As volunteers from different organizations prepare for the “Walk to Remember” living history tours at Edgewood Historic Cemetery at 989 E. High St. in Pottstown on Saturday, October 7, there is a grave need for assistance in cleaning up the cemetery for the big event.

On Saturday, September 30, volunteers are needed from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. to help with headstone cleaning and other sprucing up activities.

Participants will learn the process that helps restore dirty headstones. Supplies will be provided. Please wear old clothing.

The Edgewood friends thank Home Depot, Lowes, and Tractor Supply of Pottstown for donating supplies. Civic, church, and scouting groups are welcomed!

All Edgewood grounds mowing, and maintenance depends upon the generosity of donors and events like this planned by a small band of volunteers.

During the “Walk to Remember,” costumed re-enactors and interpreters will share fascinating stories about some of Edgewood’s 3,000 more prominent residents, from a famous woman social activist to Civil War general.

Interest in “A Walk to Remember” has been high, with two of the three tour time slots quickly sold out. However, tickets remain available for the 1:45 tour on October 7.

Reserve your spot at https://givebutter.com/WalkingTour-1-45PM or by contacting Kelly Fenstermacher, the researcher and volunteer who has organized this effort, by call or text at 610-506-7033 or email at kelly@historicedgewood.com.

Refreshments will be served, with gratitude to Sodexo at The Hill School for donating the treats.

The Cemetery also will hold a community cleanup from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 21 (raindate October 28). Tools and gloves will be provided (volunteers who can bring weed-whackers or small mowers and saws will be appreciated.)

Recently afternoon community service students from The Hill School helped to get a head start on cleaning headstones and met with Shona Levy of Hearts of Humanity Community Development to weed the pollinator garden her organization planted on the cemetery grounds.

Preparations have also recently begun to reset the sunken and toppled gravestones for the Rowland family site, the Eppenhiemers’ plot, and Joanna Hertzel Saylor, with heavy lifting provided by Pottstown Burial Vault.

The existing stones had to be moved or dug out of the ground to prepare for new foundations to be poured before the bases and stones can be reinstalled.

All of this work is funded through Edgewood’s “Adopt-a-Gravestone” program created to address the headstone toppling and sinking of many plots due to the natural passage of time, early and less stable burial methods, and the Cemetery’s serious groundhog-related destruction problem.

Edgewood is working to address the rodent issue (and the dangerous holes they have created) through a company that professionally and humanely traps then re-homes the groundhogs. Individuals who would like to help with Adopt-a-Gravestone may contact Kelly Fenstermacher (call or text) at 610-506-7033 or go to https://givebutter.com/adoptagravestone to donate directly.

The volunteers also plan to soon sell three quarter length-sleeved t-shirts. The shirts will sell for $20 each (slightly more for 2XL and 3XL) and feature the Edgewood logo on the front as well as a bold image on the back of “Eddie Edgewood,” the hawk who makes his home in the Cemetery’s trees, beautifully drawn by volunteer Jess Grater. To learn how to purchase a shirt, contact Cathy Skitko at 610-705-1017 or cathy@hobartsrunpottstown.org. All proceeds benefit the mowing fund.

For additional information about upcoming events, visit GiveButter.org.

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