LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Louisville couple spent part of its vacation uncovering a lot of the hidden history inside the abandoned Schardein Cemetery.
It all started after watching a story on WDRB News.
"I was at home and I saw it on the news," Wesley Newton said. "I knew right where it was when I saw it."
Schardein Cemetery n ear the Taylor Berry Neighborhood is in bad shape.
"It's pretty rough," Newton said. "It's thick grass."
Neither Newton nor his wife have loved ones buried at the cemetery, but they both grew up down the street. Newton also owns a grass-cutting and landscaping company and had an idea that he shared with his wife.
"He wanted to take one of our vacation days and just take a whole day and come and clean it up for people," Nikki Newton said, adding that her initial reaction was probably not what her husband wanted to hear.
"I was like, 'Are you crazy?'" she said.
It didn't take long to convince Nikki Newton to help, and her husband didn't sugarcoat the task ahead.
Schardein Cemetery
"I was like, 'Look, when we get there, it's going to look never-ending,'" Wesley Newton said. "'But it'll get done.'"
"And then when I saw how big this place was, I was like, 'Oh, that's going to take days,’" Nikki Newton said..
Wesley Newton believes they'll get it done in just a few days but said some of it is a bit taxing.
"We got to walk through every bit of it and weedeat and then cut around the tombstones," he said. "So I'll know where they are and don't hit them."
Not only was it the couple's vacation, they're also newlyweds. So you could say their first vacation as a couple was a bonding and learning experience.
“He’s a really great guy,” Nikki Newton said. "I learn more and more about him every day."
The crematorium that owned the cemetery went out of business years ago. So Wesley Newton hopes they're actions will motivate others to join them on Saturday and in the future.
"Because nobody else is going to do it, the community has got to," he said.
Wesley Newton said once the grass is cut, it should be a lot easier to manage and plans to swing by the cemetery every two weeks to keep it looking nice.
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