A remarkable event is happening in the Cedar Grove section of the Graceland and Bellwood City cemeteries in Pine Bluff.
Because of the efforts of a pair of local residents, the once unmarked graves of several dozen people laid to rest in a pauper’s field are now honored with marble head stones engraved with the name, date of birth and date of death of the deceased.
Referred to as a “labor of love” by DeDe Foster, the project visionary, and Edgar Colvin, the craftsman, the grave marking mission was first chronicled by The Commercial in mid-February. Since that time, Foster and Colvin, along with cemetery sexton Gail Blackerby, have worked together to get 24 stone markers placed, with another 30 or so still to go.
The cemetery sexton functions as the director of the property.
“We are doing this to preserve memories and to preserve history,” Foster said. “I wanted to make sure that the fact that these people lived was documented; to make sure that they are not forgotten.”
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Foster explained that there are several factors in play that make the project a time-consuming task.
“Part of what is taking so long is that Gail [Blackerby] has to go back to the books to look up the vital information on the deceased that is then stenciled into the markers,” Foster said. “Sometimes there is nothing there on when the person died so we have to do research in the library and mortuaries and sometimes we still have trouble getting what we need. We also like to get some family information.”
“Gail has to go out to the plots and measure by walking it off to determine a specific unmarked grave location,” Foster said. “A rod is used to make sure the exact spot has been located. She pushes it into the ground to feel for the casket. A flag is then placed and the ground is prepared for the stone.”
Colvin has spent a number of years as a historic preservationist, restoring abandoned cemeteries and producing a number of headstones and stone markers that he engraves himself.
Colvin’s interest in Civil War history provided him with grist for his mill in the form of granite pieces of various sizes and shapes that have accumulated on his property over the years.
“I tell my kids that I’m doing them a favor by getting this stuff off of my property so they won’t have to worry about it in the future,” Colvin joked in February.
Colvin explained that family connections played a part in the development of his hobby, which he has pursued in earnest since his retirement from International Paper Co.
“I’ve said I married into it,” Colvin said of his work in preparing historical markers and restoring historic sites. “My wife’s great-grandfather is buried at Marks’ Mills near Kingsland, the site of a Civil War battle of the same name.”
Colvin’s latest project was the creation and installation of a historical marker at Lee’s Ferry Crossing on the Saline River, where Confederate troops passed en route to the Battle of Pine Bluff in October 1863.
Donations needed
Foster said that it takes $50 to prepare each grave marker, including the cost of the stencils used for the engraving and other supplies.
“From start to finish, the entire process could take as long as several weeks to complete,” Foster said. “People who give $50 or more have the option of having a small engraving placed on the edge of the marker saying ‘Donated by’ followed by the donor’s name. But, they don’t have to if they don’t want to.”
Colvin said in February that Steve Moon of Moon Monument Co. in Pine Bluff produces the rubber stencils used to engrave the stones and only charges what it costs to create the stencils.
For details or contributions, write to Compassionate Friends of Potters Field, P.O. Box 6114, Pine Bluff, Arkansas, 71611-6114.