Burlington Cemetery
Barley Street
Burlington, Nova Scotia2nd Annual Cemetery Newsletter
April, 2008
Another year has come and gone and a great deal of work has been done on behalf of all of our loved ones who lie in Burlington Cemetery.
The drainage project, begun in January of 2007 with the cutting of the trees along the south and west sides of the south cemetery, somewhat stalled at that point. However, we have been assured by Reg Clem that the stumps will be pulled and the drainage ditching done as soon as it is possible to get on the ground in the spring.
After that project is complete, the fencing will need to be replaced and the type of fencing is still being looked into by the committee.
A new gate was erected in the early summer of 2007 on the south side entrance. It was made and donated by Reg Clem of Morden.
We spent a lovely spring evening in May at the cemetery, when many from the society and the community came out to rake leaves, cut bushes, prune and remove shrubbery, lime and fertilize the grass and seed where necessary. The cemetery never looked so good, but that was only the beginning.
We had contracted James Stevens, of Morden, to do the mowing for the summer and he did an exceptional job. Many compliments were received by Jim, while he was at his work, as well as by other society members. His contract has been extended for this summer season, with only a small increase in cost, so we are expecting another good job.
In the spring , we applied for a grant from the municipality and in July were very happy to receive $2000 from the county to help with our ongoing work at the cemetery.
In the fall, Tom Metcalfe was asked to do some more work on the stones and the south side is now in fairly good shape. Thanks, also to Roy Williams for his help and the use of his tractor in straightening stones and hauling topsoil, etc. The north side, where many of the oldest and most fragile stones are located, is still being worked on very diligently by Tom.
We had our Annual General Meeting on Oct 18, 2007 and all of the executive were willing to stand for another year to try to complete our ongoing projects.
Doreen Bennett has compiled a list of 27 unmarked graves by taking all of the last names in the cemetery listing and searching the web-site “novascotiagenealogy.com”. This site gives place of burial, in most cases, along with much more information. We have added this list to our web-site.
The History of Burlington is being written by Pat Kemp and Anna Osborn and there will be a chapter in this book on the cemetery and those interred there. Merle Armstrong is writing this chapter and if anyone has any information they could e-mail him at
There has been a proposal put forward, by Cindy Usher, to have a memorial erected to commemorate the life of Theresa MacAulay Robinson, who died tragically and brutally in 190? It is thought that her remains lie in an unmarked grave in the Burlington Cemetery.
We are looking at the possibility of purchasing the land to the west of the north side cemetery. The owner is interested in selling and the cemetery society, looking to the future, as our mandate requires, is hopeful this can come to fruition.
Tom Metcalfe has been offered the job of grounds supervisor and he has accepted the position. He will also be the person to contact when a grave site is needed. He will be paid on a per job basis.
As you can see, the society has had another very productive year with much more in the offing. Our energy is still strong and we are determined to continue to make the Burlington Cemetery a nice place to visit our loved ones, and a fine place to be laid to rest.
We would like to take this opportunity to wholeheartedly thank all of those who have donated in the past year. If you would like to consider making a donation this year, please use the enclosed envelope. We do now have our charitable status and can supply you with a receipt for income tax purposes. Please makes cheques payable to Burlington Cemetery Society and once again, thank-you so very much.
The Current Executive of the Cemetery Society are:
Brian Hirtle- President
Drew Armstrong- Vice-president
Doreen Bennett- Secretary
Pat Kemp- Treasurer
Phil Vogler- Publicity/Advertising