Brothers Searching for help in upkeep of Chapel Hill Cemetery

MACON - Caring for a cememtery is not easy work...especially when the work has fallen into one person's hands.

For 25 years Mike and Leroy Clark have mowed and manicured Chapel Hill Cemetery on Kestrel Avenue south of Macon.

The cemetery is a tranquil rural setting wth numerous shade trees and decaying headstones spotting across and acre or so of land. A perfect resting place you might say. But the tragedy is that many who hve been buried there seem to have been forgotten.

The Chapel Hill Methodist Chruch was formed in 1869 or 1870. A structure that housed the congregation was erected at the south end of the cemetery.

"The church building fell down about a year ago from strong winds," Mike and Larry said.

"Our grandparents and great-grandparents are buried in the Chapel Hill Cemetery."

"I remember our parents coming to the cemetery and trimmin and mowing around the graves," Mike said. "That is the way we were brought up. We don't know any different."

Mike mowed and took car of the cemetery for years.

"My job made it hard to keep up with," Mike said. "Leroy retired from the post office, so he took over."

"It's a lot of work and now we have what is left of the church to be removed," the Clark brothers said. "We need help. We would like to spark some interest."

Some of the names found on headstones in the cemetery are:

Thrasher
Fox
Smith
Garette
Williams
Jones
Beek
Butler
Edwards
Fletcher
Christal

"Perpetual care is needed," Leroy said. "It takes me around three hours to mow. Who is going to do it when we're gone?"