Volunteers hope to save historic Pawtucket vets’ cemetery hit by vandals

Volunteers are hoping a ten-year effort to save a historic veterans’ cemetery in Pawtucket will be successful, as the site is home to vets from the Revolutionary War right up to World War II.

The problem facing the cemetery on Mineral Spring Avenue in Pawtucket is the aging gravestones and vandals that continue to return to the site over the years.

The site has been taking a hit, with headstones being cracked or completely split in half by the hands of vandals, but a group with the Blackstone Valley Historical Society, along with help from the city, are hoping to preserve the legacy of the landmark located in the heart of Pawtucket.

Ken Postle, Gregory Duhamel, and Bill Greenwood are putting in as much time as possible to preserve the site.

“I used to walk by it and look at it and say this is horrible,” Greenwood said, who began restoring gravestones a decade ago. “Started clearing the stones, finding the stones, bringing the stones up.”

Greenwood, along with Postle, approached the city for help. They were granted permission to work on the cemetery, and even took classes on how to properly excavate and fix the aging headstones.

“Stones were under the ground. They were actually down and under the ground,” Postle said. “So we came in here and pulled up a few hundred stones.”

Despite their best efforts of repairing stones and even replacing some altogether, one problem continues to plague the Mineral Spring Avenue cemetery.

“Vandalism. Lots of it,” said Gregory Duhamel. “Doing our best to bring dignity and respect back to these veterans.”

“The repairs we’re doing have probably been done two or three times now,” Postle added.

The three all said that they hope to create a site that’s clean, as they refer to the cemetery as “Pawtucket’s Arlington.”

They hope to one day have the cemetery looking pristine, which they believe will act as a deterrent from anyone looking to break the old headstones.

“We want to let people appreciate their history here because this is all about Pawtucket,” Postle said.

The group is now looking to pass on the job to younger generations.

Unfortunately, this is not their only project. The group also is dealing with the problem at cemeteries in Woonsocket and North Providence hit by vandalism over the years.