Oak Grove Cemetery Society
Authors: Isaac Brake, Jessica Bahamon, and Jazlin Quinonez
Faculty Supervisor: Jessica Melilli-Hand, Ph.D., MFA
Abstract:
We worked with Oak Grove Cemetery Society to clean up the historic Oak Grove Cemetery by raking leaves from graves and walkways and we used details of that experience to create related literature in a genre we are studying in class. Oak Grove Cemetery Society is in charge of keeping the cemetery clean and preserving the graves. This service-learning experience helped us appreciate the history that lies in that cemetery and the importance of the upkeep of it. Before the Cemetery Society, Oak Grove was a run-down place. We are also helping the cemetery and developing skills for class by writing articles for their newsletter. Our article tells the story about the people that are buried there and their stories. We put together a PowerPoint presentation that shows pictures of graves and parts of the cemetery. It also explains the relationship between the pieces of literature that we were assigned and the cemetery we partnered with. Our literature stories are about the end of life and most people end up in a cemetery somewhere when their life finally comes to an end. We feel that is very important that this cemetery gets the proper care and preservation that it deserves. It's disrespectful to the families of the people that are buried there if it is not taken care of. Not only does it affect the families of the people buried there, it affects the community as a whole. Nobody wants to have to look at a rundown cemetery day after day. We all hope the work of this society gets carried on for generations to come.
