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Thursday, May 3, 2007

By JUSTIN ELLIS

Staff Writer

Most people stay away from cemeteries until a loved one passes away. But in the days and hours when no one's there, time takes its toll and leaves fall, grass grows and flowers lose their color.

For some people, cemeteries are a purpose, and as long as there have been graveyards, there has been someone to take care of them.

At the Hillside Cemetery in Gorham, an association has been taking care of the gravestones and tending the grounds for more than 50 years.

But financial difficulties and a dwindling membership have drained the resources of the organization, leaving it to make the difficult decision to dissolve and turn over maintenance responsibilities to the town.

"I'm proud of our cemetery, but we can't give it the frequent maintenance it needs," said John Emerson, the association's president.

Emerson said he has been involved with the organization since the late 1980s, when he and his sons started mowing and doing other grounds work.

Emerson said the association has always taken pride in the Hillside Cemetery and its appearance. But over time the association's membership has declined as older residents have died, he said.

At the same time, the costs of maintenance and repairs to the cemetery's crumbling roads and aging stonework have gone up.

"Sadly, associations are probably a thing of the past," Emerson said.

Marcena Phillips, the association's treasurer, said the organization has used a combination of money from its own accounts and town funding to operate over the years.

Phillips said in recent years interest rates have fluctuated, reducing the yield from the investments, and the funds have not been enough to cover maintenance costs.

In March, Emerson approached the Gorham Town Council and asked the town to take over the maintenance work for the cemetery, located on Huston Road.

The town already manages 12 cemeteries and sells lots for a number of them, said Town Clerk and Superintendent of Cemeteries Christina Silberman.

The association holds its annual meeting in May, and Emerson plans to ask for a vote to dissolve the group.

It was a bittersweet decision, Emerson said.

"With ownership and an association you develop an intimacy," he said. "You get better maintenance and better care when you take ownership."

Phillips said most people don't realize how much work it takes to keep a cemetery in good shape.

At Hillside, she said, the roads need to be smoothed out and a vault on the grounds needs its roof fixed.

Phillips said she feels a strong sense of responsibility to the people buried in the cemetery. She became involved in the association after her uncle nominated her to be secretary years ago. She has many family members buried in Hillside.

"I hate to go by and see a forgotten (cemetery) on the side of the road, one where it's all overgrown and not taken care of," she said.

Staff Writer Justin Ellis can be contacted at 791-6380 or at