For Harry Saunders, it’s a matter of the heart.
Saunders and other volunteers have put their labor into tidying up Robinson Cemetery.
Now, they hope others will step up and help provide a perpetual care fund for the three-acre burial plot, which sits at the end of Clark Avenue just outside the Hannibal city limits in Marion County.
“I don’t know a soul out here, but God impressed me to do something,” Saunders said. “We’re all working to go to heaven. What better place can we go?”
“The dead deserve some respect,” said another volunteer, Bob Shoemate. “It doesn’t hurt to give something back to the community.”
The effort took off after a Courier-Post article in September outlined Ron Ely’s one-man battle to cut the thigh-high weeds and clean up the cemetery, which was founded in 1921 by Albert L. Robinson as a final resting place for black people.
The last owner of record was Edward E. Robinson, who died in 1984. His widow, Virginia F. Robinson, sold a half-acre of the property in 1986.
The trail goes cold after Virginia Robinson died last year. She apparently did not leave a will and family members have said they do not want to assume care of the cemetery.
Robinson still is used. Courier-Post records show the last burial was for Isaac Haley Jr. on March 7, 2009.
Ely, who has relatives interred there, is searching for up-to-date records. He, Saunders and Shoemate all pitched in recently to mow and trim. Other volunteers put headstones back into place.
Saunders has a lawn-care business and maintains Hope Cemetery in Ralls County. Shoemate owns the large equipment needed for such work.
“We’re just kind of a git-er-done team,” Saunders said. “We work good together.”
Once the ownership is determined, volunteers hope to set up a board that can oversee maintenance.
“So many cemeteries are forgotten,” Saunders said. “What we’re striving for is to get this in shape and to get enough donations for payment of the upkeep.”
More work needs to be done. Volunteers plan to mulch leaves and hope to put flags and crosses by the graves of the many military personnel at Robinson before the Nov. 11 observance of Veterans Day.
People who would like to contribute should call Saunders at (573) 822-5650, Ely at (573) 822-5575 or Janet Standbridge at (573) 406-4398.
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For Harry Saunders, it’s a matter of the heart.
Saunders and other volunteers have put their labor into tidying up Robinson Cemetery.
Now, they hope others will step up and help provide a perpetual care fund for the three-acre burial plot, which sits at the end of Clark Avenue just outside the Hannibal city limits in Marion County.
“I don’t know a soul out here, but God impressed me to do something,” Saunders said. “We’re all working to go to heaven. What better place can we go?”
“The dead deserve some respect,” said another volunteer, Bob Shoemate. “It doesn’t hurt to give something back to the community.”
The effort took off after a Courier-Post article in September outlined Ron Ely’s one-man battle to cut the thigh-high weeds and clean up the cemetery, which was founded in 1921 by Albert L. Robinson as a final resting place for black people.
The last owner of record was Edward E. Robinson, who died in 1984. His widow, Virginia F. Robinson, sold a half-acre of the property in 1986.
The trail goes cold after Virginia Robinson died last year. She apparently did not leave a will and family members have said they do not want to assume care of the cemetery.
Robinson still is used. Courier-Post records show the last burial was for Isaac Haley Jr. on March 7, 2009.
Ely, who has relatives interred there, is searching for up-to-date records. He, Saunders and Shoemate all pitched in recently to mow and trim. Other volunteers put headstones back into place.
Saunders has a lawn-care business and maintains Hope Cemetery in Ralls County. Shoemate owns the large equipment needed for such work.
“We’re just kind of a git-er-done team,” Saunders said. “We work good together.”
Once the ownership is determined, volunteers hope to set up a board that can oversee maintenance.
“So many cemeteries are forgotten,” Saunders said. “What we’re striving for is to get this in shape and to get enough donations for payment of the upkeep.”
More work needs to be done. Volunteers plan to mulch leaves and hope to put flags and crosses by the graves of the many military personnel at Robinson before the Nov. 11 observance of Veterans Day.
People who would like to contribute should call Saunders at (573) 822-5650, Ely at (573) 822-5575 or Janet Standbridge at (573) 406-4398.
