Craig, 

Sadly it is true. For whatever reasons (and I hope to learn why as we go along) black families and churches do not seem to care. And we are hoping to find out why as we go along. There is an old medieval English Proverb... "The road to hell is paved with good intensions." People will talk a good talk but never follow through. I may try and fail but will give it a good attempt using a different approach. 

Thanks 

Eric 

  

-----Original Message----- 
From: Discussion of research and writing about Virginia history [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Craig Kilby 
Sent: Friday, September 05, 2014 5:05 PM 
To: [log in to unmask] 
Subject: Re: [VA-HIST] Evergreen Cemetery - Plans 

Eric, 

It's sad that the families and churches of the people buried in these cemeteries do not care enough about it to do anything. If THEY don't care, its hard to expect anybody else to care either. I wish you all the luck in the world in finding private funding to restore and maintain these places in perpetuity. It sounds like an uphill battle against total apathy to me. Sometimes you just have to move on. 

Craig 

On Sep 5, 2014, at 4:20 PM, Eric Huffstutler wrote: 

> When I say “serious” I mean not just a passing fancy. There has been many who has tried as they may in the past to make a difference only to be met with obstacles, opposition, or just being overwhelmed. John Shuck has waged a good battle against Mother Nature but he can work but so fast and is only one person meaning by the time he and his skeletal crew finish one area and go on to the next, the ones finished are already going back. Volunteers from 4-H to College Sororities, Military to the Police have offered their services but seem to never come back after an exhausting day clearing off a few feet in acres of jungle. More recently there was a difference of opinions that caused the move from Evergreen to East End cemetery and Veronica Davis who made it one of her pet projects basically gave up and pulled the plug with her "Virginia Roots" project. 
> 
> As she said we could point fingers all day long as to who’s to blame but at the end of the day there needs to be a co-op of management and directive advice given and followed through. The direction I am going to take is working with well known humanitarian foundations that have people with power and deep pockets. Possibly more? Yet, money alone can do nothing without a plan. I also need to know what has and hasn’t been done in the past so not to try and reinvent the wheel. I know that Jim Bell, ex forest ranger, started a group in 2000 called the “Virginia Foundation for the Preservation of Historic Black Cemeteries”. He said that no one followed through and so the group disbanded and the S.C.C. listing was purged in 2007. Others have tried rallying churches and families of the deceased at the cemetery to no avail. Some say there is a cloud of “mystery” that cast a shadow over it no one wants to talk about… wonder what that is? 
> 
> Eric 
  

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