NJ community joins together to help repair historic cemetery damaged by August storms
WOODSTOWN, N.J. (CBS) -- A Woodstown church said it desperately needed help after an August storm caused major damage to its cemetery, the final resting place of several Black Civil War veterans.
The leaders of Spencer U.M.A.E. Church weren't sure how they were going to pay for the clean-up until CBS News Philadelphia shared their story.
"I'm shocked by what has happened," Pastor Andrew Fulton Sr. said. "Because of your action, Channel 3's action, we're here today, and we see what God can do, so we thank you. Thank you, CBS!"
A few weeks ago, I did a story on a Woodstown church faced with thousands of dollars in clean-up costs after storms caused 2 trees to crash down onto the church's cemetery, where Black Civil War veterans are buried. What happened after our story aired at 4:15 pm @CBSPhiladelphia. pic.twitter.com/Zxl7Z8LR9t
— Brandon Goldner (@GoldnerTV) August 23, 2023
The cleanup began after Assemblywoman Bethanne McCarthy Patrick (R-District 3) watched Fulton's interview on CBS News Philadelphia.
"I walked through, and it was devastated," McCarthy Patrick said. "Trees were down."
She called Gunar Bergholz of Bergholz's Tree Experts to assess the damage, which included two large trees that crashed into the cemetery and broke headstones.
"The second I found out it was a veterans' grave lot, we were cleaning it up," Berholz said. "The decision was made before I had even seen the mess, no matter what the mess looked like."
He cleared the trees up for free, which allowed the Sons of Union Veterans to fix the damaged headstones.
"God does things for reasons," McCarthy Patrick said. "We don't know what they are, but then in the end, maybe it was to get us all together."