A decision by Drew city officials, to remove a sign that was placed as a marker for a local cemetery, has caused upheaval in the small community and was met with passionate opposition.
Regina Stone’s organization, the Drew Ghost Busters, has waged several protests against the city board in an attempt to get the sign her club raised money to purchase replaced.
The club is made up of a group of young children and their parents whose focus is on beautifying and enhancing the appearance of the small community.
Stone said the sign was erected out of love and respect for the cemetery, which has never had a sign. She said that it was part of the group’s efforts to beautify its surroundings.
According to her, the children and other volunteers located the discarded materials used for the sign, removed the rust and cleaned and prepped it, plus raised the money to finish it.
The marker had been up for about a month before the city ordered it taken down.
According to Stone, a recent protest rally done in front of the Drew City Hall on Tuesday April 3 netted no solution because after the rally disagreements continued at the city board meeting.
A November 13 letter, signed by Mayor Harvey Burchfield and addressed to Stone, ordered the Ghost Busters group to remove the sign within 72 hours or the city would have it removed.
Burchfield said the sign was put up on city-owned land, without the city’s permission.
Stone said she has broached the matter of replacing the sign with Burchfield on numerous occasions, and although he originally agreed to pay for restoring the sign if the group selected what he termed a befitting name, the marker still has not been put back up.
Stone circulated a petition and collected 107 signatures from citizens who agreed to change the name to Bridge Street Cemetery. Now she says Burchfield has declined to even discuss the matter with her.
In a telephone interview, Burchfield said that he is still willing to pay for the sign if she will get the name changed on it. He said that he wishes the matter would get resolved soon.
Stone said the reason the name change was requested in the first place was because one alderman in particular had a problem with the wording of the sign.
It read, “Drew Cemetery,” and according to her that alderman wanted it worded “Drew Colored Cemetery.”
There is at least one other cemetery in the area with some variation of the name Drew Cemetery.
Stone said she felt that to be an “unfair” request, especially since the cemetery issue wasn't even on the agenda at the time the decision to take it down was made, and there is no proof the burial ground was ever officially named.
A deed dated in 1947 doesn’t specify a name but states that property owned by Nannie S. Parks was deeded to the Drew Colored Cemetery Club for the sum of $300 and that lot adjoins the “existing Negro cemetery.”
She said that the current state of affairs has left her children saddened and disappointed over the way their effort to beautify their community was handled.
Stone started the youth organization a little over a year ago and said it was conceived as a tribute to her mother’s love for children.
“After her passing, (it) made me want to do more for my community that I grew up in,” Stone said.
Stone contends that the small community lacks recreation and needs beautification.
She said the group started off small, just picking up paper around the town and she rewarded the children with recreation and snacks.
However, now they are moving on to greater things such as visiting the nursing homes and carrying out projects like the cemetery marker. She explains the name Ghost Busters, for the Drew club, as intending to portray the children as invisible eyes watching and if they see you throwing trash, then “you are busted.”
Stone added that she believes that if the children of the community are seen doing good deeds that will open the eyes of adults.
“The cemetery marker (was) done by Drew community children (who) raised money for this project, please don't let it be done in vain, put the marker back up,” she said.
