USC Aiken students and staff join community organizations to help preserve one of the oldest cemeteries in Aiken
Students and staff from the University of South Carolina Aiken didn't mind getting their hands dirty while helping to take care of Pine Lawn Cemetery, one of Aiken's most historic burial sites.
Plans are in the works to have a Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service clean-up on Saturday, Jan. 13 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Campus organizations such as PUB (Pacer U Board), IMPACT, USC Aiken's ROTC, and the History Club came together to volunteer with the help of community volunteers to assist in cleanup efforts during Veterans Day weekend.
"We just thought it would be great to get out in the community and help out," said Zulymon Drew, senior, with IMPACT.
Makayla Shedrick, a freshman sociology major, says she joined IMPACT to get more involved on campus. "It's really important that we give back to the community," she said. "Just knowing that cleaning up Pine Lawn is helping the community really makes me feel good."
Heather Peterson, an associate professor of history at USC Aiken, has volunteered for the past five years with helping to maintain the cemetery. She says her involvement started with the help of Professor Andy Dyer who teaches Biology and Geology on campus. "He's gone to Arlington National Cemetery to learn about headstone cleaning and has even taken broken headstones to piece them back together," she said. "A few years ago, he looked at all the death certificates in Aiken and tried to identify all the people who might be buried in Pine Lawn who aren't mentioned."
Peterson also serves on the Pine Lawn Board in efforts to help with the upkeep of the cemetery. "We have very little funds. Most of what we're able to do is through the donations that we get from the community."
The Board has also partnered with many organizations such as the American Legion, the Aiken Co. Chapter of the Links Incorporated, the Masons, and Eyes on Aiken, a community nonprofit dedicated to serving those in need.
LaShaun Hamilton-Ryans, the executive director of Eyes of Aiken, says she would drive by the cemetery many time and always thought something needed to be done. "To know the wealth of history of the people who are buried here, was like a slap in the face for me personally," she said. "I took charge along with my Co-Director Teresa Callahan, to get efforts going."
The cemetery was established in 1852 and originally called the Aiken Colored Cemetery until 1988. Prior to the end of the Civil War, many people buried there were slaves or veterans according to the SC Picture Project.
For more information, contact Angela Saxon, Angela.saxon@usca.edu