(It’s a long article, so just a reminder that the gallery, as always, can be found at the end of the post.)

Sandyvale Cemetery, in Johnstown’s Hornerstown neighborhood, is one dreary place in early April. Grey clouds cover the early spring sky; winds lurch down the Stonycreek valley from the top of the Allegheny Front, and the place is acres and acres of little beyond acres and acres.

Prompted by a thread in a local forum, I lurched my own self down to the city’s oldest burial ground to see what I could see. After three major floods, there isn’t much left. A couple or few dozen worn headstones, some broken, a few illegible; line Sandyvale’s only discernable avenue: a barely paved former drive stretching from the Hickory Street entrance to the cemetery’s far end near Messenger Street. Beyond the far end, on land that, at one time, was the original St. Joseph’s Cemetery, sit scores of blue and white porta-potties, adding to the dismal ambience.

Drifting along the lane, the visitor discovers a litany of names that should be familiar to most Johnstowners: Horner, Bheam, Benshoff, Strayer and more. In the center of the tract, and afforded the most consideration, is a veteran’s memorial. Sandyvale is or was the final resting place for veterans who served in all of our nation’s wars from the Revolution through World War II. A flagpole stands in the middle of a circle. Ringing the the circle are 21 flat stones commemorating the service of 20 Civil War vets. The lone standout is the white stone of Pvt. Cleveland Emerick, who served in World War I.

At the end of the lane, in another ring and offended by the porta-potties beyond, stands the statue of a young girl with the name “Jacoby” carved in the base. The statue is surrounded by additional broken and eroded markers. The remainder of the landscape is dotted with derelict streetlamps, a couple of daffodil beds and the occasional ornamental fruit tree.

Frankly, the place looks like Sodom & Gomorrah on the day after judgement, and that’s no way to memorialize the departed. Apparently the official name is now SANDYVALE MEMORIAL BOTANICAL GARDENS & ARBORETUM. A few years back an overly-ambitious plan was floated to redefine the cemetery. Immediately a few of the few surviving descendants took arms against this sea of trouble and demanded the interrees be left alone. I can’t say where the plan stands today, but certainly a bit of landscaping and a few walking paths to encourage visitors and meditation would certainly be a more fitting memorial to Johnstown’s founders than the barren plain that sits there now.

It should be pointed out that the plan posted here contains no specific reference for memorializing those currently interred in Sandyvale.