Hello out there! Well, I've been "off track" for a bit because our 16 year old companion and friend got seriously sick! Our black lab was suddenly quite ill and after many days of hoping things would turn around we realized it was her time to go. She left us this morning and we are all feeling quite sad. Abby was a great dog and gave the entire family her unconditional love and kisses whenever any one of us needed them and so we sent her off with ours. She was a blessing to our family and will be sorely missed by all of us.

That said, I will be getting back on track and do have some news! I will be part of a committee reviewing the blue prints/plans for a new shelter to be started this year by the Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley. Very exciting! My goal for next week is to go over the work plans for the other two shelters they have in operation (My last post looked at their Sixth Street Shelter) and make an appointment with the director to go see at least one of them. Marsha Eichelberger is the program director and has offered to meet with me and show me around. So....time to get moving again!

Again, any suggestion, contacts, please email me!!!

Amazing! I have been looking more closely at the Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley and am so excited about what they do. This group currently has three shelters running in Allentown and they recognize that the process from homeless to being a productive member of a community is not a one step process nor a one size fits all approach.

One of the biggest challenges is providing meaningful services to someone trying to find their way back. Food and shelter provide the stuff to make it to tomorrow, but unless other issues are addressed, there will be no change. And the issues are as varied and scary and challenging as ...well, more than the average person can or wants to imagine.

The first shelter provides opportunities for homeless families to be housed and to move toward self-sufficiency. They house a family for approximately 60 days and a Family Service Plan is developed that begins to address education, work and financial issues with the adult family members. The CACLV has set the goal of having at least 75% of the families they house complete their Family Service Plan's short term goals within the 60 day housing period. We're talking about things like attending resident meetings, going to counseling, learning budgeting skills and basic life skills, as well as working with any other necessary referrals to move toward positive change.

This is huge! Additionally, the CACLV wants at least 50% of the families to be ready and able to move into affordable housing upon leaving the shelter. These early goals make me realize the staggering scope of this type of program. To think of beginning to address perhaps long time, habits/addictions/health issues/mental health issues, etc. would challenge the best of us - but to anticipate all the needs and provide the professional help is just staggering! I need to find out what their statistics look like in previous years. Their target for 2008 is to see that 85% of the families moving into affordable housing will retain that housing for at least 3 months after leaving the shelter and this same 85% of families will continue to work toward accomplishing their Family Service Plan.

Lastly, they have set a target of having 30% of the heads of household employed three months after leaving the shelter. In addition there are goals to provide health care services for the adults and children and access to an emergency food pantry. An adult in this "system" in one thing, but these are families and so it follows there are children also trying to navigate this transition. The CACLV's target is that 95% of school aged children will attend school on a regular basis. In addition they are working to provide Kid's Club programs and medical screenings, dental care and foster care if necessary.

This is truly humbling to think of the struggle to address so many issues at once from both perspectives. The families addressing issues of substance abuse, domestic violence, metal health and mental retardation to become healthy and productive and a group of people and professionals trying to provide services to make success possible. I want to look at the other two shelters in terms of their work-plans before I visit so I can try to fully grasp what this organization is doing.

As I said at the start, amazing!

Today is a great day!

The National Park Service informed Eden Cemetery that they were selected to become a member of the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program. They will be known as the burial site for William Still (Father of the Underground Railroad in Philadelphia).

In previous posts I talked about the importance of Eden Cemetery receiving this national honor. The Network to Freedom Program will provide free publicity for Eden Cemetery through their national print and on-line promotional advertising materials. Most importantly we now have the green light to apply for the 2008 Network to Freedom Grant.

While the National Park Service pushing out the media advisory notices of their 2008 inductees, we at Eden Cemetery will also begin tooting our own horn around the State of Pennsylvania.

I will also have Eden Cemetery reach out to the descendants of William Still and let them know of the honor the cemetery received because of their belated family member. Many of the Still family members have strong roots in Southern New Jersey. It would be nice to have the family involved in our future activities promoting William Still and Eden Cemetery, because History Matters!

The other goal for Eden Cemetery is to create a tourism program that would highlight the history of the cemetery and the interred. To start this program Eden Cemetery has reached out to organizations that can help them promote their facility locally, statewide and nationally.

Since Eden Cemetery has many interred members that were abolitionists, Underground Railroad Station-Masters and Underground Railroad Conductors, I assisted in the application process for them to become part of the National Underground Railroad: Network to Freedom Program.

