Restoring Gladwyne, PA's formerly abandoned Jewish Cemetery

The densely forested Gladwyne Jewish Memorial Cemetery

Dragging tarps loaded with dead tree branches up the hill and out of the old graveyard didn’t seem like such a big deal. However, this was definitely work! My new volunteer friend and I took about six loads over a course of two hours before we finished the job – or more realistically, before the job finished us.

Wood cuttings awaiting removal

About thirty of us showed up on this cool Monday morning, MLK Day in January 16, 2017, volunteering our efforts to cleanup an old abandoned graveyard. Why? Respect. Respect for our history, respect for those who came before us. The event was organized and led by the Beth David Congregation, of Gladwyne, Pennsylvania. It's synagogue is a little way up Conshocken State Road, walking distance from what is now being called The Gladwyne Jewish Memorial Cemetery.

Beth David was recently granted legal ownership of Har Hasetim Burial Ground, this forested gem of Jewish history  (the cemetery had been active from about 1890 to 1945) in the deep woods of Gladwyne, PA (a suburb of Philadelphia). Its past is checkered and colorful, and someone must someday write its full history (portions of it can be read at this link). In the meantime, its decay has been stalled, and in fact, reversed. A considerable effort has been put forth over the past few years by Beth David’s “Friends of Gladwyne Jewish Memorial Cemetery,” a community partner of West Laurel Hill Cemetery, Bala Cynwyd, PA.

Volunteers clearing weeds from graves on MLK Day, 2017

About twenty of our MLK Day group were here thanks to “Repair the World,” a volunteer organization that “works to inspire American Jews and their communities to give their time and effort to serve those in need. We aim to make service a defining part of American Jewish life” - http://werepair.org/

Central area of the property

I’ve written previously on The Cemetery Traveler about this formerly abandoned Jewish graveyard in the woods, and you’re certainly welcome to reread those posts listed at the links at the end. They’re in a chronological order that, well, chronicles my experience with this wonderful chapter of our history. In short, I found it in 2010, after hearing about its fabled existence for five years prior to that. To say that Har Hasetim, or “Mount of Olives” Cemetery is in a secluded location, is to underestimate its inaccessibility.

Har Hasetim is in the woods, surrounded by multi-million dollar private homes, in the Philadelphia suburb of Gladwyne, Pennsylvania. The obvious question on many peoples’ minds is, “How do I get to it?” Well, you don’t. At least not without an escort, for the time being.

Entrance to the cemetery

Organized tour of Gladwyne Jewish Memorial Cemetery in 2015

Currently, if you want to see the property, you need to attend one of Beth David’s tours, which are typically associated with a cleanup event. Typically, people meet at the synagogue (1130 Vaughan Lane, Gladwyne, PA 19035), then walk down the horse trail through the woods to Conshohocken State Road. A few hundred feet down the road, you file up into the driveway of a private home (a right of way to the cemetery that has existed since the surrounding properties were subdivided many years ago - the neighbor has been gracious in recognition of that right of way and is a supporter of the Friends' efforts), through the back yard, past the wood pile, and into the cemetery. A pair of crumbling stone posts flank the entrance to Har Hasetim. There is no automobile access to the property at this point in time.

(Check the Friends’ Facebook and website for scheduled events and get on their mailing list. See link at end.)

 

Invasive wineberry plants in lower portion of cemetery, winter, 2013

The request on this 2017 MLK Day by the Friends group was to focus on pulling the prickly red wineberry plants from the grave sites. Heavy gloves were distributed. Truth be told, at this point the cemetery looks rather good, the result of many prior cleanup efforts. I made the photo above in the winter of 2013, showing the immense wineberry tangle obscuring the majority of the graves in the lower section of the graveyard. Today, it looks like this, below. Still, there is much work to do. 
 

