By Cortney Casey STERLING HEIGHTS — Despite being yards away from bustling Hayes and directly adjacent to a sprawling apartment complex, St. Paul Cemetery feels like it’s in a whole other world. Nestled within a forest off of 18 Mile, the tiny clearing contains more than 50 gravestones dating as far back as the 1880s. Several graves are elaborately marked with tall, slender stones, some bearing inscriptions in German. A handful of names appear repeatedly among the markers, suggesting the presence of entire families. Among those buried there is John Beutel, who received a new headstone recognizing his Civil War service in 2005, after his great-great-grandson researched his military heritage. It’s a fascinating slice of local history — but one that some residents fear has been forgotten. Jerry Sieja, a member of the Sterling Heights Historical Commission, has been visiting the graveyard since the 1970s, when he rode his bike through the woods as a child. A couple affiliated with St. Paul Lutheran Church on Hayes, which owns the cemetery, used to care for it, but they’re now deceased, he said. Over the last several years, the cemetery has been infrequently mowed and headstones have cracked and toppled, said Sieja, who still stops by three or four times annually. In recent weeks, someone has propped some crumbling headstones against trees, but Sieja said they’re often lying on the ground. Faint remnants of graffiti mark the sides of some graves, and litter dots the landscape. “That’s really ironic — you’ve got a McDonald’s cup and an American flag,” Sieja said, gesturing to a discarded soft drink container beside a veteran’s headstone. The encroaching forest blurs the cemetery’s boundaries, concealing several graves that have virtually disappeared into the underbrush. The country road that once led through the trees from Hayes is overgrown, now a mere path. “It’s bad enough the cemetery isn’t being taken care of, but you can’t get back here,” said Sieja. Frances McDonald, a resident of nearby Ashgrove Apartments, often walks by the cemetery with her dogs and said she gets “aggravated” by the site’s condition. Up until early August, when someone finally cut the grass, the graveyard was unkempt since she moved in a year ago, she said. She tried to reposition the fallen headstones, she added, but they were too heavy. “It’s like people have forgotten them,” McDonald said of the deceased. “It’s sad, because nobody has taken care of it. It’s sad to think these people are gone, and nobody cares.” McDonald said teenagers take advantage of the cemetery’s seclusion to drink and smoke. Another neighbor said he believes Internet postings, touting the locale as “haunted,” have attracted curious youngsters. Reverend Walter Keller, St. Paul’s pastor, said he’s equally dismayed by the constant cycle of vandalism, which hampers the church’s maintenance efforts. “They knock over headstones, they spray paint headstones,” he said. “We’re kind of at their mercy.” A former parishioner who owned a tow truck used to replace overturned markers, but the nearly complete disappearance of the access road from Hayes has derailed those efforts while increasing the site’s appeal to loiterers, said Keller. “As it is now, it’s a perfect spot for kids to hang out unseen,” he said. “You can’t have a 24-hour guard in there, unfortunately.” Sterling Heights Police Lt. Robert Henigan urged anyone witnessing suspicious activity in the cemetery to call police. Graveyard vandalism falls within specific regulations under malicious destruction of property, he said, and depending on suspects’ prior record and the amount of damage, the offense could range from a 90-day misdemeanor to a 10-year felony. Keller said the church commissions its lawn maintenance company to mow the grass in the cemetery a couple of times a year, and scouts also lend a hand, occasionally. “Unfortunately, it takes money to stay on top of things, and to be honest with you, we don’t have it,” he said. “Keeping the grass down is one thing, but when headstones are getting tipped over and everything, it’s impossible to keep up with.” Michael Bartholomew, Sterling’s city development director, building official and assistant city manager, said code enforcement officers have had contact with the church in the past after receiving complaints about the cemetery’s condition. Bartholomew said he believes the church has always complied with letters from the city requesting the grass be mowed or the headstones be righted. As Sterling Heights has no specific ordinances addressing cemetery maintenance, the site falls under the city’s general property maintenance code, he said. “If there were headstones knocked over or somebody dumped junk or debris, much like any piece of property, we would contact the owner and ask them to make the correction,” said Bartholomew. “It hasn’t really been — at least that I’m aware of — a big problem.” Sterling Heights Public Services Manager Denice Gerstenberg said the city currently handles maintenance of two cemeteries —one off of Saal Road, one off of Plumbrook — because the people originally affiliated with the graveyards are no longer living. “That was because sometimes an entity owns them and they’re so old, and perhaps that church disbanded or the people who used to own it all died,” she said. “There’s really no procedures in place to (do) anything with those parcels.” In this case, as St. Paul Lutheran owns the property, the church is responsible for the upkeep, she said. Michigan’s Cemetery Regulation Act contains a provision requiring agents selling entombment rights to maintain an irrevocable endowment care fund, fueled by a percentage of gross proceeds, for “all general work necessary to keep the cemetery property in a presentable condition at all times,” including grass cutting “at reasonable intervals” and maintenance of trees and shrubs to ensure access. However, cemeteries owned and operated by municipalities, churches or religious institutions are exempt from the act. According to Keller, an original member of the congregation donated a piece of his farmland to the church for the cemetery. In his 16 years as St. Paul’s pastor, Keller said, there’s only been one burial there. Additional volunteer assistance, if coordinated properly, might make a difference in the property’s maintenance, he said. Regardless of how it happens, Sieja hopes the tiny, hidden gem will someday get the attention he feels it deserves. “If you show people that you care about it,” he said, “they’re not going to vandalize it, and they’re not going to be coming back here (with ill intentions) like they’ve been coming back here.” You can reach Staff Writer Cortney Casey at ccasey@candgnews.com or at (586) 498-1046. |
