To assist with cleanup efforts after Hurricane Irma swept over the Tampa Bay area on Sunday, September 10 to Monday, September 11, the non-profit Lincoln Cemetery Society of Gulfport sponsored a volunteer event on Saturday, September 23. The heavily wooded land suffered unusual foliage damage from the storm that swept over the Tampa Bay area on Sunday, September 10 to Monday, September 11, 2017.
The cemetery, located at 600 58th Street S., was established in 1926 and is a historically black graveyard.
“We’ve been taking care of our own brush for a little over a year now,” said Jon Harker, vice president of the society. “We’ve contacted Gulfport Mayor Sam Henderson and City Manager Jim O’Reilly” about the unusual amount of foliage we are gathering after the hurricane. “When they get the storm refuse piled in the city taken care of, they’re going to talk to us” about possibly helping us with our collection needs.
In the meantime, volunteers are welcome to gather small tree limbs and add them to the hurricane-related refuse piles when the cemetery is open during daylight hours seven days a week, said Harker.
“Some of the crypts are almost 100 years old so we ask that people not bring lawn mowers except during society-sponsored cleanups. We don’t want anyone doing damage to the markers or their mowers,” he said.
For more information about volunteering for official cleanups, visit: facebook.com/Lincolncemeterysociety or email Vanessa Gray, president, at: nessatray9973@gmail.com.
