Evergreen Cemetery gates get a welcome renovation

May 23, 2022

MARION — The once stately entrance to Evergreen Cemetery was showing its age.

Winter sand and salt, windswept storms and wayward drivers took their toll on the gates that welcomed visitors to the classic burial grounds on Route 6.

“Mother Nature was doing a lot of damage to it,” Highway and Parks operations manager Jody Dickerson said.

Tops of the gate’s bars had broken off, the bars themselves were damaged and off-kilter and some of the bases of the bars were missing.

Members of the Marion Cemetery Commissioners hoped to fix the gates without spending a large amount of money.

That’s when the Department of Public Works stepped in.

DPW mechanic Malcolm Hathaway, who has experience in restoration, led a team effort to revitalize the gates.

The work began about two years ago, with Hathaway working on the project when he could, a bit at a time.

Through the staffing challenges of Covid, Hathaway said he would work on the gates at “opportune moments.”

The bars were straightened and reconditioned, getting a good cleaning and sanding before repainting, he said. Five of the bars needed complete replacement.

The base of the bars were duplicated by students at Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School, Dickerson said.

Although he knew the gates had been worked on through the years, Hathaway pointed out that “we didn’t have a lot of pictures to go by.” 

In the process of tackling the project, Hathaway discovered that the handle had been originally done in gold leaf but was painted over. 

The handle was restored, not in gold leaf, Hathaway noted, but “as close as we could get.”

The doors were replaced Friday, May 20, in time for Memorial Day visitors.

“It makes you feel good, to go from how damaged it was to now,” Hathaway said. “There’s a sense of completion.”

He stressed that the work represented a “team effort” with his colleagues from the Department of Public Works. 

“It was a joy to work on,” he said.

Dickerson hopes the project reminds residents of the abilities of the Department of Public Works employees. 

“These guys have a lot of knowledge and a lot of resources,” he said. “I try to use that to the best of the town’s ability. We are fortunate to have their talents.”