thedrifter
02-17-04, 06:41 AM
Marines help in Georgetown
February 15,2004
MIKE SHERRILL
DAILY NEWS STAFF
The small red flags, 200 of them, mark the unmarked graves, some sunken as wooden caskets collapsed. A few date to the 1800s.
Weathered headstones show those buried during the middle of the last century, those few who could afford a headstone.
The graves sit in a clearing hidden months ago in vines and trees until what started as the effort of few grew to a community project.
Recently, only a small section was cut into the overgrowth of Georgetown Cemetery, dating to slavery and including several veterans, at least one from World War I. Many remember it being next to the old Georgetown High School, which was bombed in 1966. The high school for blacks was destroyed during the height of segregation.
Neglected for decades, the headstones were just visible in the brush beyond the section hacked clean enough to stumble through last year.
A Georgetown-based effort began to clean the cemetery then, but when a group of U.S. Marines took to the task, a huge area was cleared in weeks.
Now, the Marines have joined the Georgetown Renaissance Community Association. The troops adopted the cemetery and have solicited area businesses and Jacksonville city employees for supplies and help.
The Marines and the association will keep asking until the cemetery is renovated. For the association, the cemetery is only the beginning of an effort to revive a community.
"We're trying to make people realize the history," association member Cynthia Watson said. "As many people as I can ask for help, I'll ask."
Days of work
A group of Alpha Company Marines from Camp Lejeune wanted a project to keep them busy and to help some part of the community.
Months before, Watson had contacted a gunnery sergeant at Camp Lejeune and asked for help with the cemetery. The gunny, Tom Oliver, didn't have anyone handy then but took her name.
"We kept it in mind, and as soon as someone asked if we had a project, I said, 'let me make a phone call,'" Oliver said.
Enter Staff Sgt. Anthony Godwin, of Alpha Company, who had about 20 guys and a week to help. Godwin was told veterans were buried in a dilapidated place, but he had no idea how much work was needed.
"I said, 'don't tell me anymore, that's what we're doing.' Before we got out here, we thought this was a one-day project," he said.
"This place really just needs some love and affection."
The Marines cut vines and small trees, raked brush, dug stumps, cleared brush and broke tools. They marked graves and glued at least one broken headstone.
"We believe we're a part of the community like everybody else," Godwin said. "We're not anybody special, just a group of Marines."
When Godwin, Oliver and Watson meet now, they plan what needs to be done, how to improve lighting, how to remove thick stumps in the middle of the cemetery where a truck and chain can't be used, and how to build a parking lot.
Godwin plans to take leave for a week to spend his days there. He and others still work in evenings and on weekends. Oliver also plans a leave to work on the project.
The pair and others go to local businesses asking for donations and supplies. They write letters to corporate offices when the businesses require them.
From memory, Godwin can list supplies they still need: sod, shovels, saws, nails, rakes, dirt, sitting benches, marble footstones, a flag and flag pole, a weed-eater, bleach, a law mower and boards.
Some businesses have answered the call, and the city helped remove a stump and clear piles of brush.
Nearly half the cemetery remains covered by woods. The Marines reached a point where they had to stop and finish what they started before moving on.
The goal is to finish that area by June. Sod is placed in one area to show the vision.
The Georgetown association plans a June 19 celebration for Juneteeth, dubbed the anniversary of the end of slavery.
"The project can be done. The more support we get the easier it will be," Godwin said.
"I know we can do it. I know we can do it."
Beyond the start
Watson remembers walking through the Georgetown Cemetery to get to school.
After school, she and her friends would stop at one of two grocery stores for a Pepsi and a bag of peanuts.
Neighbors worked and played together and had all they needed through the week. They attended the same church. When a pig was cooked, all ate.
"I still see the community, although the community has changed, as it was - with neighbor helping neighbor," Watson said.
Watson moved to California in 1967 after the school gymnasium was bombed. She returned 30 years later to find that, to her, the Georgetown community had lost its enthusiasm.
The older generation had passed and their children had moved. People forgot.
But plans are to renovate the area, starting with the cemetery and the old community center, which needs a new roof, wiring and interior repairs.
The association is trying to make the cemetery historically recognized because of the veterans buried there and those born into slavery.
The center could be the site of a neighborhood preschool or a community gathering place.
The association, now working toward tax-exempt status as a non-profit, also wants to help people in the community realize the value of their waterfront property.
Local organizations are also helping the association with health and income tax tips.
"I believe in the quality of life, and the more you help people, the more it comes back to you," Watson said.
The effort, starting in the cemetery, has already grown. Godwin and Oliver have joined the ambition. Both from Texas, the two share no ties to Georgetown other than the dedication of finishing the job.
"This is a community project," Godwin said. "It doesn't matter where you live."
Those interested in helping the association should call 938-9469.
