N.S. man hopes to create society to restore forgotten cemeteries

The Maritimes are home to many cemeteries that have fallen into disrepair, with some left completely abandoned, but one man is hoping to change that.

Allen MacLeod, the general manager of a cemetery in Sydney Forks, N.S., wants to form a Cemetery Preservation Society – a group that would fix up old burying grounds as needed.

“It’s our forefathers who are buried in the cemeteries, the people that made Cape Breton what it is today. And to me, there’s no reason why they’re not taken care of better,” says MacLeod, who has maintained graveyards for 28 years.

In some cases, churches have closed, leaving cemeteries behind. In other cases, congregations have simply grown too old to take care of them.

But MacLeod feels there is enough community will to make repairs when needed.

“I think there’s enough people that have relatives buried in these cemeteries that are in disrepair that would get involved,” he says.

Weldon Yates is forming a cemetery committee of his own in Glace Bay, N.S. in the hopes of restoring abandoned graves in the area. He says he would be happy to join a larger Cemetery Preservation Society.

“I think it’s an excellent idea. You have to start somewhere,” says Yates. “It’s not right for the poor people buried there. It’s sacred ground. They depend on us to keep it and look after it.”

MacLeod says he would likely need money from parishes and congregation members to start, but that the society would eventually sustain itself through fundraisers.

He says it’s a model that has worked elsewhere, including in Europe.

“Once it’s set up, I think it would run itself eventually,” says MacLeod.

He says the society would be volunteer-driven at first, but if things went well, he feels it could become profitable someday.

“Volunteers burn out after a while, but you could use them for a short period of time, and then you would hire staff, and staff would grow the company.”

MacLeod says, while the repair work itself may seem daunting, he’s confident it can be done.

“Little steps at a time, and eventually you’ll progress to a point where it’s a cemetery that families want to come visit.”

With files from CTV Atlantic's Ryan MacDonald