One Man’s Preservation Battle
Shanna Riley March 8th, 2008
It was with great interest that I watched this video on a piece done by WBRZ reporter Michele Krumm. The report was about Clinton, Louisiana's Ward 3 Justice of the Peace, Dewey DeLee, and his painstaking efforts to save a dying and near-forgotten cemetery in East Feliciana Parish.
Besides a family tradition of JoP's, DeLee obviously holds a special place in his heart for local history. He has sacrificed time and money in the past twenty years in his attempts to preserve and record the deceased in Clinton Confederate Cemetery in Clinton.
Many of the headstones are unreadable, the march of time obscuring names and dates. Still others are missing; a thermal imaging scan DeLee had done of the area showed over 650 unmarked graves in the old burial ground, which dates back to the 1820s. Stories handed down for generations claim mass graves of Civil War soldiers reside here, and DeLee's scan shows there is likely some merit to this old tale.
Anyone taking on the enormous task of trying to save and preserve an old cemetery has my respect and admiration. It's by no means an easy task, and certainly one that holds few accolades. Most of the work may go long unnoticed, but to the descendants of those buried in this old cemetery, DeLee's personal crusade is one they hold close to their heart.
Any help you might be able to provide - informational or monetary - I urge you to contact Mr. DeLee. Currently, I have only his P.O. Box address and phone number to his Clinton Justice of the Peace Office, but I am attempting to get more contact information for him. As soon as I do, I will let you know.
- Cemetery Preservation
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