PONTIAC, Mich. – Storms in late July left tree branches and limbs scattered, also destroying headstones and gates at the Oak Hill Cemetery in Pontiac.
A group of volunteers came together to help clean it up.
“It’s just a total monster mess. It’s a beautiful place and I can’t believe that the city of Pontiac will let something be in shambles like this. It’s been a couple of weeks now,” said James Killeen.
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“I just came out to help. We drive by it and we saw the devastation so here we are,” recalled volunteer, Mary-Jo Smith.
Oak Hill Cemetery was built in the early 1800s. It’s owned by the city of Pontiac but relies heavily on volunteer work in certain situations.
“I just think you’ve got to get people out here to come out and help because there’s a lot of devastation in the cemetery,” Smith said.
Killeen and Smith said they couldn’t stand to see the cemetery as an eyesore anymore.
“I had some old saws in the basement. I figured I’d pull them out and come on down to see what I can do. We’re trying to clean it up and do anything that we can to help,”Killeen said. “I went and bought some new chains this morning and we’re hammering through it.”
Even though there have been a few volunteers out, officials said the cemetery is still looking for as much help as possible to get the place cleaned especially those who have experience in tree removal services.
More: Oakland County news