Absence of wineberry plants in lower portion of cemetery, winter, 2017

"Ecograss" test patch in upper portion of cemetery

The invasive trees and vines that have grown wild on the property will eventually be taken down. On this MLK Day, there was a tree cutter with a chain saw felling dead trees. In the future, weeds and other invasive growth are expected to be kept in check with “Eco grass,” a low maintenance, drought tolerant, durable mix of lawn grasses. In fact, there are a few test patches near the cemetery’s entrance that had been test planted in the fall of 2016, by the Philadelphia-based non-profit LandHealth Institute (http://www.landhealthinstitute.org/), which is consulting with Beth David on the restoration of the property. If it was green in mid-winter, it does indeed seem to be a hearty variety of grass.

Below you see a photo of the same section from 2014, prior to weed removal and planting of the Eco grass. Its also worth noting that all the rusty sections of old fencing seen throughout the cemetery will remain. Originally, they delineated family plots and organizational plots.

Same section as shown in photo above, but made in 2012.

Log trail through cemetery

Sounds like I've spent quite a bit of time researching this place, doesn’t it? I have, in the past. During previous visits, I’d learned much about the cemetery’s history, and plans for its future from the dedicated members of the Friends of Gladwyne Jewish Memorial Cemetery. However, on this MLK Day, all I did was help drag and carry dead branches from the lower graveyard to the upper region so that the wood chipper people can turn them into chips to line the log-bordered path that meanders through the property.

At end of MLK Day, "Repair the World" leader addresses volunteers

After my teammate and I finished clearing the branches, I spent an hour or so pulling weeds and wineberry stalks from graves. I stopped every so often to take a photo of the other volunteers doing the same. It was heartening to see children helping as well. At the end of the day, Neil Sukonik (president of the Friends group) and the leaders of Repair the World addressed the volunteers, thanked them, and ended the event with a prayer.

References and Further Reading:
Friends of the Gladwyne Jewish Memorial Cemetery on Facebook
Friends of the Gladwyne Jewish Memorial Cemetery Website

For a fascinating bird‘s-eye-view of the Gladwyne Jewish Memorial Cemetery, click this YouTube link from the Beth David Reform Congregation website: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=Q4G_sZ1hpeM

Ed Snyder's “Cemetery Traveler” blog posts about the Gladwyne Jewish Memorial Cemetery in chronological order:

Holocaust Remembrance Day, posted April 30, 2016

Progress for Gladwyne Jewish Memorial Cemetery, posted Nov. 2, 2015

A New Era for Abandoned Jewish Cemetery, posted May 15, 2015

Please Explore this Abandoned Jewish Cemetery!, posted October 20, 2015

Graves Beneath the Snow, posted March 9, 2014

Passover and Gladwyne's Abandoned Jewish Cemetery, posted April 6, 2012

Holocaust Remembrance Day

May 4-5, 2016, according to Reform Judaism, is Yom HaShoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day. This is not to be confused with International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which is observed on January 27 (“On 27 January 1945, Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi concentration and death camp, was liberated by Soviet troops” – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Holocaust_Remembrance_Day).

“Shoah, which means catastrophe or utter destruction in Hebrew, refers to the atrocities that were committed against the Jewish people during World War II. This is a memorial day for those who died in the Shoah. The Shoah is also known as the Holocaust, from a Greek word meaning "sacrifice by fire." - http://www.reformjudaism.org/jewish-holidays/yom-hashoah

Over the years, I’ve written about the formerly abandoned Jewish Cemetery in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania (a suburb of Philadelphia), known by various names, Har Hasetim, Mount of Olives, and the Gladwyne Jewish Memorial Cemetery. The latter is the name given to the burial ground by the Friends of the Gladwyne Jewish Memorial Cemetery, which is managed by the Beth David Reform Congregation in Gladwyne  (newly-granted legal owners of the cemetery).

I’ve included some of my photographs here, as well as links at the end to blogs I’ve posted about this cemetery nestled deep in the woods. In honor of Yom HaShoah, Villanova University Department of History is presenting a three-hour research symposium entitled, “People and Place: The Making and Meanings of Har Hasetim in Gladwyne, PA.” Below is the formal announcement.

