A view of the Coventry Union Cemetery, one of three participating in the third annual New York State Caring for your Cemetery Day in Chenango County on April 25. The Warn-Ten Broeck Cemetery on Route 12 invites volunteers to participate the same day, and the North Afton Cemetery is also a registered location. (Photo by Rebecca Laibowitz)

CHENANGO COUNTY – This weekend, April 25 and 26, the third annual Caring for your Cemetery Day Caring For Your Cemetery Day takes place across New York State. Participating cemeteries in Chenango County are the Coventry Union Cemetery, North Afton Cemetery, and Warn-Ten Broeck Cemetery.

The first Caring For Your Cemetery Day was announced by the NYS Department of State, Division of Cemeteries, in 2024. According to its website, the Division of Cemeteries oversees the establishment, maintenance, and preservation of burial grounds for approximately 1,700 not-for-profit cemeteries in New York State by working with cemetery officials.

Caring For Your Cemetery Day aims to connect community volunteers with local cemeteries to assist with cleanup and maintenance in preparation for the spring season, and according to their site could involve the following activities: cleaning up small debris, trash, and seasonal decorations; planting flowers; removing downed branches, weeds, and overgrowth; scattering grass seed; and other light tasks appropriate for untrained volunteers.

The state hopes to increase public participation in local cemeteries. “Our cemeteries are important municipal centers and full of history and culture. Their beautification and upkeep are critical to ensuring that they remain integral parts of our neighborhoods,” said Secretary of State Walter T. Mosley.

This initiative provides an excellent opportunity to engage volunteer community residents to participate in the cleanup and beautification of local cemeteries, and raises awareness to what goes into the care, maintenance, and preservation of historical cemeteries.

To find all of the participating cemeteries across the state visit this link https://dos.ny.gov/Cemetery-Day

The Coventry Union Cemetery

The Coventry Union Cemetery association is inviting community volunteers to participate in Caring for your Cemetery Day on Saturday April 25 from 10am until 1pm with a rain date for April 26. The GPS address is 2580 State Highway 206, Coventry, NY.

Secretary of the association, Nancy Searfoss explained that volunteers will be asked to help clean the cemetery in preparation for spring. This could include a variety of activities such as picking up any branches or limbs that are down from trees, cleaning up old floral arrangements or things that have been left over from winter, or raking leaves.

“Basically sprucing things up,” said Searfoss, “and getting the cemetery looking better and ready to mow, because all that stuff is a hazard for the people who mow.”

Fun Facts about the Coventry Union Cemetery from Searfoss: The oldest grave at the Coventry Union Cemetery is from 1808, and the association formed in 1883. The cemetery is home to the graves of 47 soldiers from the Revolutionary War, Civil War, and War of 1812 altogether. It also houses the grave of one of the first women in New York State to attend college.

“We are the only active cemetery in Coventry at this time. We're trying to promote the history aspect of the cemetery,” said Searfoss, adding “We keep as many genealogical records as we can find for the people who are buried there. And we believe that everybody deserves to be remembered.”

If you are going to participate in Caring For Your Cemetery Day at the Coventry Union Cemetery, Searfoss suggests that you wear good sturdy shoes, gloves, a hat if it's sunny, and if you can, it would be helpful to bring along a rake or a pruner. She recommends bringing water but said that they'd have some refreshments.

“We hope that in the cemeteries where our relatives are buried, whether it's in Pennsylvania or up near Albany or wherever it is, we hope there's volunteers taking care of our families. And that's why we take care of the people in our cemetery here,” said Searfoss.

In addition to participating in the statewide Caring for your Cemetery Day, the Coventry Union Cemetery Association, typically hosts a fall cleanup event around Veteran's Day, and several fundraising initiatives throughout the year.

