Union and West End Cemetery

Sinkhole 10th and Gordon, Allentown, PA. December 30 after City of Allentown Public Works department began excavating the street over the sinkhole.

The photos that follow were taken on Thursday, December 29, 2011 before any excavation began. As you will see, the initial indication would lead one to believe that it was not a serious problem. Little did we know.

















Photos by Everette Carr. All Rights Reserved © 2011.

A sinkhole developed on Tenth Street on the morning of Thursday, December 29th. Either a sinkhole developed and caused a water main to break or the water main broke and caused the damage to adjoining homes and the cemetery. Either way, the water from the water main caused the resulting damage.

Some of the water from the broken water main seeped into the Union and West End Cemetery and undermined a number of grave sites. The exact number is not known. The Allentown Fire Department personnel roped off a section that includes 54 grave sites. This would, barring unmarked graves not included in the count, be the outside estimate of graves that might be affected. The actual number of graves that were undermined may be lower. The lot numbers involved start with Lot Number 1075 and end at lot number 1122. However not all lot numbers from the beginning to the end of this series are inclusive in the affected area.

If you have relatives that you think might be included in the affected area, please feel free to contact Everette Carr, President of the Union and West End cemetery Association at 484-951-1568, for additional information.

In the near future, photos will be posted showing the extensive damage to Tenth Street and the cemetery.

Once the City of Allentown shut off the water supply, the damage in the cemetery did not worsen. This is not to suggest that there is not a problem. There is a serious problem in that graves have been undermined and the ground in this small section is not stable. Action will have to taken very soon to insure that no further damage is incurred.

Rest assured that while the Lehigh Coroner has the authority to exhume graves, this action has not been deemed necessary at the present time.

The cemetery officers and directors will keep all interested parties informed as the situation plays out.

We are looking forward to a time when everything is back to normal. However, in the meantime, the cemetery gates have been closed and locked and no admittance will be allowed until further notice.

On September 27, 2011 six individuals representing kgb division of Lucent Technologies volunteered to assist the directors of the Union and West Cemetery as part of the United Way Day of Caring Program.

In attendance were Kelly, Lisa, Jennifer, Julie, Jane and Wayne. We began at 9 a.m. and worked until about 12:30 that afternoon. The task; clear all mulberry bushes growing around tombstones in three sections, totalling an area of almost 4 acres.

Here are some photos of the group at work:













The last picture is of Jerry Haas and Everette Carr; directors of the cemetery association. Not pictured but helping that day were Don and Janet Hagenauer, also directors.

The kbg group did a tremendous job, worked hard and earned their keep. The group donated 21 hours valued at $448.56. The Union and West End Cemetery Association truly appreciates the efforts of the employees of kbg and thank them for volunteering their services.

Thanks also to the United Way and the Volunteer Center of the Lehigh Valley for making this day possible each year.

And so it goes...

On Friday, Veterans Day, November 11, 2011, three veterans traveled to Wind Gap and finalized the purchase of a used 2007 Scag Tiger Cub, zero turn commercial lawn mower. Below are a few pictures of the effort:







It was touch and go for awhile with the seller, but we managed to snag the Scag at the $4,000.00 original asking price and the amount approved by the Cemetery Board. This is a very welcomed addition to our current fleet of mowers.

It was a very success day!

On a brisk fall day, Friday, October 15, 2010, the 5th grade students from Cleveland Elementary School in Allentown, Pa. were in the Union and West End Cemetery on a class assignment. Their were approximately 60 students participating. The lesson plan dealt with the Revolutionary War (1775-1782). The students broke into 5 groups and using compasses and tape measures they located the graves of the five Revolutionary War veterans that are buried in the 156 year old cemetery.

Upon arriving at each grave site, each group read a letter written by the Revolutionary soldier in which he described what it was like to live during the war for independence and how proud they all were to be Americans..

Additionally the students gathered for a demonstration of the preparation and cooking of apple crisp using two dutch ovens, much as would be the case in revolutionary times. Each group enjoyed sampling the apple crisp, cookies and apple cider before moving on to their next assignment.


























































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Summary Of Revolutionary War

The American Revolutionary war started in the year 1775 and it was set off by a British army trying to seize ammunition in Concord of Massachusetts. In 1776, General George Washington crossed the Delaware River to reach New Jersey and there he defeated the British Garrisons in Trenton and Princeton.




During the Princeton attack, several people fled to the Princeton University and started hiding there. However, this was the first formal assault and it set off a series of events that followed one after the other. The British mainly controlled the areas in New York and Philadelphia. The rest of the land was under the control of colonists.

In 1778, United States of America and France signed a pact of trade and commerce and this allowed them to depend on France as an ally. On behalf of America, France declared a war on Great Britain under the leadership of Louis XVI.

That signaled for caution on the British part and after a war between them, Great Britain Slowly started pulling their troops away from America. The House of Commons in Great Britain voted to end the war in 1782 after 4 years of starting the war. The British pulled the remaining troops from South Carolina and Georgia in 1782 finally marking the end of the American Revolutionary War.

In 1782, Britain also signed a declaration in Paris that it would cease to combat North America. This ended the war officially and the treaty between America and Great Britain was signed amicably.