AUBURN — On Memorial Day 2012, Don Beaulieu, sgt.-at-arms, and Paul Bernard, commander of the William J. Rogers American Legion Post 153, placed American flags honoring fellow veterans buried at Auburn Plains Cemetery.

But on Memorial Day 2013 both Beaulieu and Bernard noticed that the cemetery was in disrepair with memorial stones laying on the ground, many buried under a foot of road sand and salt from the highway.

“Our purpose was to identify and flag all possible veterans buried in the cemetery,” said Bernard, “but it changed when three family members arrived and shared with us their personal pain over the condition of the cemetery. Then we met Mr. Rose, who has 13 ancestors buried there. He has been mowing the lawn and helping to maintain the cemetery since his father was buried there in 1962.”

There are graves remembering Noah Waterman, a Revolutionary soldier who served under James Churchill in 1775, Peles Wadsworth in 1776 and Ebenezer Washburn in 1777, under the commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Some head stones are on the ground and some are broken and many are leaning. Bernard said, “We had first adopted this cemetery from the Veterans of Foreign War Post 1603 just to place American flags as to honor our comrades, but our purpose evolved to restoration.”

Post 153 has been a strong supporter of the Legion Baseball program and other youth programs in the community, but at the end of this ball season the Legion was surprised when the tables were turned and the ballplayers said, “We want to help our community, too.”

On Aug. 5 players and coaches along with Bernard, Beaulieu, Dan St. Pierre, Legion Baseball liaison officer, and landscaper Seth Goodwin worked together at the cemetery straightening all the stones. They repaired and restored nearly a dozen that were buried.

The cemetery, which is located about one mile south of the Turner Town Line on Route 4, is also known as the North Plains Burying Ground, Pleasant Plains Cemetery, Plains Cemetery at Poverty Corner and Burial Ground in the Townsend District.

Tizz Crowley, Auburn City Councilor, delivered refreshments for all the workers and has also been working with the Legion on this restoration project. Rose is mapping out the cemetery and organizing the history.

For information on American Legion programs contact Bernard at [email protected] or call the post at 782-1118.