Young: Cemetery recalls Russian immigrant history
By Jackie Young/ Special to the Westford Eagle
Thursday, May 25, 2006 - Updated: 08:44 AM EST

The Russian Orthodox National Cemetery, also known as the Russian Brotherhood Cemetery, is unique. This is the only historic cemetery in Westford dedicated to a group with particular national affiliation.

Thanks to the efforts of the Westford Historical Commission (WHC), this Patten Road cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on Dec. 16, 2005. Roberta McGuire, WHC chairwoman and Bob Shaffer, vice-chairman, lauded the work of Ken Tebbetts, formerly chairman of the WHC, and Sanford Johnson, Historic Preservation Consultant, who did so much to make this and many other town listings possible.

Pat Beskalo Walsh is of Russian descent and on the cemetery’s board of directors. The cemetery is the final resting place for several of her relatives including grandparents, Gregory and Stella Beskalo, her father, Gregory Beskalo Jr. and her husband, Ed Walsh, who many will remember as a Westford middle school teacher and a guidance counselor at the high school. Pat grew up in the Graniteville section of town. News of the cemetery’s national status delighted her.

"This cemetery was started by those who came before me to start a new life and create something better for themselves as well as all future generations to come. It is a true testament of those poor Russian immigrants who came to this country not knowing what to expect, but made a life for themselves. They learned to speak the language, adopt the customs and became American citizens," she said.

Documentation of the National Register application process can be found at the Westford Museum cottage, 4 Boston Road. This is an amazing presentation with a wealth of information of historic sites in town, and well worth an afternoon of reading in the conference room.

Another compelling document, also available in the conference room, is entitled "Russian Cemetery, Westford, MA." Sue L’Italien, a former member of the Board of Directors of the Westford Historical Society (WHS), put this together with a little help from her friend, Dr. Ben Kalmanovich, a Bolton dentist . He helped translate Cyrillic language inscriptions on markers into English. Included in the manuscript are photographs of all the stones, listings by name in alphabetical order and additional information stating location and other statistics.

Clippings from the Westford Eagle by historian June Kennedy tell of the struggles and achievements of the hard-working immigrants.

Belinski, Belida, and Beskalo are just a few of the names of the founding fathers commemorated on granite markers in the peaceful, rock-walled cemetery. At the present day, being of Russian descent is one of the main requirements for internment.

The land was privately owned until 1918 when it became apparent that the Russian Community needed their own burying ground. Manpower for the project was provided by the Grodno Corporation, an organization with the cultural and social needs of the Russian community at heart.

Some markers are of a military nature - for example, Alexander Belida (d. 2001) was a U. S. Army Air Force sergeant in WW II, and Nicholas Sudak Jr. (d. 1984) was a staff sergeant in WW II. Belida served on the WHS Board of Directors for 15 years and was an authority on the Russian Community in Westford. His cemetery tours, as one remembered on a windy day in early September, 1996, amazed those who listened. He did indeed, bring history to life.

Markers were purchased from Lowell, as far away as Barre, Vt., and as close as from Alex G. Lundberg of Westford who was Cemetery Commissioner in the town in the 1930s and 1940s. He had a granite shop on Brookside Road .There are approximately 300 Westford residents interred here, with the earliest markers in 1918, reflecting the devastation of the Spanish flu epidemic.

Many of the immigrants were originally residents of the Russian Republic of Belarus and the county and city of Grodno.

Companies such as Westford’s Abbot Worsted sent representatives to recruit workers for the Westford mills. The immigrants came in the early 1900s, and as noted by Pat Walsh, every resident with a Russian name listed in the 1920-1921 Westford directory was employed either by Abbot or Sergeant mills in Forge Village or Graniteville. Recruits were between 16 and 31 years of age. They attended English classes held in the Abbot Worsted company, built social halls, such as those located in Graniteville on Cross Street and North Main Street, and others located in Forge Village and Brookside Village.

Now that spring has finally arrived, a visit to the Russian Cemetery on a sunny day promises a unique opportunity to catch a glimpse of history and experience a place , that as one Russian descendent put it "is near and dear to our heart."