Family members upset over condition of Fairdale's Mount Holly Cemetery

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – Mud, damaged graves and a loss of respect —that’s what some in Fairdale are saying about a cemetery where their loved ones are buried, and now they want the owner to come up with some answers.

The 10-acre Mount Holly Cemetery has been around since the 1830s and thousands of people are buried there.

Those who visit often say it has fallen into disrepair and clean up is desperately needed.

“It just really hurts me to come up here and see this place the way it is,” said Shirley Bale-Sweeney who has more than 20 relatives buried on the property.

Several of the rows of graves have tracks from large vehicles used to help dig other graves — something the cemetery’s owner says is often unavoidable.

“My dump truck, my backhoe... when I dig a grave I have to get in there to dig the grave. I need something big enough that I can dig into and get six feet down and haul dirt out,” said the cemetery’s owner David Adams. “All of what you are seeing now is four months of tearing it up. I can't fix up four months of tearing it up in a week.”

Adams has part-time help but tells WDRB News the property is too small to have anyone full-time. He has owned the property for three decades and said every April the area becomes soggy due to spring rains.

“I try not to do it patchwork. It's usually two days of nothing but weed-eating and cleaning up the litter and a day and a half cutting,” Adams said.

Visits, however, are becoming more emotional for many who have loved ones buried at Mount Holly. Some have even brought their own lawnmowers to cut the grass around their loved ones' graves.

“We visit frequently to clean the graves and stuff but he leaves it like this we can't continue to see it,” said Zena Richardson while wiping away tears. “It’s just so ridiculous to see this mess.”

Adams says he does put boards down over many areas when driving through rows of graves. Any headstones that are damaged he says could be from monument companies during installation.

“I respect and love this place. Nobody wants to make this look better than I do,” Adams said.

However, family members say the respect is not shown.

"I think it's disrespectful to the dead, I think it's disrespectful to all of us who love them here," said Bale-Sweeney. “I want to see it taken care of in a proper manner and I don't think that's too much to ask."