Contact Mike Sherrill at msherrill@jdnews.com or 353-1171, Ext. 237.
http://jdnews.com/SiteProcessor.cfm?Template=/GlobalTemplates/Details.cfm&StoryID=20235&Section=News
Sempers,
Roger
:marine:
February 15,2004
MIKE SHERRILL
DAILY NEWS STAFF
The small red flags, 200 of them, mark the unmarked graves, some sunken as wooden caskets collapsed. A few date to the 1800s.
Weathered headstones show those buried during the middle of the last century, those few who could afford a headstone.
The graves sit in a clearing hidden months ago in vines and trees until what started as the effort of few grew to a community project.
Recently, only a small section was cut into the overgrowth of Georgetown Cemetery, dating to slavery and including several veterans, at least one from World War I. Many remember it being next to the old Georgetown High School, which was bombed in 1966. The high school for blacks was destroyed during the height of segregation.
Neglected for decades, the headstones were just visible in the brush beyond the section hacked clean enough to stumble through last year.
A Georgetown-based effort began to clean the cemetery then, but when a group of U.S. Marines took to the task, a huge area was cleared in weeks.
Now, the Marines have joined the Georgetown Renaissance Community Association. The troops adopted the cemetery and have solicited area businesses and Jacksonville city employees for supplies and help.
The Marines and the association will keep asking until the cemetery is renovated. For the association, the cemetery is only the beginning of an effort to revive a community.
"We're trying to make people realize the history," association member Cynthia Watson said. "As many people as I can ask for help, I'll ask."
Days of work
A group of Alpha Company Marines from Camp Lejeune wanted a project to keep them busy and to help some part of the community.
Months before, Watson had contacted a gunnery sergeant at Camp Lejeune and asked for help with the cemetery. The gunny, Tom Oliver, didn't have anyone handy then but took her name.
"We kept it in mind, and as soon as someone asked if we had a project, I said, 'let me make a phone call,'" Oliver said.
Enter Staff Sgt. Anthony Godwin, of Alpha Company, who had about 20 guys and a week to help. Godwin was told veterans were buried in a dilapidated place, but he had no idea how much work was needed.
"I said, 'don't tell me anymore, that's what we're doing.' Before we got out here, we thought this was a one-day project," he said.
"This place really just needs some love and affection."
The Marines cut vines and small trees, raked brush, dug stumps, cleared brush and broke tools. They marked graves and glued at least one broken headstone.
"We believe we're a part of the community like everybody else," Godwin said. "We're not anybody special, just a group of Marines."
When Godwin, Oliver and Watson meet now, they plan what needs to be done, how to improve lighting, how to remove thick stumps in the middle of the cemetery where a truck and chain can't be used, and how to build a parking lot.
Godwin plans to take leave for a week to spend his days there. He and others still work in evenings and on weekends. Oliver also plans a leave to work on the project.
The pair and others go to local businesses asking for donations and supplies. They write letters to corporate offices when the businesses require them.
From memory, Godwin can list supplies they still need: sod, shovels, saws, nails, rakes, dirt, sitting benches, marble footstones, a flag and flag pole, a weed-eater, bleach, a law mower and boards.
Some businesses have answered the call, and the city helped remove a stump and clear piles of brush.
Nearly half the cemetery remains covered by woods. The Marines reached a point where they had to stop and finish what they started before moving on.
The goal is to finish that area by June. Sod is placed in one area to show the vision.
The Georgetown association plans a June 19 celebration for Juneteeth, dubbed the anniversary of the end of slavery.
"The project can be done. The more support we get the easier it will be," Godwin said.
"I know we can do it. I know we can do it."
Beyond the start
Watson remembers walking through the Georgetown Cemetery to get to school.
After school, she and her friends would stop at one of two grocery stores for a Pepsi and a bag of peanuts.
Neighbors worked and played together and had all they needed through the week. They attended the same church. When a pig was cooked, all ate.
"I still see the community, although the community has changed, as it was - with neighbor helping neighbor," Watson said.
Watson moved to California in 1967 after the school gymnasium was bombed. She returned 30 years later to find that, to her, the Georgetown community had lost its enthusiasm.
The older generation had passed and their children had moved. People forgot.
But plans are to renovate the area, starting with the cemetery and the old community center, which needs a new roof, wiring and interior repairs.
The association is trying to make the cemetery historically recognized because of the veterans buried there and those born into slavery.
The center could be the site of a neighborhood preschool or a community gathering place.
The association, now working toward tax-exempt status as a non-profit, also wants to help people in the community realize the value of their waterfront property.
Local organizations are also helping the association with health and income tax tips.
"I believe in the quality of life, and the more you help people, the more it comes back to you," Watson said.
The effort, starting in the cemetery, has already grown. Godwin and Oliver have joined the ambition. Both from Texas, the two share no ties to Georgetown other than the dedication of finishing the job.
"This is a community project," Godwin said. "It doesn't matter where you live."
Those interested in helping the association should call 938-9469.
Contact Mike Sherrill at msherrill@jdnews.com or 353-1171, Ext. 237.
http://jdnews.com/SiteProcessor.cfm?Template=/GlobalTemplates/Details.cfm&StoryID=20235&Section=News
Sempers,
Roger
:marine: