Cemetery restoration project wins Lombard Heritage Award
Rita Schneider remembers talking to former Village President William J. Mueller about his desire to fix up the Lombard Cemetery.
"It was a problem from time to time," she said. "It would get cleaned up, but some of the fencing was orange plastic fencing, some of it was falling down on Main Street. It was in pretty bad shape."
For years, a cemetery association took care of the property at 460 S. Main St. But in 2007, the association became defunct as its membership dwindled to three seniors.
"They just couldn't handle it anymore," said Schneider, who serves as chairwoman of the Lombard Historical Commission. "I give them credit because they kept it up for years and in a lot of instances used their own money to do it."
In the years that followed, an immense community effort to restore the cemetery was led by the commission, which formed a Lombard Cemetery Restoration Committee. Hundreds got involved, from schoolchildren and Boy Scouts to the park district, historical society and village.
On Oct. 15, the Lombard Cemetery Restoration Project was declared the winner of the 2015 William J. Mueller Lombard Heritage Award.
"It has been a wonderful project, and to go from being overgrown and rundown to what it is today is just a remarkable change," Schneider said.
During the cleanup period, headstones previously covered in weeds and other vegetation were uncovered, including some that had sunk. In total, about 60 tombstones were repaired and 14 were pulled out of the dirt.
The park district restored a small park area on the western edge of the cemetery and renamed it Babcock's Grove Memorial Garden, to commemorate the cemetery and town's original name. The village led efforts to install an iron fence, plant trees and create paths in the cemetery. And the Lombard Garden Club planted about 2,000 daffodil bulbs along the border, creating a "beautiful golden ribbon" along the fence each spring, Schneider said.
In researching who was buried at the cemetery, the historical society came across an old list with names of about 15 veterans. It turns out, 34 veterans are buried there, including nine without tombstones.
Their service, Schneider said, spanned from the War of 1812 to World War II, and getting free grave markers from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs proved tricky, requiring extensive documentation and next-of-kin signatures.
That's when VFW Post 5815 and the VFW Ladies Auxiliary got involved. In an effort to raise money for the tombstones, they set up a Pennies for Patriots drive at four elementary schools, where students were urged to collect spare change. Hundreds of dollars were gathered and the Citizens Police Academy Alumni Association jumped on board, too, hosting a raffle in 2013 and donating all the proceeds to the fund.
The new tombstones were installed in 2013 and 2014. Other projects to keep the cemetery clean have been ongoing by Eagle Scouts and other community groups, Schneider said.
Some leftover funds from Pennies for Patriots were used to purchase two plaques embedded in a memorial rock to honor all the veterans buried in the cemetery and acknowledge everyone who collected money to help with the project. A short ceremony celebrating the installation of the rock at the cemetery will be at 1 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 8.
"I think the best part of this project - and it showed the night of the award at village hall - was how many community groups were involved," said Sarah Richardt, a member of the restoration committee. "The cemetery is beautiful now. They made it a very nice historical destination."
The cemetery is now maintained with village funds that are allocated to the historical commission each year for lawn mowing, tree trimming and other costs.