A bouquet of pink flowers sits in the midst of brambles and broken branches at Greenwood Memorial Park in Centralia.
The City of Centralia is hosting a cleanup day at Greenwood Memorial Cemetery from 8 a.m. to noon on May 18 to spruce up the dilapidated burial grounds prior to Memorial Day.
The state legislature recently passed legislation allowing municipalities to petition the Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation for access to abandoned cemeteries for the purpose of performing upkeep and facilitating public access. Greenwood Memorial Park spurred state Reps. Richard DeBolt, R-Chehalis, and Ed Orcutt, R-Kalama to co-sponsor the bill. Gov. Jay Inslee signed the bill late last month, and the bill will take immediate effect.
“I signed the permit application this morning,” City Manager Rob Hill said. “(City Attorney) Shannon (Murphy-Olson) was getting it together, and it’s in progress. The person up in Olympia said that once we send in the completed application, it should be a one-day turnaround, so we’re not anticipating any issues there.”
Nearly $500,000 in funding for maintenance projects and upgrades to the cemetery is included in the capital budget passed by the legislature for the 2019-2021 biennium. That money will not be available to Centralia until July 1, but stakeholders wanted to make a push to address some of the disrepair before Memorial Day.
Among the many concerns at the property left to fester for more than a decade by absentee owner John C. Baker are damaged gravestones, crumbling vaults, overgrowth of pathways and more. Service clubs, nonprofit organizations, students in need of community service hours and families of the interred are specifically invited to lend a hand.
“There’s been quite a bit of interest,” Hill said. “I think there will be an impressive amount of people out there that morning. We’re going to make sure we have enough supplies and tools out there for everyone to work. Headstone cleaning, lawns, weeds, roads, there should be plenty to do.”
Workers are encouraged to bring lawn and outdoors tools such as weed eaters, flat-blade shovels, pruners and wheelbarrows. Other tools volunteers should bring include large buckets, brooms, blowers and scrub brushes. Garbage bags, detergent and debris removal will be provided by the city.
Volunteers are asked to enter the cemetery in northwest Centralia at 1822 Van Wormer St. For more information, call Centralia Parks and Recreation at 360-330-7688.
