Adamsville, Arizona A.O.U.W. Cemetery Clean Up Project

Dear Mr. Dave Lettelier and the Phoenixmasonry Masonic Museum and Library:

I am please to inform you that my eagle scout project at the Adamsville A.O.U.W. Cemetery, in Florence, Arizona, is now complete.  I am writing to thank you for your cooperation and encouragement in allowing me to accomplish my Eagle Scout Project at the Adamsville Cemetery.  Without your consent and communication, this project would not have been possible. 
 
At first, the clean up of the cemetery felt like a large and daunting task, but with the help of nearly 40 fantastic volunteers, I was able to complete the project on November 13, 2010.  It is a really good feeling to know I was able to make a difference for the town of Florence, Pinal County, and all of the families who have descendants and pioneers buried there. I am very grateful to have taken part in this historic restoration of the Adamsville Cemetery, and hope that your organization will be able to continue with researching and marking grave sites that are no longer buried. 
 
For my project, I was able to secure a donation from a local rock quarry in order to "pave" or "line" the entrance into the cemetery from Adamsville Rd., as well as the parking area to the cemetery. Through the years, the entrance had become unmarked, and most of the stones lining the entrance were missing.  It was very difficult to find the cemetery entrance from the main road without a marked way onto the small dirt road.  MDI Rock and Landscaping was able to donate approximately 2.5 tons of river rock, so I was able to re-line the entrance to the cemetery and fill in all the round-abouts and parking areas. It took one crew to load and unload two trailers with the rock in order to accomplish this.  In addition, I was able to secure donations for leather work gloves, shovels, rakes, and miscellaneous yard supplies so that myself and further volunteers could clean up over six tons of yard debris that had accumulated over almost two decades. This was accomplished by dividing my volunteers into "teams".  Each team was responsible for a part of the project, whether it be loading the trailers with the overgrown debris, compacting the debris down into the trailers and trucks, or unloading the garbage at the Ironwood Landfill.  One team was responsible for raking over the cleaned sights in order to restore the desert to a clean and leveled out plain, and to make sure all the smaller twigs, and branches were picked up by shovel and wheelbarrow.  One final team collected garbage, beer bottles, broken glass bottles, bottle caps, Styrofoam, shot gun shells, and all other imaginable items. 
 
We were told by some local residents that teens and groups of transients had found refuge in the cemetery by hiding behind the brush and debris piles, and partying at night.  There had been mattresses, bonfires, and other disturbances that took place at the Adamsville Cemetery that were a concern to police and local residents.  In addition, the shrubs, branches and dead tree stumps had become a fire hazard to the area. We were able to rectify all of these concerns by moving the large piles that had accumulated in the cemetery, all the dead limbs, and all of the trash. There is now very little natural vegetation left to hide behind and no where to throw new mattresses and build bonfires without being seen from the road.  All in all, we removed over 5 large trailers full, 6 tons of waste to the landfill, lay all 2.5 tons of river rock, and restore (rake) all of the surrounding desert landscape. In addition, we were able to sweep and clean off the few headstones and plots and remove several large trash bags of accumulated trash in the area.

I have included several shots of the project in progress and some of the finished results.  There were a total of 5 large piles, ranging in size from 3 ft high to 20-25 feet long each that were removed.

 

Sincerely,

Casey M. Robinson

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Greetings Brother Casey:

All I can say is WOW!!!  The work that you and your volunteers undertook to clean-up the Adamsville Cemetery is nothing short of awesome!  I am so proud of the work that you accomplished in just a short time!  The cemetery looks great now and I'm sure the descendants of the families who are buried there will be very pleased as well.  Thank you so much for this great undertaking!  You and your volunteers are to be commended and I am dedicating this webpage at the Phoenixmasonry Masonic Museum and Library in your honor!

Sincerely and Fraternally yours,

Dave Lettelier, PM, Curator

Phoenixmasonry Masonic Museum and Library


 

 

              

               

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