THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 13, 1996 TAG: 9609130561
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KATRICE FRANKLIN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: 48 lines
As the years go by, the headstones are harder to see, and the weeds in Rosemont Cemetery - where many of the city's black ancestors are buried - keep growing taller.
Every few years, a group rallies to clean up the burial site, which has markers that date as far back as 1846. But soon after the work is finished, the private cemetery goes back to its overgrown and unkempt state.
Today, about 30 volunteers from Norfolk Naval Station will be pulling weeds and cutting grass in the cemetery, and this time city officials vow to keep it clean.
Upkeep on the site has been a problem in recent years.
The cemetery is just east of downtown and borders the Rosemont and Lloyd Place communities. For years, the Rosemont/Lloyd Place Civic League has tried to raise money to keep it clean, but their fund-raising has run dry.
Two years ago, crewmen from the cargo ship El Paso spent six weekends fixing up the cemetery, Master Chief Philip Balcerzak said.
``We've done this sort of thing in the past in foreign countries, where we would go out and help rebuild a school or a church,'' Balcerzak said.
The volunteers were drawn to this project because ``we have people here that live in Suffolk,'' he said. ``We'll keep going until the job is complete.''
Vanessa Savage, a housing inspection official, said the city had received complaints about the cemetery and had contacted the Navy since it had helped with earlier cleanups.
The Nansemond Development Corp. is listed in city records as the cemetery's owner, but it denies any claim to the property and has refused to clean it up.
``There is a safety problem with the cemetery when there's a dry spell,'' Savage said. ``There are a lot of homes that are real close to the cemetery, and if someone throws a cigarette there, it could be dangerous because the cemetery is on the street and not sitting off to the side.''
``Every time the grass gets out of hand, we'll cut it,'' Savage said. ``We plan on keeping a closer watch on it.'' ILLUSTRATION: MICHAEL KESTNER/The Virginian-Pilot
A narrow path, above, leads to graves at Rosemont Cemetery. The
cemetery, just east of downtown Suffolk, is the burial site of many
of the city's black ancestors. Some headstones, like the one at
left, are covered with weeds. Today, 30 volunteers from Norfolk
Naval Station will pull weeds and cut the grass at the cemetery, and
city officials have vowed to keep a closer eye on conditions there. by CNB