When Ruby Kimble goes to visit the graves of relatives at Hudson Park Cemetery on U.S. 49 just south of Greenwood, she expects to find a lovely, peaceful place.
But these days, she says that’s not happening, and she is hoping others with loved ones in the cemetery will assist her and its owner, Xavier Hudson, in rectifying ongoing maintenance problems throughout the grounds.
“We all need to step up,” she said — wondering whether members of her church, Holly Grove Missionary Baptist near Sidon, and others in the community would be willing to go to the cemetery once a month to trim weeds and grass around markers, among other tasks.
It’s hard on Kimble, who lives in Greenwood, for the cemetery not to be kept up. Her father-in-law, James Willie Kimble, was laid to rest there, as was her 34-year-old son, Demetrics “Meekie” Townsend, who was shot to death at Bishop Apartments in 2018. No one has been charged in the shooting.
Ruby Kimble, right, shown with sister Ruth Jones, wears a T-shirt with the image of her son, Demetrics “Meekie” Townsend, who was buried at Hudson Park Cemetery. (By Susan Montgomery)
At points during the spring, the grass had not been cut, but during a visit Wednesday, it appeared to have been recently mowed in part. Large mounds of dirt are situated here and there around the grounds and are considered eyesores.
Just as important to Kimble is the condition of the dirt roadway, which has some ruts. Kimble said the road sometimes is impassable.
“Look at this road,” she said. “This is ridiculous. When it rains, it is a hot mess.”
She became frustrated this month because she tried to reach Hudson by telephone but was unsuccessful. “He needs to step up and ask people for help,” she said.
Hudson, who said he is having trouble keeping the cemetery well-maintained, sounded surprised but open when he heard about her idea that a group might get together to assist.
“I don’t have a problem with that, but I don’t know how people would look at it,” he said.
Meanwhile, Hudson said efforts to improve the roadway and better tend the grounds have been hampered by frequent heavy rainfall that prevents mowing in a timely manner.
“We try to run off a two-week schedule on the lawn,” he said. “We try to do it every two weeks.”
This is difficult considering the number of graves. “The last time I counted, it was like 2,500,” he said. “That was about a year ago.”
He continued, “There is a problem with the roads. I really just don’t have good drainage right now. Water stands on the gravel, and it kind of washes the gravel away. I have pipes out there in the cemetery, but I can’t find someone to come and clean them.”
There have been equipment problems, and he is applying for a loan for a new “dumper trailer” for moving dirt.
He also sells and moves dirt that is used by others for landscaping.
He inherited the cemetery in 2013, and before that, he assisted his father, the late Rubin Hudson, in its upkeep. “It’s a little different from when my daddy had it,” he said. “We are trying to catch back up to the standards. It needs to be back or better.”
Hudson Park is a perpetual care cemetery and must, by state law, put 15% of its grave sales revenues into a perpetual care trust fund. This can’t be used for just any purpose, and permission must be obtained for using it for maintenance, Hudson said.
He said he does not bill customers for maintenance.
“We don’t charge a monthly fee or anything like that,” he said. “All the maintenance we do is pretty much free.” But, he added, “you have got to have money to do this kind of work.”
- Contact Susan Montgomery at 581-7241 or smontgomery@gwcommonwealth.com.
