves moved so he can have a corner of the graveyard for his store.
Reopening the cemetery, which Abbott said has room to bury as many as 10,000 more people, is the only way Noell stands to get back the thousands of dollars he and Abbott have sunk into the cleanup.
Although nothing is in writing yet, Abbott said he has given Noell the cemetery. Once Abbott gets back the money he has put into the cleanup, all profits and responsibilities belong to Noell.
That may be easier said than done.
Before they can reopen Springwood, they must register with the state Division of Consumer Affairs, which regulates cemeteries, and possibly pay a registration fee. Next, there is Roanoke's commissioner of revenue to contend with. If they want to promise perpetual care at the cemetery, there is even more paperwork and money to be invested.
Despite his shift in interest from crusading family member to potential entrepreneur, Noell said he believes he's doing the right thing.
"God will be my silent judge," he said.
by CNB