When Martin Quinn first tended to the Laurel Cemetery in White Haven, his rate for cutting grass with an old-fashioned push mower was 15 cents per hour.
“And we didn’t get paid until Labor Day,” he said of the job he held as a teenager.
Decades later, Quinn, of White Haven, doesn’t collect a cent for the work he does at the cemetery bordering Church Street. At 94, he is in his 20th year of volunteer service – and says he has no plans of quitting.
“He’s here every Saturday,” said Bruce Dodson, of Mountain Top, another cemetery volunteer.
“I’m the oldest guy. The rest of them are all kids,” Quinn said, as he motioned to fellow volunteers.
There’s Dodson, a White Haven native, who’s the youngest at 60. Next-youngest is Daniel Jones at 76; then comes Bert Schafer, at 84, and finally, there’s Peter Herbener Jr., at 87.
Herbener is the president of the Laurel Cemetery Association’s board of directors; Jones and Schafer serve on the board. Quinn resigned from the board but continues to volunteer in other capacities.
With the help of other directors and volunteers, the men maintain and plan the future of the 32-acre cemetery.
“We come here every Saturday from April to October,” said Herbener, of White Haven.
During their visits, they cut grass, tend to weeds and rake leaves.
“We do whatever needs to be done,” added White Haven native Schafer, who lives in Freeland.
On Saturday, the men sat on lawn chairs inside a shed to map out their day.
Jones, of White Haven, talked about cutting grass at the cemetery.
“It takes 15 hours,” he said. “There is a lot of grass.”
There are obstacles, too.
“I had to memorize all the cornerstones,” he said.
Jones doesn’t mind the work. Neither do the others.
“We’re all retired and it gives us something to do,” Jones explained.
Work isn’t limited to landscaping. The volunteers make repairs where needed and discuss ideas to preserve history, Herbener said.
According to historical documents, the first burial at the site was in 1790, when the cemetery was known as the White Haven Public Burial Ground. In 1862, the Laurel Cemetery Association was established to ensure the cemetery would be cared for in years to come, explained Dodson.
A copy of the charter is displayed at the cemetery’s old office, a small wooden building located near one of the entrances.
“We painted this last year,” Herbener said. Volunteers also reenforced its windows and plan to renovate the interior.
And when volunteers noticed that an old cemetery vault’s windows were cracking, they installed thick cuts of Plexiglas over them.
“One guy doesn’t run this place,” Herbener said. “If anybody has an idea, we all talk it over and decide what needs to be done.”
Most recently, the association voted to purchase a new lawn tractor with donations. An office was also built to house cemetery maps and files. Inside the office, drawers hold index cards organized by last name, and show burial sites for more than 3,000 people.
Part-time caretaker Corey Phipps, one of the association’s two paid employees, thumbed through a book containing receipts, including one for a lot purchased in 1884 for $6.36.
“We’ve got so much history in this cemetery,” Herbener said, as he looked at a book of minutes from the association’s first meeting. Phipps’ wife, Debbie, a part-time secretary, keeps the books and ledgers organized in filing cabinets.
Folks often stop by the cemetery to find tombstones of loved ones.
“They come here with a white sheet of paper and a piece of charcoal” and take rubbings of the names engraved on the markers, he said.
Herbener loves to see visitors. A few years ago, he said, a scavenger hunt was held in the cemetery. Others have been directed there as they geocache, or use a GPS unit to find marked coordinates.
Those who visit might stumble upon tombs of Civil War soldiers, or recognize names of some of the borough forefathers.
While he shows no sign of slowing, Herbener doesn’t know when he will step down as board president. He and the board want to see younger volunteers.
“I hope somebody in the future takes care of this place like we do,” Herbener said.
Anyone wishing to support the cemetery, which is not affiliated with any church, can send donations to Laurel Cemetery Association, 160 Church St., White Haven, PA 18661.
jwhalen@standardspeaker.com
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