OLIVIA GORDON, Reveille Radio News Reporter:
Many people think of a cemetery as a spooky place to go on Halloween weekend, but six LSU students have partnered with the Baton Rouge Mid City Redevelopment Alliance to help restore the Sweet Olive Cemetery into someplace less scary. As the oldest, predominantly African American cemetery in Baton Rouge, it is a landmark, but mass communication senior Lindsey Meaux says the cemetery is no longer in its best shape.
LINDSEY MEAUX (Mass communication senior):It’s just kind of in dire need of help. After hurricane Gustav some trees were turned over in Sweet Olive…Ever since then it’s just kind of been in disrepair.
GORDON: As part of a capstone project, Meaux and the MCRA are working with volunteers to rescue Sweet Olive.
MEAUX: We’re just going in with some volunteers and trying to make an impact for the day.
GORDON: Community investment manager for the Mid City Redevelopment Alliance Carrie Broussard says volunteers are not new to the cemetery.
CARRIE BROUSSARD (MCRA Community investment manager): Probably in about the past 20 years, most of the work that is done for the cemetery is done by volunteers.
GORDON: Meaux and her capstone group, Broussard and the MCRA, as well as more than 200 good Samaritans are expected to give their time tomorrow. Broussard thinks it will be a signficant impact for Sweet Olive’s future.
BROUSSARD: This is probably going to be the largest volunteer effort that has been in the cemetery that we know of on Saturday.
GORDON: The group wants to make the cemetery a cleaner and safer place for families to visit loved ones by All Saints’ Day on Monday.
MEAUX: We’re going to be trying to just clean it up and just make it a better place for everyone who is there and everyone who has family there and everyone who lives around it.
GORDON: Volunteer work at Sweet Olive will begin Saturday at 8 a.m. More information can be found on the Sweet Olive RESCUE Facebook page or the Mid City Redevelopment Alliance website.
Olivia Gordon, Reveille Radio News.