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Sunrise Cemetery Maysville, Georgia |
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Minding Cemetery Hobby of
90-Year-Old When you first meet Miss Cora Simmons of Maysville, you size her up as about 70 years old, healthy and full of energy. In her talking to you, you learn all about the Maysville Cemetery and the love for her work. The afternoon was hot when I drove up to visit her. She and Mrs. Holland and John Holland were busy clipping shrubbery and cutting grass. John kept cutting grass, but Miss Cora and Mrs. Holland sat down under a nice shade tree on a grave lot and began telling me the history of the cemetery. The cemetery was in dire need of cleaning way back in 1956. She had been helping with the cleaning before this, but 16 years ago, she decided to tackle the job herself. For eight years, she did the cleaning alone, and then John and his mother came to help. For the past eight years the three of them have worked as a team. Miss Cora praised Obe Cochran and O. R. Cochran for taking their bulldozer and grading a road around the cemetery and removing some trees so a lawn mower could cut the grass better. They donated their time as well as the expense. In the 16 years of her cemetery work, Miss Cora has missed only three months of cleaning. She had a bad case of arthritis at that time. She has bought four or five markers for graves and a few graves still are unmarked. Nobody knows who they are. Flowers and shrubbery are planted everywhere. The cemetery is full of history. One grave is of a 100-year-old Negro man. Miss Cora said it broke her heart the way people no longer care for their deceased loved ones. She said a few donations come in from people who live away from Maysville. She has a book in which she keeps all the records of donations, funerals, etc. Miss Cora is not 70, it turns out. She was 90 years young on Oct. 6. She lives alone, in a pretty house on Ellison Street and her yard is neat with flowers everywhere. But her one big hobby is the Maysville Cemetery. Miss Cora had high praise for her pastor at the Maysville Methodist Church. In fact she wanted to praise almost everyone in Maysville and she did not want any thanks or praise for herself. She especially wanted Mrs. Holland’s picture made. Mrs. Holland, herself 75 years young, is especially proud of the way the cemetery looks in the spring. There’s one thing for sure: The Maysville Cemetery looks better all year ‘round because of the dedication of these two ladies and Mrs. Holland’s son. Page last updated 10/31/2006 |
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