Groups begin addressing Louisville's abandoned cemeteries after year of difficulty

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A group of abandoned cemeteries in Louisville is getting some much needed landscape attention after more than a year of almost none.

Green, Schardein and Eastern cemeteries all have no legal owner. Volunteers have been largely responsible for the upkeep of the cemeteries for years.

In May, some people with loved ones at Schardein complained that there was no upkeep.

“It's sad to think that there's so many people that are here that apparently nobody is taking care of,” said Ruth Salley, whose great-grandmother is buried in the cemetery. "There's no respect."

Dismas Charities has long tried to take care of the plot off Seventh Street Road, but 2020 presented a new challenge.

"We use inmates from the Kentucky Department of Corrections, and when COVID happened, everything was shut down," said Robert Lanning with Dismas Charities. "We were told to not let the guys go out in the community. Everything was in-house."

Those restrictions have since be lifted, and the grass has been cut in recent weeks. Wesley Newton and his wife volunteered their time to help mow the grass, and Dismas Charities finished the job.

But even with inmates now able to cut the grass again, the upkeep is challenging.

"Our only big challenge right now is we don't have the population in house that we're used to having," Lanning said.

Anyone with interest in helping cut the grass at the cemeteries can contact Lanning at rlanning@dismas.com.