Thursday May 5, 2016   4:30 PM to 7:30 PM

Villanova University, 800 Lancaster Ave, Villanova, PA 19085 -

Driscoll Auditorium 134.

Villanova University Department of History Presents People and Place: The Making and Meanings of Har Hasetim in Gladwyne, PA, a Graduate Student Public History Symposium.

Join Professor Craig Bailey and his class of graduate students from Villanova University's Department of History as they present their research on the Har Hasetim Cemetery, also known as the Gladwyne Jewish Memorial Cemetery. This semester long project culminates with the retelling of Gladwyne's hidden Jewish cemetery. From immigration to Philadelphia to being interred in Gladwyne, the projects completed during the semester demonstrate the importance and history of the cemetery to understanding Philadelphia and Gladwyne. The presentation will open with a blessing and moment of silence in observance of Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day.

This event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served. Reservations are not required but recommended by visiting Eventbrite:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/people-and-place-the-making-and-meanings-of-har-hasetim-in-gladwyne-pa-tickets-22279473505     

Dr. Craig Bailey joined forces with the Friends of the Gladwyne Jewish Memorial Cemetery to embark on dedicated research mission to uncover hidden history and facts about Har Hasetim. The mission of the Friends of the Gladwyne Jewish Memorial Cemetery is to ensure dignity for those interred at Har Hasetim and their families while honoring the historical, cultural and natural significance of the site. We will achieve our mission by working together with volunteers and with the support of community partners primarily through restoration and maintenance of the graves and natural features, sharing the story of the cemetery, and providing access to information about those interred at the site.

The purpose of the Friends of the Gladwyne Jewish Memorial Cemetery is:

• To care for, maintain, restore, manage, operate and secure the property known as the Gladwyne Jewish Memorial Cemetery, located in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania on behalf of the owner of the Cemetery, Beth David Reform Congregation

• To provide and maintain a suitable religious burial ground for those persons buried in the Cemetery;

• To stimulate public awareness and appreciation for the Cemetery as a historical site and to solicit the participation of the community in its maintenance and preservation

• To receive and administer funds for the aforesaid purposes.

For more information contact either Dr. Craig Bailey at Villanova University mailto:craig.bailey@villanova.edu or Jill Cooper, Executive Director of Beth David Reform Congregation, 610-896-7485 x104, mailto:jcooper@bdavid.org

References and Further Reading:
Friends of the Gladwyne Jewish Memorial Cemetery on Facebook
Friends of the Gladwyne Jewish Memorial Cemetery Website
http://thecemeterytraveler.blogspot.com/2015/11/progress-for-gladwyne-jewish-memorial.html
http://thecemeterytraveler.blogspot.com/2015/05/a-new-era-for-abandoned-jewish-cemetery.html
http://thecemeterytraveler.blogspot.com/2012/04/passover-and-gladwynes-abandoned-jewish.html

Progress for Gladwyne Jewish Memorial Cemetery

All Souls Day is an appropriate day to write about my recent visit to Gladwyne Jewish Memorial Cemetery, even though All Souls’ is a Christian Holy Day. All Souls’ is when Christians commemorate the faithful departed, and in a way, this is what a group of twenty-five people did recently in this formerly abandoned Jewish cemetery. They showed their respect for the thousand or more of their ancestors who are buried in this formerly neglected cemetery.

On October 25, 2015, we gathered at Beth David Synagogue in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania (Montgomery County, outside Philadelphia), for a tour and lecture by resident experts on the topic of nearby historic Har Hasetim Cemetery (which is being renamed Gladwyne Jewish Memorial Cemetery). The Synagogue and its staff were very gracious to all the visitors and the rabbi came through the lobby to say hello. Rachael Griffith of the LandHealth Institute greeted everyone and made introductions. Everyone was invited back after the tour for refreshments and to discuss a variety of topics relevant to the cemetery's revitalization, including headstone restoration, gravestone mapping and database creation, and restoring the cemetery's forest ecology. Har Hasetim, a few hundred feet down Conshohocken State Road from the synagogue, is now owned by Beth David Reform Congregation, but we’ll get to that in a bit.

