Shady Grove project works to restore neglected cemetery

An all-but-forgotten part of the area's black history lies beyond a stand of maple trees and beneath the knee-high weeds and periwinkle vines that carpet Shady Grove Cemetery.

Toppled headstones and simple makeshift markers are the silent reminders of members of rural black community who lived, worshipped and died near Dutchtown, Mo.

The 2-acre plot of land that is Shady Grove Cemetery is overshadowed by dead tree limbs, saplings, poison ivy and weeds -- symbols of a transformation that has occurred over time. While tangled weeds cover many of the markers, other plant growth signals memories for Louise Duncan, who can see her family's history laid out in the cemetery.

"I can always tell where they are buried by that cedar tree here," Duncan said. "The cedar tree grew right at the head of Aunt Louise."

With the help of volunteers Elroy Kinder and Steven Glover, as well as Dr. Frank Nickell of Southeast Missouri State University's Center for Regional History, Duncan can walk into Shady Grove Cemetery and pay her respects to family members like her Aunt Louise.

Hallie Fieser, a recent Historic Preservation graduate from Southeast Missouri State University, inspects a headstone Wednesday at Shady Grove Cemetery west of Cape Girardeau. (Kit Doyle)

Duncan and Kinder are coordinators of the Shady Grove Cemetery Restoration Project, a cleanup project to restore the cemetery and honor the memory of the black pioneers laid to rest there.

Before the project began, Kinder said "you couldn't even walk into [the cemetery]." But after more than 100 hours of volunteer cleanup, half an acre of the overgrown cemetery has been cleared and Duncan's aunt's grave is among a dozen or so that are now easily accessible.

Duncan and her brother Silas Cardwell visited the cemetery Wednesday to celebrate the progress carry on a family Memorial Day tradition.

"This is a really special place," Duncan said. "Anytime I talk to someone, I tell them about Shady Grove."

For Duncan and Cardwell, who both grew up near Dutchtown, Shady Grove is part of their family's heritage and an integral part of local history. The two siblings have fond memories of the small community, including an annual visit to the cemetery for a picnic and cleanup.

The headstone of Louise Duncan's maternal grandparents lies partially under growth at Shady Grove Cemetery west of Cape Girardeau. (Kit Doyle)

"There were about 10 to 12 families. The women would have a pot luck," Cardwell said. "This was a big thing on Memorial Day."

Their father and grandfather were volunteer sextons for the cemetery, and Duncan said her father maintained the cemetery until he died 33 years ago.

"It used to be covered with tiny red roses. We went prowling around back, and there were just saplings of trees. The ground was covered with periwinkle, those pretty blue little flowers. If I were a painter I would have painted a picture of it," Duncan said while looking at the section of cemetery that lies deep in the woods.

Many of Duncan's ancestors, the Cardwells and the Wilsons, as well as a number of slaves such as her great-aunt, are buried at Shady Grove.

For about 40 years, Duncan has been trying to uncover the final resting place of her relatives and more than 200 other people who once lives of the area. The historical evidence is still written, though barely legible, on some of the markers at Shady Grove. Many are temporary funeral home markers or made out of railroad ties, river stones or concrete blocks. Dozens of unmarked graves are given away only by indentations in the ground.

Dr. Frank Nickell, left, Louise Duncan, and Elroy Kinder discuss preservation efforts Wednesday, May 20, 2009, at Shady Grove Cemetery, where Duncan's father used to be caretaker. (Kit Doyle)

But authors Diana Steele-Bryant and Sharon Sanders, librarian for the Southeast Missourian, have preserved as much information as possible about Shady Grove and those buried there in the book "Dark Woods and Periwinkle: A Glance Back at Shady Grove." They compiled the census primarily by looking through obituaries and mortuary records from the Southeast Missourian, The Daily Republican and The Weekly Democrat.

According to the book, at least 240 burials are documented at Shady Grove Cemetery, some dating back to before the Civil War.

Duncan and Cardwell's uncle, Clarence Holmes, was a World War I veteran and is one of at least three men buried there who served in the U.S. Army. Washington Giboney, who died in 1897, served in Company G in the 102nd Colored Infantry in the Civil War. Walter Lee served in World War II and died Sept 3, 1961.

Restoration project

Many of the remaining graves are inundated by plant growth, and nature's takeover has made the cemetery restoration a difficult task.

In March, volunteers Kinder and Glover began hacking away at the underbrush as the first efforts of the Shady Grove Cemetery Restoration Project. Even though Kinder has worked with six other cemeteries, he said Shady Grove is "one of the largest and most challenging."

"I saw the project as a challenge, and was happy to assume the position of planning and coordinator," he said.

Last year, Kinder drew up a plan of action. He gathered land information, surveyed the area and identified the cemetery's boundaries. Then, he and other volunteers began working to clear the carpet of underbrush and trim some of the trees that covered the first half-acre of the cemetery.

"We didn't move a thing in our cleaning," he said. "We wanted to make sure we didn't disturb stones or do anything creative."

In the last couple of months, Kinder and Glover averaged 8 to 20 hours per week at the cemetery and have cleared about one-fourth of it. But another 1 1/2 acres of Shady Grove Cemetery remain overgrown.

"It's a challenge. There is no question," Nickell said.

This summer, Kinder plans to work with Nickell and some of his Historic Preservation students to make all of the cemetery accessible, while maintaining Shady Grove's "historical integrity."

"My goal is to get this cleaned, not disturb any stones and once we get to a point where we can walk through it, have experts like a cemetery monument company come in to reset the stones and fill in some of the graves so they're level again," he said.

Duncan said she hopes the progress continues at the cemetery that so many of her ancestors call home.

"I would really like to see this place cleaned off. Maybe we could get a plaque at the entrance with names inscribed on it. We could use the book for guidance," she said.

Kinder said for now volunteers are contacting local families to see if they know where their relatives were buried. A day of storytelling at the cemetery is being planned for October. Area residents who have memories of Shady Grove or has family buried at the cemetery are invited to share their stories. Kinder also encourages those with information or who would like to contribute to the restoration project to contact him at 579-4893 or ekinder34@hotmail.com.

Anyone interested in purchasing the book "Dark Woods and Periwinkle: A Glance Back at Shady Grove" can contact the Cape County Geological Society at 204-2331. For more information, visit www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mocgcgs.

Pertinent addresses:

Cape Girardeau County Genealogical Society

204 South Union Avenue

Jackson, Mo 63755