YARMOUTH, N.S. — As you walk through the Chebogue Cemetery, amongst the endless graves are the endless stories.
The endless family connections.
The endless moments in time.
The endless importance of this place as a final resting spot.
The historical significance of the cemetery – located on the Town Point Road in Chebogue, Yarmouth County – is endless too.
It is the burial site of some of the first English-speaking settlers to arrive in Yarmouth County in 1761, as well as many Mayflower descendants.
It is also home to the famed monument known as the Marble Lady, which commemorates the life of Margaret McNaught Webster. She died in the mid-1800s and her husband, Dr. Frederick Webster, commissioned the monument to honour her memory.
What also isn’t endless is the ongoing maintenance of the cemetery.
As for the supply of funds – well that’s a different story, and those responsible for cemetery upkeep are turning to the community for help.
Over the years the cemetery has struggled to keep enough funds in its operating account to pay a part-time caretaker and helper when needed. The cemetery must also purchase equipment and keep it in working condition.
As the year draws to a close, the funds in the cemetery’s operating account are at an all-time low. The cemetery is ending the 2019 season with less than one-quarter of the funds needed to maintain the property in 2020.
THE SITUATION
One day Brian Duncan will be buried in this cemetery.
But for now he is one of the seven volunteer trustees – along with a volunteer president, secretary and treasurer – responsible for the cemetery.
“Basically, the cemetery is a small business in a sense, we’re a registered charity as well, but we’re a small business with expenses and very little income,” he says. “Our income is from the investment of perpetual care funds that are a part of the sale of a lot. When somebody buys a lot they pay a fee and a portion of that is invested for care of the lots in the cemetery. Duncan says interest on their investments is at “a dead low."
“We’re getting nothing,” he says. As of Oct. 31 the cemetery had only received $377.21 in interest on its investments for the year.
“At the time the system was set up, interest rates were normal,” notes cemetery president Bill Tower. “If interest rates were normal again, we’d be okay.” And so the trustees keep hoping for the ‘if’ scenario, knowing it’s not the entire answer to their woes.
What is the answer?
They’re still searching for it.
CARING FOR THE CEMETERY
The cemetery does receive income from the burial of cremated remains, which is $200 per burial.
The fee that is paid for the casket burials, however, goes directly to the gravedigger who typically does all of the work by hand. Memorial donations and fundraising are also a source of income.
But all of this is not enough to cover maintenance and upkeep costs, which are estimated to be around $14,000 a year.
“We just don’t have the income to replenish what we’re spending out,” Duncan says. It worries the trustees.
They could vote to withdraw more perpetual care funds to be used for things beyond what the money is intended for, but that could make a bad situation worse because if interest rates do rise to a point where the cemetery could benefit from them, they can’t benefit if the money is all gone.
And so they tread carefully.
BURIED HISTORY
The dates on the gravestones and monuments in this cemetery date back hundreds of years.
With age comes a lot of need for care.
Aside from the obvious mowing and landscaping of the grounds, other ongoing work is required.
Casket graves settle. Over time as things settle and caskets decay the graves start to sink. Usually six to eight graves a year have to repaired.
“We lift the sod and refill the grave. It’s a fair amount of work and takes time. And we have to have fill for that so there is an expense,” Duncan says.
There are also older, larger monuments on rock foundations that twist and tilt over time and have to be levelled. Some monuments are so heavy you need a rented boom truck to lift them.
The cemetery’s chapel was built in 1949. In 2010 a lot of work was done to its interior to spruce things up in preparation for the 250th anniversary of Yarmouth’s founding. The chapel is not used for services, but people can review burial records kept inside of it, or they can just sit and spend time here when the caretaker is on the property and the doors are opened.
“With the chapel we also spent probably $3,000 a year or two ago on cladding of the eves. We had the exterior cement work all repointed and sealed, which was another couple thousand dollars. And the roof, it’s not leaking but we’re watching it because it’s going to need repairs, probably in the next two to three years,” Duncan says. “So that’s an expense we have no money for at this point.
The chapel windows will also eventually need to be replaced.
And the cemetery’s tool shed has seen better days.
SEEKING SOLUTIONS
Blair Boudreau, another volunteer trustee, is hoping his experience with helping other groups apply for grants can help the cemetery with its situation. Given that the cemetery is a registered heritage site and because of its historic significance to the region and province, Boudreau has been having discussions with the provincial Department of Communities, Culture and Heritage on potential application opportunities. He’s also been looking into federal funding possibilities. There’s even been talk of selling miniature replicas of the Marble Lady monument if the family connected to the memorial was not opposed.
The cemetery is also turning to the public for support, posting about its situation on its Chebogue Cemetery Facebook page to let people how they can help through donations.
The cemetery trustees say it would also be great if someone set up a ‘Friends of the Chebogue Cemetery’ group that could assist with fundraising.
It is also important, the trustees say, to have a succession plan in place. No one involved with the cemetery is getting any younger, they point out.
Still, they trudge on because their love of this cemetery is endless too.
“People have put benches in there and they go sit. One lady who lost her husband a few years back used to just go there and sit and read. It’s so peaceful,” says Duncan.
“When you see a cemetery or a property that’s taken care of, and it looks nice, you just assume that there’s funds there to do it. But we have just scraped by and this year was our absolute worst as far as funding is concerned.”
Can you help?
For many years the Chebogue Cemetery has been registered as a charitable organization, which allows it to write official tax receipts for donations received.
All donations are used toward maintenance of the cemetery property, grounds and buildings.
• Canada Helps.org is an organization that lists charities throughout Canda and people can donate to the Chebogue Cemetery through their organization.
• If you are able to help cheques can also be written and mailed to:
Chebogue Cemetery Company, 402 Chebogue Point Rd., Chebogue Point, NS, B5A 5E8.
• Also visit the Chebogue Cemetery Facebook page for more information on how to donate and about upcoming fundraisers.
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