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More than 100 volunteers descended on Fairview Cemetery on a bright Saturday morning to right a wrong.

They arrived July 25 from as far away as Raytown and Grandview with clippers, saws, shovels, gloves and determination. And they immediately got busy pulling weeds, trimming bushes and trees, picking up trash and leveling tilted tombstones.

“It makes you proud to be from Liberty,” said Mayor Greg Canuteson, who after the cleanup grilled hot dogs, hamburgers and bratwursts for volunteers in a parking lot across the street. Boy Scout Troop 374 handed out bottled water donated by Price Chopper, ran errands and picked up trash and the local Veterans of Foreign Wars post provided a cooling tent.

“I couldn’t believe how much trash there was out here,” said troop leader James Simpson.

What brought the community together was an act of vandalism that shocked local residents. It is believed that late June 19 vandals toppled and damaged more than 175 tombstones in the oldest section of Fairview, where some graves date back to before the Civil War. The city owns and maintains the cemetery, but families are responsible for the individual grave markers.

However, because some of the damaged stones are so old and the city’s records are spotty, it is up to the community to take care of them.

Assistant City Administrator Dan Estes said there is a $340,000 cemetery trust fund but only the interest generated can be used for the cemetery. He said 75 percent of the money from the sale of plots goes to maintenance and 25 percent goes into the trust fund. Plots in Fairview and adjoining New Hope Cemetery cost $900 each, and an average of 10 to 15 are sold yearly, officials said.

After hearing about the widespread vandalism on the news, Yolanda Luster of Raytown and her children Brandon and Cheyenne Francois headed for Liberty to help out.

The family pulled weeds and trimmed bushes around a grave so old the dates were nearly obliterated by time and the elements.

“We thought it would be a good family project to help another community in need,” Luster said. “It’s sad when you have youths out vandalizing a community’s history.” Organizers said they hoped to have another cleanup in the fall.

Chuck Acock, a retired U.S. Marine who often walks in the cemetery, said he had walked his niece Mary Cravens’ dog before dark on Friday, June 19, and then returned to walk Saturday morning, June 20, when he discovered the vandalism.

“To me, that’s sacred ground,” Acock said. “I don’t think you get any lower than to desecrate a cemetery. It’s like robbing a church.”

Acock said he planned to devote himself to cleaning and fixing every military grave in the cemetery if he lived long enough.

Meanwhile, the mayor said he is looking for seven people to serve on an advisory cemetery board. So far, Cravens and former Councilman Leroy Coe have expressed interest in serving on the newly created panel.

HOW TO HELP

If you would like to provide a donation for maintenance of the Fairview/New Hope Cemeteries, you can mail or deliver a check to the Liberty Parks and Recreation Charitable Fund, 1600 S. Withers Road, Liberty, MO 64068.  Please clearly indicate that the donation is for the cemetery fund.

For more information about the charitable fund, visit www.ci.liberty.mo.us/LPRCF or call 439-4366.

Liberty Editor Angie Anaya Borgedalen can be reached at 781-4941 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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