Photo by JenniLee Mark By JenniLee Mark
Kenneth Hill gets to be with his wife and bring her flowers every day -- even at work. He gets to make sure she’s happy and surrounded by everything she loves including hummingbirds, cardinals and dragonflies.
Unfortunately, his wife lost a battle to cancer eight years ago, but that doesn’t keep Hill from being with his true love. He works at Hillside Cemetery, where she’s buried, and visits her grave every morning when he arrives at work and every afternoon before he leaves.
“I feel more involved than when I wasn’t working here,” Hill said.
Hill used to work for the state Highway Department, but made the switch to working at the cemetery two years ago when the job opened up. Though most people wouldn’t love the job, Hill said he likes being able to work with his wife all day.
Located on Cemetery Road off Brown Farm Road, the cemetery is the only active one left in the town of Castleton. Though there are others by the Federated church and elsewhere in the town, they are all inactive and much older.
That’s not to say that Hillside doesn’t have some older graves, though. Hillside has its fair share of long-time residents dating back as early as the late 1700s. There are even some Civil War veterans buried there.
According to Hill, the most interesting stones though aren’t actual stones; they’re logs. He said there are a couple of graves that have one giant log sitting on top of a few stacked logs and there are others shaped like books. Though they aren’t his choice for a gravesite, he said they are quite interesting to look at.
Hillside is owned by the town of Castleton and operates under the direction Cemetery Association President John Burke for 25 years now.
Burke began as a trustee without knowing it and said that when the “president became a resident” and the second president also passed away, he said he just ended up in the position.
“It’s a sad duty because the cemetery becomes a very important place to some people,” Burke said. “But it’s something somebody has to do and my heart goes out for it.”
A board of 13 trustees meets seven to eight times a year to make the necessary decisions on expenditures and electing officers.
The cemetery is maintained by Reggie Beayon and Hill. They work six months of the year digging plots, mowing and trimming around each stone to keep the cemetery presentable. This time of year is the busiest for them because of Memorial Day. However, with everything they do, they know they say they are serving their duty to the public and doing something respectful.
“The people we truly work to serve are pretty quiet,” Burke said. “They don’t really complain too much.”
Kenneth Hill gets to be with his wife and bring her flowers every day -- even at work. He gets to make sure she’s happy and surrounded by everything she loves including hummingbirds, cardinals and dragonflies.
Unfortunately, his wife lost a battle to cancer eight years ago, but that doesn’t keep Hill from being with his true love. He works at Hillside Cemetery, where she’s buried, and visits her grave every morning when he arrives at work and every afternoon before he leaves.
“I feel more involved than when I wasn’t working here,” Hill said.
Hill used to work for the state Highway Department, but made the switch to working at the cemetery two years ago when the job opened up. Though most people wouldn’t love the job, Hill said he likes being able to work with his wife all day.
Located on Cemetery Road off Brown Farm Road, the cemetery is the only active one left in the town of Castleton. Though there are others by the Federated church and elsewhere in the town, they are all inactive and much older.
That’s not to say that Hillside doesn’t have some older graves, though. Hillside has its fair share of long-time residents dating back as early as the late 1700s. There are even some Civil War veterans buried there.
According to Hill, the most interesting stones though aren’t actual stones; they’re logs. He said there are a couple of graves that have one giant log sitting on top of a few stacked logs and there are others shaped like books. Though they aren’t his choice for a gravesite, he said they are quite interesting to look at.
Hillside is owned by the town of Castleton and operates under the direction Cemetery Association President John Burke for 25 years now.
Burke began as a trustee without knowing it and said that when the “president became a resident” and the second president also passed away, he said he just ended up in the position.
“It’s a sad duty because the cemetery becomes a very important place to some people,” Burke said. “But it’s something somebody has to do and my heart goes out for it.”
A board of 13 trustees meets seven to eight times a year to make the necessary decisions on expenditures and electing officers.
The cemetery is maintained by Reggie Beayon and Hill. They work six months of the year digging plots, mowing and trimming around each stone to keep the cemetery presentable. This time of year is the busiest for them because of Memorial Day. However, with everything they do, they know they say they are serving their duty to the public and doing something respectful.
“The people we truly work to serve are pretty quiet,” Burke said. “They don’t really complain too much.”
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