In the fall, our thoughts often turn to death – days get shorter, leaves turn brown and fall off the trees (at least in the northeastern United States). It is nature’s last gasp before the snow flies. November 1, Día de los Muertos, is the Mexican Day of the Dead, when friends and family are remembered who have died. During my recent trip to Har Hasetim, I thought about how close it was in time to Kol Nidre, that solemn time of remembrance (the end of September) when many Jews visit the graves of their parents. This day in Gladwyne, however, was more of a celebration of the future of this historic landmark, the day of the public unveiling of the master plan for its rejuvenation as a permanent memorial to the Jewish population in Philadelphia.

My fascination with this nineteenth century burial ground began many years before I actually found it. Quite literally, it is in the woods, land-locked by surrounding properties. The only way to get to it is by walking or driving across someone’s private residential property. That’s assuming you knew where it was. For many years, it seemed to be just an urban legend until a friend of a friend showed me the way.

The previous times I’d been here I just bumbled in by myself, not really knowing whose property lines to avoid. Turns out I was trespassing! During the tour, we were led into the cemetery along the “Bridlewild Trail,” an easement right-of-way created back when people rode horses through these parts. Currently, the path leads up someone’s driveway and through their back yard.

So, on this lovely fall day, the entire group of us walked down colorful tree-lined Conshohocken State Road to a stone house (occupied, I might add) that was originally the cemetery caretaker’s house and mortuary. We walked up the driveway and through their back yard, making a right turn at the shed and a left around the woodpile! Beyond, and in the woods, are the remnants of the graveyard’s old brick entrance pillars. (The owner of the property came home as we were leaving about two hours later, and was very cordial. The Friends group had previously contacted him so he knew about the tour.)

Once inside the cemetery, the historian of the Friends, Steve Finkleman, gave a detailed account of the cemetery’s checkered past. Interesting points in time include its creation in 1890, its various changes in ownership, infringements on its land, moving of graves, the Sheriff sale, and how Beth David snatched it from the grasp of real estate developers in the 1980s.

 "I got a call from a neighbor who said, there's a bulldozer at the cemetery and they are going to bulldoze the graves," said Richard Elkman, who created the Committee to Save the Gladwyne Jewish Cemetery. The neighbor "was out there with a shotgun to hold them off." - Philly.com

In 1999, after a ten-year legal battle, Beth David Reform Congregation in Gladwyne was granted legal ownership of Har Hasetim (which means, “Mount of Olives,” by the way) Cemetery. Beth David is currently leading the effort to preserve and transform the burial ground into a memorial site with easier access.

The Friends of the Gladwyne Jewish Memorial Cemetery (established in 2012), which is affiliated with Beth David, “has commissioned a plan to clean up the cemetery and restore the graves and headstones, while preserving the plants and trees that are now the natural habitat.” The master plan was created with the help of Philadelphia’s Land Health Institute.

From the Philly.com article, "Effort to restore an old Jewish cemetery:

"The group envisions trails and contemplative spaces, and wants to research the histories of those buried at the cemetery. Digital mapping technology may be incorporated so that visitors can pick a gravestone and use a mobile device to discover the background of the person beneath it.

The transformation will cost more than $1 million, according to the group, which is developing a fund-raising plan.

"We want to tell the story of the cemetery," said Stephen Anderer of Wynnewood [President of the Board of Trustees of the Friends of the Gladwyne Jewish Memorial Cemetery]."It's the story of Jewish immigration at the turn of the century, particularly poor Jewish immigrants. This is a beautiful place to tell that story."

Many of the people interred at Har Hasetim are those who emigrated to America before or during the first Russian pogrom in 1881. Most of the burials (many of whom were children) ended around 1917, when the cemetery fell on hard times. Beth David has access to the burial records, and is planning to put them online at some point. They have been kept by Har Jehuda Cemetery in Upper Darby, PA, which owned Har Hasetim for a period of time.