What is the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program?
The National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Act of 1998 (P. L. 105-203) directs the National Park Service (NPS) to establish a program that tells the story of resistance against the institution of slavery in the United States (and related territories) through escape and flight.

Through the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program, the NPS acknowledges the significance of the Underground Railroad not only in its contribution to the eradication of slavery in the United States, but also as the cornerstone for a more comprehensive national civil rights movement that followed.

The program coordinates preservation and education efforts nationwide, and is working to integrate local historical sites, museums, and interpretive programs that have a verifiable association with the Underground Railroad into a mosaic of community, regional, national, and international stories.

The Network to Freedom Program is celebrating its 10th Anniversary this year and will have their annual conference in Philadelphia in September 2008. More importantly the U.S. Government has recently found some funds for the Network to Freedom Program to offer grants for this year. These grants are for the preservation and restoration of historic sites, as well as support for related research and documentation for sites, programs and facilities. The last time they were able to do this was in 2006.

Eden Cemetery submitted their application for acceptance into the Network to Freedom Program in January 2008. With the application review process in April, the grant deadline in early May, will we be allowed into this year funding cycle?

I consulted with Sheri Jackson, the Northeast Region Director, of the National Underground Railroad Network Program to see where we stand in this process. Sheri stated that all applicants will be notify in April on who will be accepted in this year cycle of the Network to Freedom Program. This leaves organizations one month to put together their grant application. So she said just start thinking about what project that we would like to do.

Based on the interments of William Still, ('Father of the Underground Railroad in Philadelphia') and the other abolitionists at Eden Cemetery; I feel confident that we will be accepted into the Network to Freedom Program. So thinking positively, and with May around the corner, we have to start thinking about what project we want funded, because History Matters!

Eden Cemetery today consists of 23 sections. Each section honors a person or an organization that helped advance the African American community in some way. Listed below are the names of the sections and some of the organizations that purchased lots for their members:

Bowers: Honors Henrietta Bowers Duterte, an African American woman who was the first female undertaker in Philadelphia, and also an Underground Station Master who helped slaves by hiding them in caskets.

Catto, A & B: Honors Octavius V. Catto, an Educator, Civil Right Leaders, Political Activist and Baseball Player in Philadelphia.

Celestine & Celestine Reserve I & II: Honors Celestine Mosley-Cromwell, the first person buried at Eden Cemetery.

David Bowser: Honors the Philadelphia artist noted for the paintings of Abraham Lincoln and John Brown. He was also a member of the Philadelphia Bustill family.

Daniel Parvis: Honors Daniel Parvis, one of the original five charter members of Eden Cemetery.

Douglas, A, B, C, D, and E: Honors Frederick Douglas.

Home: Named after the Stephen Smith Home Cemetery whose bodies were re-interred in Eden in 1903.

Harriet Tubman: Honors the most famous female Underground Railroad Conductor.

John Brown: Honors the abolitionist who led insurrections against slavery.

Katherine Parvis Gardens: Honors the daughter of Daniel Parvis and Secretary of Eden Cemetery.

Lebanon: Named after Lebanon Cemetery whose bodies were re-interred in Eden in 1903.

Lehman: Honors Martin J. Lehman, one of the original five charter members and founders of Eden Cemetery.

Letson-Martin: Honors Albert Letson, President of Eden Cemetery Company; Member of the State of Pennsylvania Real Estate Commission; Founder of the first black golf and country club named “Freeway.”

Honors I. Maximillian Martin: Treasurer of Eden Cemetery Company; President of Berean Savings Bank; Life Heritage member of NAACP.

Olive: Named after Olive Cemetery whose bodies were re-interred in Eden in 1923.

Richard Allen: Honors the founder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

Organizations that purchased lots for their members at Eden Cemetery are:
The British Great War Veterans
Veterans of World War I and II
House of Refuge
The Association of Colored Orphans of Philadelphia
Home for Destitute Colored Children
The Prince Hall Masons
The IBPOE of W
Odd Fellows
The Cyrenes
African Presbyterian Church
Grace Union A.M.E. Church
Lombard Central Presbyterian Church
Wesley A.M.E. Church
Grace Union A.M.E. Church
Church of God and Saints of Christ
St. Thomas P.E. Church
St. Mary’s P.E. Church
Church of the Crucifixion
St. Simon the Cyrenian Church
Union Baptist Church

I hope this gives you a glimpse inside the history of Eden Cemetery because – History Matters!

