Like new Members of the American Legion (Tri-County Post #124) have been working at Evergreen Cemetery in Motley the past couple of weeks, straightening foundations and placing gravestones back where they should be. Pictured above, from left, are Legion members Lionel Stelck, Paul Schlichting and Floyd Griffith. Schlichting also serves as the cemetery Over 100 gravestones at Motley Evergreen Cemetery have received muchneeded attention recently, thanks to the efforts of the Tri-County Post #124 American Legion.

Legion member Paul Schlichting is the maintenance worker at Evergreen.

According to Schlichting, many of the older grave stones had foundations that needed leveling.

“We’ve been doing what we can to put the stones back where they should be,” he said. “Some were tipping over; and others had sunk so far into the ground that you couldn’t even read the names on

them anymore.”

The stones are heavy - with many weighing at

least 1,000 pounds, Schlichting said. Straightening these required the use of a tractor and straps to secure the granite.

“We’ve been at this for three days,” Schlichting reported. “Last year we did a lot of work as well. We even powerwashed a lot of the graves. We’re hoping to do that this year, too.”

At work American Legion members (from Tri-County Post #124) have worked on over 100 gravestones at Motley The men hauled dirt, used shovels to dig around the graves; and filled in dirt where it was needed.

One of the oldest sections of the cemetery dates back to the late 1800s. “We found two monuments back there that we didn’t even know existed,” Schlichting said.

He hopes to have everything looking in tip-top shape for Memorial Day, Schlichting added. A Memorial Day Service, hosted by American Legion Post #124, will be held at Evergreen Cemetery Monday, May 31, at 11 a.m.