Keeping Mt. hope

: When Tom and Elaine Freeman of Lewiston don their gardening gloves and begin the pruning, raking and weeding that is characteristic of the care they give their own yard, they are acting out of a sense of commitment and pride they feel for Mount Hope Cemetery. “I think we care for the cemetery because my grandparents, great-aunt, parents, aunt, uncle and niece are buried here along with Tom’s mother, father, and brother," Elaine says. "We think of Mount Hope Cemetery as a little gem.” The stone at the entrance on Mt. Hope Ave. off River Road PCHsays the cemetery was established in 1860. It serves as the final resting place for many ethnic groups who have had a legacy in building the city of Lewiston. The tombstones record the Irish, Italian and French names familiar to the city’s history. The Freemans collaborated with volunteers to remove severely overgrown arborvitaes, which had grown to a height of 25 feet, from the monument area and at the main entrance. “We have sort of adopted two spots at the cemetery that we take care of. All new perennials were planted after the removal of the old, overgrown arborvitaes and there are new plants (near) the gate as you enter.” They have found some unusual things at the cemetery: a hummingbird feeder in the shape of a wine bottle on a shepherd’s crook, a shot glass placed next to a full bottle of beer and a 6-inch Adirondack chair with a miniature, black leather Harley-Davidson jacket and a set of chaps sitting neatly on the chair. The work of keeping the cemetery beautiful and welcoming to people who want to come and pay respects to the departed is a labor of love that the Freemans feel connects them to their own ancestors and gives them purpose in keeping the hope in Mount Hope.