Volunteers Gather To Clean Up Southwest Philadelphia's Mount Moriah Cemetery
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- In April, Mount Moriah Cemetery in Southwest Philadelphia unexpectedly shutdown after years of worsening conditions. In the months since, gravestones were toppled over and weeds grew, even covering many of the stones. On Saturday, there was a city-sponsored cleanup event at the cemetery.
Hundreds of volunteers were at Mount Moriah, raking away dead weeds, trying to cleanup the mess that was left when the cemetery closed.
Aisha Johnson from South Philadelphia has many family members buried at Mount Moriah, including her father and brother. She wanted to keep their memories alive.
"We started cleaning up every Saturday. So far, so good. The city is coming out, they decided to help us with everything and it's starting to look 100 percent better," Johnson says.
Mayor Nutter was there, and he says getting the city involved was the right thing to do.
"We as a government, demonstrate our commitment to respecting the lives and the loved ones who are here," Nutter said.
Loved ones, like Shaheed, just wanted the best for his late father.
"It makes me feel good. Knowing my dad is somewhere that is a clean cemetery."
Reported by Tim Jimenez, KYW Newsradio
