POTTSTOWN, PA – More than 35 volunteers – some new, some returning – pitched in at the annual spring Edgewood Historic Cemetery all-community cleanup day on Saturday, May 3, at 989 E. High St., beautifying flowerbeds, weed-whacking, and bagging sticks and other debris to make routine grass-cutting easier prior to the busy mowing season. (Please see the Hobart’s Run Facebook page for a full gallery of photos .)
The Edgewood friends board extends special thanks to Pottstown-area businessman Brian Hydier, who contributed work gloves, leaf and contractor trash bags, and other cleanup supplies. Little Italy Restaurant of Pottstown again donated a plentiful and delicious lunch for volunteers, with Sodexo Dining Services of The Hill School dropping off freshly baked cookies to top off the picnic. The Hill School’s grounds department and Newcastle Landscaping donated 20 perennial plants for the flowerbed that greets Cemetery visitors. Thanks also goes to nearby Jack Cassidy’s Irish Pub for allowing volunteers to use their restroom facilities during the event.
Andrew Monastra, president of the Edgewood Board and Pottstown’s Sixth Ward Borough Councilman, expressed heartfelt gratitude for all who contributed in some way to “this 100 percent volunteer effort.”
“We began holding these cleanups in the fall of 2018, when the Cemetery was in a deplorable state after it had been abandoned by its caretaker, when a few volunteers were struggling to provide the respectful care – and professional mowing crew — that the grounds require,” Monastra noted. “Since then, our spring and fall efforts have been nothing less than triumphs for our town. These events have been uplifting demonstrations of what can happen when residents, business owners, and others get behind a common endeavor to make Pottstown better.
“It’s especially encouraging to see a cross-section of citizens working together – from Hobart’s Run staff and Hill School students and teachers, to members of civic clubs like Rotary and Red Horse Motoring, to families who involve their children in this community project,” Monastra said, adding that volunteers often bring their personal mowers, weed-whackers, and other equipment to get the job done.
The fall cleanup will be held on a date still to be determined – with hopes of planting 500 donated perennial bulbs along the Keim Street bank of the Cemetery, completing ongoing volunteer efforts to tame that previously overgrown boundary. To arrange a bulb donation, email cathy@hobartsrunpottstown.org or call 610-705-1018.
Edgewood Historic Cemetery does not receive a penny of taxpayer money toward the $20,000-a-year fee required to keep the gas mowed, so volunteers organize fundraisers such as the sale of Edgewood t-shirts and other merchandise and walking tours of the historic grounds. Donations are gratefully accepted at https://givebutter.com/edgewood-historic-cemetery or via checks to Edgewood c/o 740 E. High St., Pottstown, PA 19464. To get involved with ongoing efforts, contact Monastra at ajmonastra@gmail.com.
