Volunteers clean up Laird Cemetery in Plum

A group of volunteers spent a day restoring a sign and did some landscaping at Laird Cemetery in Plum, the final resting place of some of the borough’s first families.

Resident Jennifer Zafris said she would pass the site at New Texas and Saltsburg roads often and wanted to do something to improve its aesthetics.

“It needed some (tender loving care),” Zafris said. “Luckily, we had a great group of people helping in their own ways to create a special space to honor the families buried there.”

Laird Cemetery, also known as Old Plum Creek Cemetery, sits on what was McJunkin family farmland. Its portion was donated by the family in 1800 to what was then the Presbyterian Church of Plum Creek.

It serves as the burial site for several families, such as the McJunkins, the Carpenters and Davidsons, who settled in the borough hundreds of years ago.

Zafris reached out via Facebook for volunteers. About seven showed up on May 15 to help out. The group weeded, repainted the sign and laid new mulch among other landscaping efforts.

“Our goal is to honor those people,” Zafris said. “This was the first time I put this group together. In two months it was planned. We are prepared to be dedicated to this cemetery, also continuing work on other community projects in the future as well.”

Other volunteers included Zafris’ husband, Dave; Jerry and Mekesha Lee of Johnstown and their children, Madalyn and Alyssa Lee; and Michael Traeger and his daughter, Alexandria.

They received donations from Beall’s Nursery & Landscaping, Plum Line Nursery, Stanford Home Centers and Fox’s Pizza.