166-year-old Moncton cemetery plagued by frequent vandalism

A historical Moncton cemetery is bearing the brunt of frequent repairs due to regular vandalism.

When Elmwood Cemetery Superintendant Stephen Morison surveyed the grounds in preparation for Monday’s seasonal opening, he saw hundreds of gravestones across the cemetery’s 40 acres had been kicked down.

The copper roof of the Sumner family crypt was also damaged.

He is grateful the estimated $3,000 worth of damage will be covered by money the Sumner family invested in its upkeep.

“We’re a charity, a not for profit, and this type of thing it would bankrupt us if we had to do it all,” Morrison said in an interview on Monday.

Vandalism is an almost nightly occurrence, he said, often resulting in thousands of dollars worth of damages.

When Moncton resident Kim Sneath heard about the vandalism, she organized a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds for the cemetery where her father was buried in 2009.

“I immediately came to make sure his grave marker was ok, and it is, thankfully.” she said on Monday.

“It’s about community, really, because it’s not just about a bunch of stones and monuments…This is the centre of Humphrey-Louisville Sunny Brae,”she said.

With the help of the cemetery’s summer student employees many of the tombstones have already been repositioned, but Morison said even doing that can mean hefty costs.

“We use a backhoe, we use our tractors, we use leverage… Then you have to level the base out, then you have to lift it up, straighten it out with gravel and impact it into the ground.” he said.

Some tombstones are so heavy they require special equipment to lift. Sussex company Nelson Monuments comes once a year to help with the extra heavy monuments free of charge.

He said the small chapel on site, built in the late 1920s, is a frequent target of attempted break-ins.

He’s hoping the security cameras that he will be soon be installing will deter mischief, since work is underway to turn the space into a columbarium to store cremated remains.

Above all, he is appealing to the community for a sense of decency.

“I have my grandfather here, my grandmother here, my great-grandfather here, my great-grandmother here, so this place is kinda close to my heart…Anybody I’ve talked to in Moncton have either have a relative, direct or indirect, in here.”