Cemetery Improvement Projects

1. Clearing of Brush – Lorneville Cemetery (28 photos)

The bushes, alders, etc. were encroaching on the perimeter of the cemetery to the point where numerous lots and gravestones were completely covered, especially along the western line and at the rear of the cemetery behind the Gospel Hall.

In-kind donations of equipment and supplies and labor were made by Sam Maguire of Maguire Excavation.

Project organized and managed by Philip McCavour and Sam Maguire.

2. Access Roads – Lorneville Cemetery (11 Photos)

One of our main goals was to create access roads for vehicles to drive around and through the cemetery so everyone, especially seniors, could get close to their lots. Many seniors had not been able to visit their family lot in years. This was a major project which was completed over three years.

In-kind donations of equipment and supplies and labour were made by Sam Maguire of Maguire Excavation.

Project managed by Philip McCavour and Sam Maguire.

3. Levelling the Lorneville Cemetery (4 Photos)

This was a huge project. The older sections of the cemetery were particularly in bad shape. Many graves were sunken in, and the grass laneways needed to be raised up and levelled for ease of mowing. Before the project started, we had to mow about 40% of the cemetery by hand; the rest could be done by tractor. Now we can mow 100% of the grass by tractor, saving a lot of labour.

In-kind donations of equipment and supplies and labor were made by Sam Maguire of Maguire Excavation.

Project organized and managed by Cyril Galbraith.

4. Levelling and repairing gravestones and footstones – Lorneville Cemetery (20 Photos)

This was another huge project with many stones tipped badly or already fallen over. While clearing brush from the western line, we discovered several fallen gravestones and footstones buried under the ground. These were dug up and repaired and re-installed. This project required the use of small cranes, with the larger gravestones requiring the use of a large crane.

First the old stones were moved and then the bases were removed. The area was levelled with gravel and the bases and gravestones replaced. The result was a major improvement in the look of the cemetery.

In-kind donations of equipment and supplies and labour where made by NB Power and J.D.Irving.

Project organized and managed by John Maguire.

5. Church Monuments (2 Photos)

METHODIST CHURCH – LORNEVILLE CEMETERY
This project was completed in remembrance of the Methodist Church which had stood at the western line of the Lorneville Cemetery. A brief history of the church was put on the monument.

ANGLICAN CHURCH – SEAVIEW CEMETERY
This project was completed in remembrance of the Anglican Church which stood in front of the cemetery near the road. A brief history of the church was put on the monument.

Managed by Philip McCavour.

6. Trees – Lorneville Cemetery (5 Photos)

The goal was to plant 128 trees on each side of the road around the perimeter of the cemetery to create the look of an avenue. This was a major undertaking which was carried out over ten years. This project would not have been possible without the financial help of NB Power, which covered the complete cost. The City of Saint John made arrangements for us to obtain the trees at their reduced rate.

Project organized and managed by Cyril Galbraith and Philip McCavour

7. New Eastern Archway – Lorneville Cemetery (10 Photos)

A second archway for the Lorneville Cemetery was erected at the entrance of the new section. This archway was built to match the western archway at the older section.

This project would not have happened without the financial support of Lee Galbraith who donated the metal archway and Sam Maguire who built and donated the two concrete pillars.

Project managed by Philip McCavour and Sam Maguire.

8. Flower Beds – Lorneville Cemetery (6 Photos)

The making of the initial flower beds was done by Cyril Galbraith. The design of the beds and the planting of the flowers were completed by Melvin and Eileen Wilson and Bonnie Wilson. Subsequent flower beds throughout the cemetery were designed and planted by Cyril Galbraith.

Project managed by Cyril Galbraith.

9. Lane & Row markers – Lorneville Cemetery (6 Photos)

To make it easier to locate individual lots in the Cemetery, each laneway was given a name. The names were taken mostly from the terms used by the “old folks” for the different parts of Lorneville: Black Beach Lane, Irishtown Lane, Dean’s Avenue, Seaview Lane, etc. Signs were placed throughout the cemetery indicating each laneway and row. The row signs show the lot numbers in each row (i.e. 1-39).

