SAUGERTIES – Memorial Day is a month away, despite the intermittent chill that has permeated our spring days.
And the chill, with overcast skies, was present Saturday when Friends of Mountain View Cemetery gathered for the first day of a weekend cleanup.
The cemetery is the final resting place for 147 veterans who served in the Revolutionary and Civil wars. A stroll through the cemetery reveals veterans from the War of 1812 and the First and Second World Wars are also buried there.
Pickup trucks with lawn equipment arrived early Saturday morning, and Art Russell, a Vietnam War vet, volunteered with others for the cleanup.
“The cemetery this year is in pretty good shape compared to other years,” said Russell. “The year after the ice storm (about four years ago) was unbelievable.”
And the importance of the cleanup touches on Russell’s family heritage.
“For me,” said Russell, “almost all of my ancestors are here.”
Russell soon went to help another volunteer clean up a fallen tree after standing next to the grave of a grandfather many generations removed. That man was a scout for George Washington during the Revolutionary War, and he would track British movements.
“He would report to them how many cannon and troops they had,” said Russell.
The same man would send local farmers to taverns, where they would listen to Redcoats unwittingly talking about their mission in the Hudson Valley.
“Loose lips sink ships, and they would go in there, get the British troops talking, and they’d come back to him,” said Russell. “And he’d send any viable information to Washington.”
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