Clearing the way for black history

1989-02-21

Clearing the way for black history
By William Demarest
Staff Writer

Under piles of decaying leaves, broken tree branches and
knotted vines on a West Nyack hillside, James Houston of
Spring Valley rediscovered a large piece of Rockland's black
history.
Houston was one of 50 volunteers from community and
veterans groups who spent Presidents' Day cleaning a
decade of debris from the 139-year-old Mount Moor Cemetery,
which has been named a historic site by the town of Clarkstown.
"I didn't even know this was back here until we came here to do this cleanup," said Houston, 39, as he carried a bundle of leaves down the steep slope where black families from the
Nyack area have buried their loved ones since 1849.
"I heard about the cemetery and I thought it would be a good
thing for me to do, to help out for a good cause," he said.
County Legislator Hezekiah Easter of Nyack, president of
the Mount Moor Cemetery Association, said the 2-acre
burial ground has suffered from neglect for many years. He said
burial records are sketchy and the association has never had
enough money to maintain the cemetery properly.
But that is changing.
The cemetery is located just behind Janet Hogan's Diner off
Route 59 in the middle of the 100-acre block of land that will
become home of the Palisades Center shopping mall.
The mall developer, Syracuse-based Pyramid Companies, has
agreed to help the Mount Moor Association preserve the
cemetery, which is a burial place for veterans dating back to the
Civil War. Pyramid at first wanted to move the cemetery, but
that plan was scrapped last year.
Easter said community interest sparked by the proposed
mall, the recent historic designation and area veterans
groups combined to generate a small army of workers for
yesterday's cleanup operation.
We've tried to do this in the past, but we'd only have a couple I
of people out here and we couldn't get much done," said Easter, a Republican legislator representing the town of Orangetown. The last large-scale cleanup was 1977, Easter said.
David Smith, operations manager for Xerox's Blauvelt plant, said he and other black Vietnam War veterans used their day off to work at the cemetery because they feel they owe a debt to the veterans who are buried in the cemetery.
"They laid down their lives so we could enjoy our freedoms,"
said,Smith, as fellow volunteers were raking leaves and cutting
away at thickets with a chain saw. "The least we can do is to clean up and make sure they have a decent resting place."
Smith said he felt the cleanup was a perfect way to mark
February as Black History Month, but he stressed that the operation became a project for the entire community — not just blacks.
Participants in yesterday's cleanup included representatives
from: the Xerox Community Involvement Program; Veterans of
Foreign Wars Post 6396 of Mount Vernon; Rockland County Chapter 333 of the Vietnam Veterans of America; the "Panthers" of the 505th Airborne 3rd Battalion; the 173rd Airborne Society; Special Forces Airborne Society; and the
'Omega Psi Phi fraternity.
Easter said Orange and Rockland Utilities loaned the Mount
Moor Association some heavy construction equipment to clear
debris from the cemetery.
Easter said the cemetery has suffered some damage over the s
years because of motorcycle riders, who like the dirt road at the foot of the cemetery and the challenge of climbing the cemetery's hillside. He said yesterday's work included
some repair on tombstones knocked over by the trespassers.
A new fence was erected around the cemetery last year to block the dirt bike riders. Easter said Pyramid's plans for the cemetery include a wrought iron fence around it.
A second cleanup day has been set for Saturday, March 4. The
cemetery is scheduled to be rededicated on Memorial Day.
Easter said his association's plans include a monument for the
cemetery, which will display its name and tell of its history.
[PHOTO]
Volunteers at work at Mount Moore Cemetery yesterday.

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