ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, February 15, 1996 TAG: 9602150058
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: W-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: S.D. HARRINGTON STAFF WRITER
When Delores Smith recently tried to find the grave of a Confederate hero of the Civil War at West Hill Cemetery, she had trouble.
Although she found the grave she was looking for, Smith discovered that many tombstones were unmarked. And, she found the cemetery in disrepair: weeds growing uncontrollably; iron gates bent; and vandalism on gravestones.
After going through the city's land records, she found that the families who own the cemetery have either died out or moved away.
Salem resident Pete Lavinder had taken care of the cemetery for more than 20 years without compensation, Smith said. But because of health problems he is no longer able to keep it up.
On Monday, Smith asked Salem City Council to help out with maintaining the cemetery. Several groups, she said, have agreed to do the initial cleaning and repairing of the cemetery.
On that condition, City Council agreed to take over the maintenance of the nearly half-acre cemetery.
"We're going to clear it, clean it and hopefully fix the fence," Smith said, naming several groups and family members who will take on the project: the Southern Cross Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, The Sons of Confederate Veterans Fincastle Rifles Camp No.1316, the Salem Historic Society and the Friendship Garden Club of Salem. Also, members of the Griffin and Johnston families will participate.
The Friendship Garden Club also is interested in using the cemetery as a landscape project, Smith said.
Smith's rationale in asking the city to take over the maintenance of the cemetery came in the form of a brief history lesson for council members.
West Hill Cemetery, the oldest cemetery in Salem, was started by some of the first families to settle in the area, Smith said. Those families owned the property and maintained it.
As the Town of Salem grew in the late 1800s, some of the families donated or sold some of the land to the town to be used for a reservoir and water tanks.
Today, much of the land surrounding West Hill Cemetery is owned by the city.
"We're not asking you to set a precedent. We're just asking you to say thank you that they deeded some of the land to the town," Smith said.
City Manager Randy Smith said the mowing of the cemetery alone will cost an estimated $1,200 a year.
The city took over the maintenance and operation of East Hill Cemetery, another graveyard, when the board of directors of that cemetery died out. The cemetery had been owned and operated by the Roanoke Cemetery Company.
The city also maintains East Hill North Cemetery, historically the city's black cemetery during days of segregation.
Smith said the biggest difference between East Hill Cemetery and West Hill Cemetery is that West Hill is nearly full. East Hill still has a substantial amount of vacant land, so the city is able to generate some revenue from it.
Delores Smith said she hopes the groups participating in the West Hill Cemetery cleanup will be able to start in early March. They plan to have a dedication ceremony on March 24.
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