History Matters! So why and how was Eden Cemetery created? The below history of Eden Cemetery was researched and written by Benjamin Wilson for Eden Cemetery's 100th Anniversary.

Although Eden’s creation was a cumulative effort, it was the original idea of its founder and organizer, Jerome Bacon. Bacon was a teacher at the Institute for Colored Youth on Bainbridge near Ninth Street, which was later, renamed Cheney State College.

In 1990 most African American in Philadelphia live in the SP Ward, an area examined in W.E.B. DuBois’ study, The Philadelphia Negro. As the city’s industry and population increased, “neighborhood” cemeteries were condemned due to improvements in sanitary and sewage systems. Out of respect for those currently interred and to provide a future resting place for African Americans, Bacon discussed with his contemporaries a plan for a unified African American cemetery.

Eden Cemetery’s first president, J.C. Asbury; first manager, Daniel W. Parvis; first treasurer, Martin Lehman; and first vice president, Charles Jones agreed with Bacon on a fifty-three acre plot in Collingdale, Pennsylvania. The area was selected because of its proximity to Philadelphia, beautiful landscape, size and availability.

Unknown to Collingdale residents, magistrates agreed to grant a charter to the company, which J.C. Asbury executed. Bacon and board members agreed with Jacob White, the president of Lebanon Cemetery, located at Passyunk near Ninth Street, to re-inter all remains in Eden in 1903.

However, the sudden death of Celestine Cromwell, wife of advisory member, Willis M. Cromwell, in August of 1902, hastened the need for a place of interment for African Americans. Bacon, J.C. Asbury and undertaker, J.T. Seth convinced all of the board members that Celestine Cromwell should be the first interred in Eden Cemetery.

On August 11, 1902 before the first interment was to take place, some of the white Collingdale residents blocked the entrance to the cemetery, protesting the interments of African Americans in their community. Mrs. Cromwell’s body was returned to Philadelphia. The following evening on August 12, 1902 after dark, Mrs. Cromwell was buried.

In January 1903 all remains from Lebanon Cemetery were interred in Eden. In the spring, the remains from Stephen Smith Home Cemetery were interred. In 1923, the remains from Olive Cemetery, which was adjacent to the Stephen Smith Home, were also buried in Eden. Celestine, Lebanon, Home and Olive are the original four sections of Eden Cemetery.

Eden Cemetery would later expand to twenty-three sections. In 1924, the mortgage was satisfied and today annual distribution of stock shares is paid to over two hundred stockholders. Eden is now the resting place of hundreds of prominent national and local “Old Philadelphian” African Americans. (Wilson, Benjamin. The History of Eden Cemetery, Philadelphia: Historic Eden Cemetery Company, nd.)

I've spent some time looking for existing shelters that form the bridge for homeless people/families to start over. Starting over in the true sense has to include education and/or vocational training, single or family counseling , drug and alcohol counseling, mental health or mental retardation screenings and help, dental and medical care and the list goes on and on.
This is in addition to the safe housing that is needed as a start to the journey back.

This idea of taking a building and using it as a place for homeless/mentally challenged to live and work was certainly not my idea. Quite some time ago (1987) I heard of Thomas Reuter trying to do something similar with the Holland Hotel on West 42nd Street. The Holland Hotel was one of the bleakest welfare hotels in New York City - a nightmare for the average person to think of living there. According to the New York Times the city placed nearly 275 homeless families in a place where by 1986 there had been about 1000 violations of health, housing and building codes. Prostitution, robbery, drug abuse and vandalism all flourished there and the real "take your breath away" fact is that the hotel was making a 50% profit, estimated at $3 to 4 million dollars a year on revenues of $6 million dollars.

The good news is that this property was renovated and finally sold in 1995 to Project Renewal who is in charge of the Holland House today. I did put a call in to Holland House and spoke with several people there, so I know this project is still in existence and I intend to contact Project Renewal and maybe arrange a trip to take a look at it. But, wow (!)...from 1987 to 1995 - eight years to get this project far enough along to actually begin to serve the community. I do want to see it though, because that project is the one that started my dream.

I have also begun looking at the Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley. They are a member of the Community Action Agency which came about from the LBJ era of fighting poverty on the local level. This agency serves Lehigh and Northampton Counties, the area I would like to work in. They have several shelters, some short term or 60 day stays and some long term or about 2 year stays. The long term shelters require a commitment from the individual or family that they will attend classes on parenting, personal finance, life skills, get their GED and the children must participate in preschool and youth activities. YES! This is so exciting. I can't wait to talk further with this group and in speaking w/Marsha Eichelberger, who is the Program Director, they are looking to start building a new shelter in the near future.