They are currently running a flag tribute where people can donate $20 for a three by five flag that will go up on memorial day until July 4. Flag tributes can list up to three veterans from any time period, living or dead. To purchase one visit the Coventry Union Cemetery association's new website or facebook page at coventry-union-cemetery-association.square.site/ or www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100066659920088

The Warn-Ten Broeck Cemetery

The Warn-Ten Broeck Cemetery association invites community volunteers to take part in Caring for your Cemetery Day on Saturday April 25 at 9 a.m., with a rain date of May 2. It's located on State Route 12, a few miles south of Oxford, just below the rest area and north of Brisben.

Secretary of the Warn-Ten Broeck Cemetery association, Paula Van Tyle, said that they began hosting cleanup events around 10 years ago to coincide with Earth Day which happened to line up with New York State's initiative this year.

“I think it's been just three years ago that we started getting messages from New York State about having it this weekend. So we said, well, we already do it, but we'll put our name on the list if it helps. We're going to do it regardless,” said VanTyle.

VanTyle explained that volunteers at their cleanup days are asked to help the groundskeeper with heavier work, like cutting branches, picking up fallen limbs, moving around dirt to fill in woodchuck holes, and the like. She said they ultimately try to get the lawns up so that the groundskeeper can mow the lawn, and that everyone's usually done with the cleanup by noon.

“People bring rakes or maybe little wheelbarrows to move the piles of sticks and leaves and things like that. So bring your favorite rake,” said Van Tyle


Fun Facts about the Warn-Ten Broeck Cemetery from Van Tyle: The first burial on the grounds was in 1792 and the association goes back to 1887, making next year its 140th anniversary. There are nine Revolutionary War Patriots interned there and commemorated with a historical plaque. The cemetery was founded by original settlers of the area, the Warn family, Ten Broeck family, the Bartles, and Tremaines.

“It's a beautiful cemetery,” Van Tyle exclaimed, adding, “we even have a picnic table set up there so that if you have somebody buried there, it's a gorgeous place to sit and listen to the birds, and you're right near the Chenango River. It's just a very calm peaceful place for people to actually enjoy.”

Aside from their community cleanup events the Warn-Ten Broeck Cemetery is sometimes the host of “Cemetery Walks” led by the Oxford Town Historian, who Van Tyle says, is working on a book about some of the people buried in the cemetery.

To keep up with the Warn-Ten Broeck Cemetery Association check their facebook page found at www.facebook.com/groups/784604185247059 and they accept donations to their mailbox at Warn-Ten Broeck Cemetery P.O. Box 96, Oxford, NY 13830.

The North Afton Cemetery

While the North Afton Cemetery is registered to participate in the State's Caring for your Cemetery Day, the association was unable to be reached in time to provide comment for this article. You can find them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/NorthAftonCemetery where a recent post mentions Caring for your Cemetery Day.

From viewing their Facebook page you can see that the North Afton Cemetery regularly calls for volunteers for headstone cleanings, posting impressie before and afters, and action shots of volunteer's work there.

The address listed on their Facebook oage is 197 CT RD 17, Afton, NY 13730.

Non-profits are always looking for volunteers

Cemetery associations are typically volunteer-run. The secretaries of the Coventry Union and Warn-Te Broeck Cemeteries both mentioned how they are hoping younger people are inspired to join.

“Anybody is welcome to come to the meetings and see if they want to join the association, because we're always looking. We're going to be looking for younger people to take it on,” said Van Tyle about the Warn-Ten Broek association. “Those that are quite involved right now are 50 and older. So we need somebody,” she added.

Searfoss said this about the Coventry Union Cemetery association, “we want to get some younger people interested. You know, so many of our volunteers are elderly now, including myself and my husband, and we're getting up there, and we need some younger people to get interested in the history and in the genealogy you know, because there's people. Those are people under those headstones.”

One of the major goals of New York State's Caring For Your Cemetery Day is to get community members to participate and interested in the volunteer needs of our local cemeteries. According to the NY Department of State, last year nearly 100 cemeteries signed up to participate and this year there will nearly 140 signed up including the three mentioned in this article from Chenango County.