A cemetery established in the early 1800s in Dorchester, located in the newly amalgamated community of Tantramar, was in danger of losing its lone caretaker as he nears retirement. On Wednesday evening, a group of volunteers elected a new board in order to care for the graveyard.
Peter Spence has been involved in the upkeep of the cemetery for over 30 years, having first been elected to its board of directors in 1992. Over the years, board members passed away, leaving him as the sole caretaker.
“I’ve done the mowing and the whippersnipping and collecting debris, but only on an as-needed basis because obviously I worked,” he said.
He outsourced some of the landscaping using the cemetery’s very limited operating budget.
He’s relieved to know he’s no longer alone in trying to preserve the cemetery.
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“The more years passed, you start thinking, I’m not going to be able to do this forever, there will be an end to this road,” he said.
Spence still serves on the board in addition to eight new members, including lifelong Dorchester resident Robert Hickman.
Hickman was pleased to see the 20-person turnout at Wednesday night’s meeting and said those who didn’t want to serve on the board have volunteered to help with tasks like landscaping.
“Heartwarming, that’s the best way to describe how I feel about it,” he said.
He said the preservation of the cemetery is important to him both because generations of his family are buried there, and its role in New Brunswick’s history.
“Well, you have Edward Barron Chandler who was a father of Confederation (buried in the cemetery),” he said.
Chandler served as New Brunswick’s lieutenant-governor between 1878 and 1880.
Sir Albert Smith, an anti-confederation leader and the first New Brunswicker to be knighted, was also laid to rest in the cemetery.
Hickman said the board will be exploring different avenues to ensure financial sustainability for the cemetery.
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