So for now, I have a LOT of reading and studying to do to understand a small part of the services they offer and then schedule a meeting with Marsha to introduce myself and learn, learn, learn!!

Anyone out there having info or advise...I'm waiting to hear from you!

So....where to start? Recognizing that this is a huge project, my goal is to talk to various agencies to see if there is a similar project already in place or one that could partner to make this happen. I absolutely want to learn from others' successes and mistakes.

My first meeting was with three people from VIA and three parents who have children with autism. VIA is an agency that works to match special needs clients to a job that facilitates pride and self-actualization. Additionally there is community, friends, money...all the things that make a job an important experience. These are wonderful, caring professionals who try to make it happen and have had wonderful successes! They are creative and talented and a blessing. However, they do recognize that there is still much to do for many and this not a case of one size fits all. The current philosophy used by many agencies and educators is one of "inclusion". "Inclusion (per Wikipedia) is a philosophical movement which advocates educating students with special needs in normal, mixed-ability classes, with students of the same chronological age, for all or nearly all of the day. Advocates of regular inclusion and full inclusion believe that special needs students "belong" to the regular classroom. Consequently, all special services are delivered within the normal classroom." This philosophy can also be extended to the workplace in that special needs clients should be incorporated into the same jobs and work places that all of us know.

Given the current "Inclusion" philosophy, my idea of a house with several clients living there and caring for the premises (under supervision of VIA or similar agency) smacked of a protected workshop and would probably not be eligible for any funding. My idea was to have a house that could offer lodging to families traveling to local hospitals for care for a loved one. (See Jenn's House to view a successful hospitality house ). The VIA individuals indicated they had heard similar ideas from others and funding for projects outside the current system and inclusion philosophy, made success much more difficult.

One of the parents at the meeting has two autistic children and made a point of telling me that she is very worried about what will happen to her son and daughter when she is no longer around. Her fear is that they could become homeless because their autism makes them difficult to deal with and they don't fit within the parameters of many existing programs. I heard similar fears from the other parents who were trying to brainstorm ways to provide for and protect their children now and in the future. As the conversations continued, I became painfully aware of the staff and expertise that would be needed to support this kind of housing. I also know that persistence and passion can go a long way so I am not scratching this off the list just yet.

I also contacted the founder of Jenn's House and had the chance to hear a little of his experiences and struggles to get his dream to become a reality. Quite a journey. He asked what tragedy had occurred in my life to make me want to do something like this and several other people have asked that same question. I thought that was an interesting question and realized that so many of these private projects are born out pain and tragedy. How lucky am I to have this chance...."just because"!

My plan is to contact the local Salvation Army, the local Rescue Mission and do further research into Holland House in New York City. All will have information, experience and programs in place that I can learn from. Stay tuned and please contact me with comments, suggestions, contacts, anything that will keep me learning and moving forward!

Well, I had my first meeting with Wilhelmina, Office Manager at Eden Cemetery last month to find out what their preservation needs are, and got the answer that I though I would. EVERYTHING!

When told you need everything for a cemetery project that has 85,000 interments on 53 acres of land, I admit that I was initially overwhelmed. Cemetery Preservation projects are big jobs, but reality sets in very fast when you standing on site, and as far as you can see is rolling hills of land and grave markers. You start asking, “do you really know what you are about to get yourself into”?

It is said that a good challenge builds character, so I am moving right along. Wilhelmina and I drew up the first draft of all the wants and needs for the cemetery. We came up with the following categories: Grounds Preservation, Record Preservation, Administration Capacity Building, Historical Documentation, and Public Programs. Within these categories are laundry lists of things that need to be done, but we also identified at least two immediate priorities in each.

Immediate Priorities

1) Grounds Preservation:
- Fencing For the Entire Site
- Repair Broken or Over Turned Grave Markers
- Record Preservation:
- Create an Archival Preservation Program
- Update Computers and Software
- Administration Capacity Building:

2) Revive The Friends of Historic Eden Cemetery

3) Create a Website
- Historical Documentation:
- Research Eden Cemetery’s History Completely
- Review Interments Records to Identify the Famous

4) Public Programs:
- Create Educational and Interpretative Programs that would Renew Interest in Eden Cemetery.

