ARTFUL CLEANUP
Edgewood Cemetery’s cleanup, art show exceed fundraising goal
POTTSTOWN >> Necessity is the mother of invention, and this adage certainly is true in the case of Historic Edgewood Cemetery and efforts to maintain this essentially abandoned resting place.
And so the all-volunteer Edgewood Friends Group “invented, with the help of local artist, photographer, and enthusiastic Pottstown volunteer Bronwyn DeMaso, a new event that not only helps maintain the cemetery but serves as an artistic fundraiser for its continued maintenance.
And thus was born Saturday’s “Edgewood Eddie’s Art Fair and Cemetery Cleanup.”
In case you were wondering, “Edgewood Eddie” is a hawk who lives in the cemetery’s trees and who graciously allowed his name to be used for Saturday’s festivities.
“I have always wanted to see more art and arts-related events in Pottstown,” said DeMaso, who managed all Art Fair-specific details. “We have
“We have amazing talent in the area. People are eager to get outside and do something fun after a year of the pandemic.”
— Bronwyn DeMaso, Edgewood Eddie organizer
amazing talent in the area. People are eager to get outside and do something fun after a year of the pandemic. So, as a result, we decided to organize an Art Fair to be held simultaneously with our now-annual spring clean-up.”
Twenty-nine artists and artisans paid $25 to rent a space on the cemetery grounds for the Fair, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Exhibitors ranged from painters, photographers, potters, and quilters, to jewelry-makers, woodworkers, calligraphers, and mosaic artists, among others.
The event featured a raffle of numerous items donated by the artists as well as businesses and individuals from throughout the community.
Between the artists’ fees, the raffle, and donations dropped off by visitors, the event netted about $2,400 to kick off the spring maintenance season — and exceed a matching challenge gift of $1,000 made recently by Bud Wendell of California, a Hill School alumnus with family ties to Edgewood.
Volunteers trimmed and chipped tree branches, raked and bagged leaves, and weeded and beautified the entryway flower bed. Find Solutions Properties loaned and manned a chipper, and Dave Eagen of Dave’s Lawncare was there to assist as jack of all trades.
Providing live music were local guitarists and singers Jacob Currie and Russell Ferrara, both of whom kindly donated their time to add to the event’s upbeat ambiance.
The workers and artists were fueled by a lunch provided free of charge by Pottstown’s Rocky Citrino of Little Italy’s and the Pourhouse. Citrino came forward a few weeks before the event and told the Edgewood friends he wanted to do something to support ongoing efforts.
“I love seeing the bags of debris lined up there after the volunteer clean-ups, and especially love seeing how great the cemetery looks when they are finished,” he told a volunteer. Noting that his restaurant is celebrating 50 years in Pottstown, he added, “We want to give back to the town, and we appreciate everything being done to keep Edgewood looking good.”
Feedback has indicated that participants enjoyed connecting with other residents in the somewhat unusual but scenic outdoor setting. They also learned a bit about Edgewood Cemetery and the friends’ mission to care for the site as well as possible, after years of unsightly neglect that followed its prior owner’s departure from Pottstown in 2012.
Several observers asked why volunteer efforts are so necessary; they did not realize no entity currently owns Edgewood, nor that its maintenance is not supported by Borough tax dollars.
“The great thing about the Art Fair and Clean-up Event was that it brought people to the cemetery who were never there before, and it raised awareness about our work to show respect to the people who are buried there,” DeMaso noted. “People are more willing to donate and help when they have made a personal connection to a place and care about it.”
The all-volunteer Edgewood Friends group is constantly looking for creative ways to raise awareness of the cemetery’s plight and the funds necessary to cover $16,000 to $20,000 in annual fees that keep the cemetery mowed.
The 12-acre site is bordered by Edgewood, High, Keim and Beech streets.
The Edgewood friends would love to do more to beautify the grounds, from planting remembrance gardens with benches to professionally re-setting the many sunken or fallen tombstones and filling in holes with clean fill. For now, the ongoing priority is raising funds just to keep the grass mowed (not a cut and dried task, given the maze of headstones and abundance of holes created by an apparently plentiful groundhog population).
In 2019, DeMaso organized a Veterans Day event at Edgewood to honor U.S. Veterans at rest; she supports efforts of the Travis Manion Foundation which supports Veterans and the families of fallen heroes. DeMaso’s brother, Commander Job Price, a Pottstown High School graduate, lost his life in 2012 in Afghanistan where he served as Commander of SEAL Team Four.
Additional inventive fundraiser ideas or independently run efforts are greatly welcomed.
Several years ago, a local social organization planned a golf tournament, for example. Recently Hello 422, an endeavor that promotes small businesses and is run by Chris Lerch, sold Pottstown-themed Tshirts created by Frag Out on High Street — donating $608 in proceeds to the Cemetery fund.
Hobart’s Run, the neighborhood improvement initiative created by The Hill School in 2016, also plays a significant role in supporting Edgewood’s revitalization. Cathy Skitko, director of communications and community relations for Hobart’s Run, is a member of the fiveperson Edgewood friends’ group — and her greatgrandmother is buried on the grounds.
As part of her cemetery involvement, Skitko has worked with Hill School students who have volunteered at past clean-up and conducted fundraisers including a gift basket raffle held in the fall.
Other “official” friends include Pottstown residents Deb Penrod and Kelly Fenstermacher, both of whom have ties to the Pottstown Historical Society as well as other groups in town.
Individuals or organizations who would like to get involved with Edgewood can contact Andrew Monastra, president of the group, at ajmonastra@gmail.com. Donations can be sent at any time to Edgewood Historic Cemetery c/o 740 E. High St., Pottstown, PA 19464.
Monastra said his goal and that of his fellow volunteers is simply to improve this part of the overall Pottstown community.
“We’ve identified this problem, and we are working to fix it,” he said. “We were thrilled with the outcome of the Art Fair — and we’re already talking about a second, similar event, as well as some other creative ideas shared by people who came out to the Art Fair.”
Monastra added, “we hope to hear more from residents who will join us in wanting to show that the people of Pottstown care about those who lived here in the past and want to preserve Edgewood’s park-like setting for those who live here now.”
“We want to give back to the town, and we appreciate everything being done to keep Edgewood looking good.”
— Rocky Citrino, Little Italy/ The Pourhouse
“We were thrilled with the outcome of the Art Fair — and we’re already talking about a second, similar event, as well as some other creative ideas shared by people who came out to the Art Fair.”
— Andrew Monastra, president of Friends of Edgewood