Under a blanket of sun, St. John Cemetery hosted their sixth annual barbecue fundraiser for the Garson community Sunday, with an afternoon of music from organist Ben Scagnetti, good food and old friends.
This year, St. John Cemetery chose the Sudbury Food Bank as their principle beneficiary, although a small portion of funds will be allocated to installing a few water lines at the Garson property.
For the first four years, the barbecue was held to support improvements to the cemetery, but founding member of the St. John Cemetery Improvement Group John Monaghan said the group decided to pick a local beneficiary now that the majority of renovations have been completed.
In 2018 St. John's Cemetery welcomed more than 400 people to their pristine grounds, and was able to donate $7,000 to Maison McCulloch Hospice. The 2019 BBQ saw far better weather than last year, and Monaghan is confident that they will once again be able to make a sizeable donation.
In addition to being a fun afternoon with friends, St. John's annual barbecue gives guests the opportunity to visit their loved ones who have passed on or discuss options for their own arrangements.
"Some of the senior people don't feel like going downtown to get information on rules, regulations and locations of where burials are...so we help them out," said Monaghan.
Monaghan said that nearly half of those in attendance have a personal connection to St. John's cemetery, while the rest attend for the social aspect the event provides.
"We bring the community together and they're all so proud of what we have, and that's what keeps us going," he said.
The St. John Cemetery Improvement Group was founded by Monaghan in 1993, 13 years after he began volunteering with the cemetery.
"In 1980 there was absolutely no one to take care of it," said Monaghan. "A couple of guys got older and nobody got interested, so I just slowly took it and went with it."
There are now 16 members in the volunteer group who get together every Monday to care for the grounds, still sporting the green and yellow uniforms inspired by Monaghan's Irish heritage.
The group has made a considerable number of improvements to the cemetery over the years, but at this point in time, their primary focus is keeping the grounds level and safe for people to walk on.
"Our biggest thing is providing a nice place for the people to visit," said Monaghan.
This year alone, they have put 16 tons of loam and grass seed into the grounds.
Recently, Monaghan said the group welcomed four or five younger members, who each show sincere dedication to the cemetery and the community it cares for.
"And that's what it's all about," said Monaghan, "who will carry on when we're not here no more."
