A traveling troupe of grave rehabbers has resurrected a South Burlington burial ground. The Shelburne Road Cemetery has long been a relic to the dead,.
Many new South Burlington Rotary members had never met their fellow Rotarians before the clubâs 35th annual picnic last month. They had grown to know each other through a computer screen every week, but when youâre one in a mess of bobbing heads, it can be hard to casually chat, ask about the grandkids, the office, the garden.
While Rotary made technology work through the COVID-19 pandemic, continuing weekly meetings and organizing a series of virtual and cautiously in-person community events, they felt whole again when they gathered in person to celebrate 35 years and a new president.
Andrew Swift, who took over the presidency from Sandra Walsh, met many new members in person when the crew gathered for Green Up Day in May, handing out trash bags, recording the number of volunteers and helping dispose of trash.
Most people donât realize thereâs a cemetery tucked behind a grove of trees and overgrown brush off Shelburne Road, but they might notice it now.
On Saturday, April 24, community members, Rotarians and local scouts gathered together to clear brush and pick up trash at Shelburne Cemetery, one of South Burlingtonâs two cemeteries.
City sexton and clerk Donna Kinville said about 115 people are buried at the cemetery, with the most recent laid to rest in 2020. Earlier stones date back to the 1800s.
The cemetery was deeded to the town of Burlington in 1833 and became South Burlingtonâs when the city was created in 1865.