Project managed by Philip McCavour.

10. Visitors Centre & Maintenance Shed – Lorneville Cemetery (13 Photos)

During the course of renovations and upgrades, we realized that we needed a proper maintenance building for our expanded inventory of equipment at Lorneville Cemetery. It was also decided that we would incorporate a visitors centre with it. Philip McCavour took on the job of trying to come up with the design. The maintenance part was quite easy. Cyril had a good idea of what was needed. The visitors centre part was quite another matter. After several months of trial and error, Philip came up with a design that would replicate the look of many of the old homes in Lorneville. The excavation and the concrete flooring and walkway were donated by Risers Concrete. We also had donations from NB Power. This project took about one year to complete. The visitors centre is open when our maintenance staff is on-site. The visitors centre contains a list of known burials, a plan of the cemetery, a list of war veterans, old photographs of Lorneville and some antiques as well as a visitor’s book to sign.

Project managed by Philip McCavour.

11. Maintenance Equipment (1 Photo)

When we started the major upgrade of the cemeteries, all we had were a couple of hand mowers and miscellaneous tools. Our first acquisition was a ride on tractor which was kindly donated from the estate of Fred Haslam. With this addition, we had to purchase a garden shed. Since then we have upgraded our equipment to include a new John Deere tractor, larger whipper snippers, pressure washer, high pressure weed sprayer, and a large selection of miscellaneous equipment and hand tools. All these help to get better service at a lower cost.

Project manager for the whole equipment and maintenance operation is Cyril Galbraith.

12. Three Flagpoles – Lorneville Cemetery (1 Photo)

This project was completed in honour of our veterans. The three flagpoles were placed along the Lorneville Road next to the Veterans’ Memorial.

Out of respect, the veterans were asked if they would like to make a contribution and all of a sudden we had more money than we needed. The veterans had overpaid and refused to take some money back. The veterans were: Burton Maguire, Malcolm McAfee, Lawrence Negus, and Leonard Wilson. What a privilege to have known these amazing men.

John Maguire is in charge of everything to do with flags.

Project managed by Philip McCavour and John Maguire.

13. Memorial plaques for local soldiers and fishermen – Lorneville Cemetery (3 Photos)

It was decided to install memorial plaques on the fence along the Lorneville Road border of the cemetery and to dedicate a tree in memory of each of those who had made the supreme sacrifice in both World Wars, as well as those men who drowned fishing and also Perry McCavour, the only policeman to die in Saint John in the line of duty.

John Maguire was instrumental in researching and providing all the correct information for each individual.

Project managed by Philip McCavour and John Maguire

14. Water system – Lorneville Cemetery (2 Photos)

A water system was installed throughout the cemetery with about twenty outlets. This allows us to water the trees, new grass and flower beds and to supply the maintenance centre. The system is connected to the Gospel Hall pump and well.

Project managed by Philip McCavour and Cyril Galbraith.

15. Cemetery Plan – Lorneville Cemetery (2 Photos)

A comprehensive plan of the cemetery was developed. This involved a careful measuring of the old cemetery as well as adding all of the lots sold over the last 50 years. New lots sold are added to the plan periodically. All this information has been put on the computer CAD system.

As well, all new lots that we have for sale were included. Each lot was then given a number for ease of identification and location. All this information is on the CAD plan of the cemetery.

Project organized and completed by Philip McCavour.

17. Seaview Cemetery (14 Photos)

This Cemetery was badly in need of changes. It had become partially overgrown with shrubs and the fences and stones were badly in need of repairs. Most of the graves were sunken in.

The decision was made to remove all of the debris and re-level the whole cemetery, add new fences and reseed. We have listed the projects, most of which were done when we were doing similar work on the Lorneville Cemetery:
remove brush and debris, re-level cemetery grounds, install fencing, install flagpole, install Anglican church memorial, plant several trees, create flower beds and plant flowers, install fishermen memorial plaques, clean the area outside the perimeter and plant grass, obtain additional land around the perimeter for a buffer zone to prevent building next to the cemetery.