Also, Save the Date for Anticipated Historic Walk with Circus Theme, May 16, 2026
POTTSTOWN, PA – It’s time for the annual fall cleanup at Edgewood Historic Cemetery at 989 E. High St. – and this time volunteers will team up to plant 600 perennial bulbs that have been generously donated by local residents!
All are welcome to the community-wide cleanup on Saturday, October 11, between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. The rain date will be Saturday, October 18. Naturally, helpers may join and depart during the day according to their availability. A light lunch will be provided for workers, thanks yet again to the generosity of Pottstown’s Little Italy / The Pourhouse and other local eateries; additional food contributions are welcomed. If interested in helping to feed the volunteers, please reach out to contact@hobartsrunpottstown.org or 610-705-1017.
The bulbs will be planted on the bank on Keim Street between High and Beech to both beautify and stabilize the eastern border of the 12-acre resting place for Pottstown dignitaries, war veterans, and historical figures as well as long-time Borough families. Volunteers cleared weeds and debris from the overgrown bank during last fall’s cleanup and the 2025 spring community event.
Other projects for this anticipated service day will include trimming trees, collecting fallen limbs, and mulching the front flower beds, thanks to Eric’s Landscaping, which mows the grounds and is donating the mulch.
We have tools, just bring yourself!
Tools as well as gardening gloves will be provided – although planners welcome volunteers who can bring and operate chainsaws as well as gardeners who can bring their own hand trowels to help with the bulb-planting. Thanks goes again to Paula and Rob Bickleman who will rent and operate a chipper.
Andrew Monastra, president of the all-volunteer Cemetery board, noted the three front flowerbeds were weeded recently by students from The Hill School during a Saturday community service day.
“The Cemetery – which was abandoned in 2012 and had become terribly overgrown – has never looked better, due to these uplifting and highly productive community cleanups and other volunteer efforts,” Monastra said. “Now, we often see individual community members doing something there on their own to help care for the gravesites.
“It’s very gratifying to know the Pottstown community has rallied around this cause,” added Monastra, who also is a Borough Councilman, representing the Sixth Ward. “But neither the Borough nor any other government entity pays to maintain Edgewood – so we must always seek funds to ensure we have $20,000 to keep the grass mowed each season.”
Funds always needed as well as volunteers
Gifts are gratefully accepted at: Edgewood Historic Cemetery, c/o 740 E. High St., Pottstown, Pa. 19464 or through the organization’s general “Give Butter” donation acceptance site at https://givebutter.com/edgewod-historic-cemetery. Organizations that would like to conduct a fundraiser for the mowing or tombstone-resetting funds are encouraged to do so and may reach out to Monastra at ajmonastra@gmail.com or 484-459-5412.
Planned “Walk to Remember” Fundraiser Tour Postponed to May 16, 2026: Save the Date!
The fifth “Walk to Remember” living history tour must be postponed to Saturday, May 16 (2026) from its planned date of October 25. These well-attended fundraising events have featured costumed re-enactors and interpreters who shed light on fascinating and storied residents. The May tour will have a “circus twist,” spotlighting notable connections between Edgewood Cemetery and the Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus during the Depression era. One story will share a glimpse into the life of a professional animal trainer buried at Edgewood, among other fascinating personalities.
Individuals who would like to assist may contact Kelly Fenstermacher at kelly@historicedgewood.com. Ticket information will be shared with this publication and on the Edgewood Historic Cemetery page as soon as details are finalized; tickets are $20 per person, and $10 each for students.