Crestwood Cemetery Gets Kirkwood 'Hands'

, a local volunteer one day mission blitz has chosen helping clean up the Father Dickson Cemetery as one of its projects on Saturday.

Volunteers will remove dead trees, mow grass and remove weeds that in some places are four foot high.

The Father Dickson Cemetery is was one of the first public cemeteries available to black people in the St. Louis area. Father Dickson Cemetery was the site of 12,000 burials before it closed in the 1970s. Without a perpetual care endowment, the cemetery fell victim to abuse and neglect.

“Some gravesites are now marked with fence posts because the weeds are so high you can’t even see the headstones," said Jason Norton, Co-Chair of Hands On Kirkwood. "That is a shame. We hope to help that situation.”

More About Hands On Kirkwood

HOK will offer FREE services to people, regardless of where they live, such as electronic recycling, paper shredding, dog park, car check, winter clothing store and many more. In addition, hundreds of volunteers will conduct home projects for Kirkwood residents, a food drive for KirkCare and baby care items drive for Nurses for Newborns, cleaning honeysuckle in  and labeling storm drains for the Metropolitan Sewer District.

Want to help support hands on Kirkwood? Check out HOK's Facebook page.

Ready to roll up your sleeves and volunteer? Visit HOK's website.