What Eden Cemetery really needs is a multi-phase Cemetery Master Plan that would incorporate all their present and future needs. In order to jump-start this cemetery preservation project the revival of the nonprofit group “Friends of Historic Eden
Cemetery” has to begin immediately. The last big project Eden Cemetery sponsored
was their 100th Anniversary in 2002.

This preservation project is a multi-million dollar venture and the proper fundraising apparatus has to be in place to raise and receive funds. The new board members MUST be a cross section of people from Corporate America, the Historical & Preservation Industries, Family Members of the Interred, Academia, Government Officials, and Cemetery Preservation Activists that have the ability to raise money, bring resources to the table and have a vision. It is equally important to reach out to the community through memberships in the “Friend of Historic Eden Cemetery.

The great thing about this project is that Wilhelmina has a good vision on where Eden Cemetery should be heading over the next two decades. We already talked about building a $10 million dollar Eden Memorial Park Cemetery, Education & Interpretive Center, and know what tract of land it should be located on.

You have to dream big – because History Matters!

I would first like to say how deeply honored I am to be selected as one of the winners of the “Blogging Your Dreams” contest.

During the upcoming months, I will share my experiences on how I go about fulfilling my dream of starting a Cemetery Preservation and Cemetery Tourism program for Eden Cemetery. Located in Collingdale, Pennsylvania, Eden Cemetery comprises 53 rolling acres, and is the oldest, public African American owned cemetery in the United States.

You might ask why a cemetery preservation project? What is cemetery tourism? Why is this important? It is important because “History Matters.”

Cemeteries are not just final resting places of our ancestors, but they are outdoor museums, sculpture gardens, and historical & genealogical repositories. To genealogists, scholars, and historians, cemeteries offer researchers clues to family relations, economic status, beliefs, and cultural customs. Cemeteries also have the ability to keep the history and legacies of the interred alive.

Cemetery Tourism is a growing niche industry within the growing Cultural & Heritage Tourism Industry. Historic cemeteries have found the need to pursue creative public outreach programs to assist with their long-term preservation projects. With the growing interest in genealogy and living history programs, many cemeteries see an opportunity to serve as outdoor living history and interpretive centers.

Laurel Hill Cemetery, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is an excellent model on how a cemetery has re-branded itself as a tourist destination. They sponsor a full range of weekend educational and interpretative programs that offer something for everyone. With Laurel Hill being the final resting place for twelve of the Titanic victims, each year they sponsor an internationally known nine-course Titanic Dinner, Lecture and Tour. This year’s program will mark the 96th Anniversary of the Sinking of the Titanic.

Eden Cemetery is at a unique time to begin a preservation and tourism program because of their many famous African American interments. The State of Pennsylvania is currently planning the Sesquicentennial (150th) of the Civil War, which will occur from 2011- 2015. With these celebrations, millions of dollars will be spent on re-telling the Civil War, Enslavement, The Underground Railroad and other historical aspects of this period of United States History.

Eden Cemetery is well positioned to become part of these Civil War activities and other historical events because it is the final resting home for many important abolitionists such as:

- William Still (Father of the Underground Railroad in Philadelphia)
- Frances Ellen Watkins Harper (Writer, Lecturer, Underground Railroad Conductor)
- Octavius Valentine Catto (Educator, Intellectual, Civil Rights Activist, and Baseball Player)
- Absalom Jones (Abolitionist, and Co-founder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church)

Imagine the living history and musical programs that can be developed around Marian Anderson (World Renowned Opera Singer) and Rev. Charles Albert Tindley (Father of Gospel Music) who are also interred at Eden Cemetery. There are generations of people who have never heard Marian Anderson's music. How many people knew Rev. Charles Albert Tindley was the Father of Gospel Music?

The possibilities of Eden Cemetery being the next tourism destination place by establishing educational programs and tours around a host of subjects and interred members of Eden Cemetery are endless. It only requires a vision and some hard work.

Since I believe in the philosophy of copying success instead of reinventing the wheel; I will be seeking out advice, suggestions, books, articles, seminars, websites and blogs from people who have already gone through many different phases of a cemetery preservation project. I want to see what is the next technology being used for cemetery mapping and how “environmentally efficient ” products can be used in the operation of a cemetery.

Thank you, Washington Post Newsweek Interactive for allowing me to nationally showcase a cemetery preservation project that is an essential piece of American History.

Stay tuned.....