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Junior High
students preserve the past
Longwood students restore headstones of local
Revolutionary War soldiers
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PEGGY SPELLMAN HOEY |STAFF WRITER
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| Peggy Spellman Hoey PHOTO Students from Longwood
Junior High School set new gravestones from the
Veterans Affairs Department to mark the graves of
Revolutionary War soldiers buried at the old Baptist
Church in Coram last Saturday. |
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Minuteman Daniel Hammond's headstone in the
graveyard at the old Baptist Church in Coram has been showing signs
of aging for at least the last 100 years.
Over those years, the headstone for
Mr. Hammond, the son of the church's founder and a whaler in the
Arctic prior to his taking up arms in Suffolk County's first
militia, had become as colorful as his life -- featuring various
forms of lichens, mold and signs of erosion. But thanks to a
group of Longwood Junior High School students, the former
Revolutionary War soldier's headstone now looks as though it was
set only recently. Mr. Hammond's headstone was one of three new
grave markers -- along with those of fellow local Revolutionary
War soldiers Palmer Overton and William Sexton -- set at the
cemetery by the students with the help of the Veterans Affairs
Department. The new granite grave markers, which are similar to
those seen at military cemeteries throughout the U.S., were used
to mark the soldiers' weathered headstones as further insurance
that their names will be remembered for generations to come.
Erik Fergal, 13, of Coram, was
assigned to research Mr. Overton, who fought in the
Continental Army.
"It was kind of hard to find [his
headstone] because he had a lot of relatives," Erik
said. "It was fun. We got to research. It was
interesting because people from our area helped
establish this country."
Classmate Amber
O'Neill, 13, of Ridge, had an easier time locating
William Sexton, though.
"We found [his
headstone] under a bunch of leaves," she said.
In addition to
setting the three headstones, roughly 50
students from the seventh and eighth grades
spent the better part of their Saturday
collecting litter, weeding and trying to
locate additional headstones at the
graveyard. The research project was started
10 years ago with the help of former Town
Historian David Overton, who died in 2005.
This was the first year students were able
to set stones.
Steve Ball,
chair of the Social Studies Department
at the junior high school, said he hoped
the children might pick up a newfound
understanding and appreciation for the
history of their community with the
hands-on lesson at the graveyard.
Coram
resident Andrea Sanfilippo, 13, a
member of the historical support
club, called the experience amazing.
"The revolutionary war was such
a historical event," she said.
"It's the reason why we have a
country today."
Her classmate, Shannon
Mutchig, 13, of Shirley,
also a member of the
historical support team,
uttered much the same
sentiment on the soldiers.
"They fought for the
country and they deserve
to be buried in a place
that is very beautiful
for them," she said.
Teacher Jennifer
Perrier, who has
helped students with
the research project
for two years, said
there are about 50
more headstones
which will be
shipped out to the
area by next year,
so the project will
be picked up by a
new group of
students. If
anything, Ms.
Perrier said, she
trusts the students
came away with a
valuable lesson.
"History is
still alive and
it's changing
every day," she
said.
In the
coming
weeks, the
students
will visit
other
graveyards
in the
Longwood
community
and conduct
similar mass
cleanings,
he said. In
the
meantime,
Mr. Ball
said he
hoped the
students
gained
something
valuable
from the
experience
that they
will take
with them
for the rest
of their
lives.
"These
guys
were the
real
rebels
-- they
hated
the
British,"
he said.
"The
Baptists
here
disliked
the
British
immensely.
This was
a good
place to
start."
Note - The students have received fifteen tombstones
from the government to date.
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