"Cradle" graves to hold plantings

As our group (which included a fellow in a walking boot and crutches!) walked down the hillside path through the old cemetery, past odd-looking cork trees and wineberry shrubs, various people took turns talking about different aspects of the cemetery. Scott Quitel, ecologist and founder of the LandHealth Institute, told the group about the native landscape and its flora and his company’s proposal to plant sustainable, low maintenance trees and flowers in the cemetery. An interesting discussion ensued around “cradle” graves and how these were meant to hold lives plantings. Carol Yaster from West Laurel Hill Cemetery discussed the different types of stone used for the various grave markers, and how some weather better than others.

According to a recent article in The Jewish Exponent, in September 2015, "West Laurel Hill Cemetery [Bala Cynwyd, PA] announced a partnership with the Friends of the Gladwyne Jewish Memorial Cemetery (operated by Beth David Synagogue). Over the past year, West Laurel Hill staff has helped with the GPS mapping of graves, volunteered at work days, and most recently presented them with funds to help implement their new master plan, which will restore the historical grounds."

Our unique behind-the-scenes tour of Har Hasetim provided insight into the historical, cultural, and spiritual significance of the Gladwyne Jewish Memorial Cemetery as well as the complex tasks involved in transforming this formerly abandoned site into a woodland memorial park. A reflecting pool is planned for the site, possibly near the bottom of the property shown in this photo.

It was a wonderful experience being in the company of all these enthused, learned people who are so passionate about respect – the respect our ancestors deserve. I also felt good about being here for the first time without trespassing! Details should be worked out soon as to how the public can access the property. If you would like to keep up with the progress of the Friends of the Gladwyne Jewish Memorial Cemetery, visit the cemetery, or help in any way, please visit the website or email them at admin@gladwynejewishcemetery.org.

Visiting the Cemetery

The Cemetery is located off Greaves Lane, east of Conshohocken State Road in Gladwyne, PA.  Currently, we are open to visitors by appointment.  Email us to schedule an appointment.

How You Can Help 

Come to a regularly scheduled work party.

Attend a special event or tour

Become a member

Donate

Contact us to volunteer and tell us about your special skills or interests

Email: admin@gladwynejewishcemetery.org

Address:  Beth David Reform Congregation, 1130 Vaughan Lane, Gladwyne, PA 19035

Phone: (610) 896-7485, x104

References and Further Reading:

Friends of the Gladwyne Jewish Memorial Cemetery Website http://gladwynejewishcemetery.org/

For a brief overview of the history of Har Hasetim Cemetery, please see the Philly.com article, “Effort to restore an old Jewish cemetery.”

Previous Cemetery Traveler blogs about the Gladwyne Jewish Memorial Cemetery:

Passover and Gladwyne's Abandoned Jewish Cemetery

Graves Beneath the Snow

A New Era for Abandoned Jewish Cemetery

Please Explore this Abandoned Jewish Cemetery!

Please Explore this Abandoned Jewish Cemetery!

Over the past few years, I have written in my Cemetery Traveler blog about a formerly abandoned Jewish cemetery in the woods of Gladwyne, Pennsylvania (this is a northwestern suburb of Philadelphia). The location and status of the graveyard (which was active from about 1860 to 1945) has perplexed people for years. Simply finding it has been the biggest challenge for most people. After you see the eighteen acres of hills and valleys peppered with thousands of old gravestones, monuments, and rusty fencing, you cannot help but wonder, “What’s the story here?”

