SWEDEN – The newly-formed Sweden Cemetery Committee held its first meeting in May with five more meetings subsequently held during the year along with numerous work sessions at individual cemeteries.

The committee of eight toured all of the cemeteries in town and developed a working list of items to be addressed. It became apparent that the tasks to be completed would require an expenditure of not only a great deal of time but also that some money would be required to make necessary improvements.

After gaining the approval of the Board of Selectmen for the list of items that the committee deemed to be most pressing, plans were made to replace the rotted wooden fencing on four cemeteries with black powder coated chain attached to black iron cement filled pipe in Stevens, Flint and Sawyer cemeteries. A black powder coated chain was attached to the existing granite posts at both Haskell and Webber cemeteries. Additionally, after consultation with descendants of Col. Nevers, an original settler of Sweden, a black powdered coated chain enclosure was installed around his tomb site.

At Ridlon Cemetery, the rotted horizontal iron pipes were removed, black chain was installed and all of the old vertical iron fence posts were painted.

In July, 23 campers from Camp Tapawingo removed more than 3,500 board feet of rotten fencing at Stevens Cemetery as part of a community assistance program held by the camp. Each camper received a special, personal Certificate of Recognition from the Cemetery Committee for their involvement in this project signed by all members of the Sweden Board of Selectmen.

Thirteen cemeteries have had new specially designed metal signs installed, indicating the name of the cemetery and the year that it was established. A 14th cemetery was found, Goshen Cemetery, but because of the remote location, no plans have yet been made concerning this site.

An inventory was taken of all town cemeteries to ensure that the grave site of every veteran in a town cemetery is appropriately marked with an approved American flag holder. The town employed a resident to clean, rake and mow the grass at town cemeteries throughout the year.

A cemetery policy for Sweden cemeteries was developed by the committee, outlining the procedures and cost for an individual to purchase a burial plot in a town cemetery. The committee developed a Certificate of Ownership, pertaining to the purchase of a burial site, with each grave site purchase requiring the approval of the selectmen.

The committee also created a job description for a cemetery sexton, a new position to be recommended to the town that the Cemetery Committee deems to be important concerning the supervision and care of the town’s cemeteries.

The committee recognized from the outset that die work required on the town cemeteries would be a multi-phase, multi-year project. According to the Sweden Cemetery Committee Chairman, John P. Smith, a resident of Sweden, during 2004 emphasis will be placed on repairing gravestones and remounting gravestones in all of the town cemeteries, along with clearing land adjacent to several existing cemeteries that has been donated to the town expressly for cemetery enlargement.