Unusual zinc ("white bronze") cradle crave marker

Well, this weekend you have an opportunity to find out! Gladwyne’s Beth David Reform Congregation, the current owners of what is known as Har Ha Zetim Cemetery, will provide a tour and information session. If you’re curious, please come by! I will be attending. If you’d like to help at some point in the future, that’s even better. Here is Beth David's announcement:

Sunday in the Cemetery
Sunday, Oct. 25th, 2015
2 - 4 pm

This unique behind-the-scenes tour will provide insight into the historical, cultural, and spiritual significance of the Gladwyne Jewish Memorial Cemetery as well as the complex tasks involved in transforming this formerly abandoned site into a woodland memorial park.  Led by a group of local experts, we'll discuss a variety of topics relevant to the cemetery's revitalization including headstone restoration, gravestone mapping and database creation, and restoring the cemetery's rich forest ecology. Guides include Rachel Wolgemuth, historian and database manager at West Laurel Hill, Carol Yaster, President of the Board of the Friends of Laurel Hill Cemetery, Scott Quitel, ecologist and Founder of LandHealth Institute, and Bill Doran, superintendent of Laurel Hill Cemetery.

Meet in the parking lot of Beth David Reform Congregation by 2 pm. We will walk over to the cemetery via the Bridlewild trail and Conshohocken State Road to experience first-hand current state of cemetery access. Alternatively, vehicles will be available to shuttle participants to the cemetery. After the tour, please join us for afternoon tea in Beth David's living room for an informal question and answer session. Here you can view the master plan for the cemetery and find out how you can get involved.  

To register, please email Jill Cooper at jcooper@bdavid.org.

 Beth David Reform Congregation 
1130 Vaughan Lane
Gladwyne, PA  19035

Veteran's grave at Har Ha Zetim Cemetery

Another good reason to stop by is that the foliage is beginning to die off so you will get a better appreciation for the expansiveness of the cemetery, and the work that has been accomplished by volunteers. Invasive foliage as been cleared and paths have been laid out. For more information on Beth David Reform Congregation in Gladwyne, PA, please see website:  http://www.bdavid.org/ 

Same graves in fall and winter

For some background, here are the three blogs I’ve previously posted on Har Ha Zetim Cemetery: 

May 15, 2015

A New Era for Abandoned Jewish Cemetery

http://thecemeterytraveler.blogspot.com/2015/05/a-new-era-for-abandoned-jewish-cemetery.html

 March 9, 2014

Graves Beneath the Snow

http://thecemeterytraveler.blogspot.com/2014/03/graves-beneath-snow.html

 April 6, 2012

Passover and Gladwyne's Abandoned Jewish Cemetery

http://thecemeterytraveler.blogspot.com/2012/04/passover-and-gladwynes-abandoned-jewish.html

A New Era for Abandoned Jewish Cemetery

A newspaper columnist phoned me a couple months ago and asked, “Mr. Snyder, just how many abandoned cemeteries are there in the United States?” I felt like saying “Twelve thousand, eight hundred, and thirty-six.” Obviously, no one knows the answer to that question. What I actually said to him is that there are degrees of abandonment, sort of. A cemetery can be unmaintained, yet still have an owner. So it may appear to be abandoned, but in reality, it is not - it is simply unmaintained. How can this happen? Why is this even allowed to happen? There are no simple answers.

May 2015 image of lower portion of cemetery, cleared of weeds

The good news, however, is that yet another (in my fifteen-years’ experience as a cemetery traveler) abandoned cemetery has been reclaimed! The cemetery in question is the 18-acre (by some estimates) abandoned Jewish cemetery in the woods of Gladwyne, Pennsylvania (a suburb of Philadelphia).

You may have read one or both of the blogs I’ve posted about this cemetery, known variously as Mount of Olives, Har Zetim, and Har Hasetim Cemetery. One blog documented my maiden voyage to this "Abandoned Jewish Cemetery in Gladwyne" (as it is also known), "Passover and Gladwyne's Abandoned Jewish Cemetery" (click link to go to that blog). A second blog documented a winter visit, "Graves Beneath the Snow." One of this cemetery's challenges is access - it is surrounded by very expensive private residential properties. In fact, you would never find it unless someone physically showed you where it is.

Brick crypt in Har Hasetim Cemetery

Any information available on the cemetery via the Internet is sparse, and in some cases inaccurate. I must confess that I added to the wealth of misinformation with the title of my first blog on the cemetery, "Passover and Gladwyne's Abandoned Jewish Cemetery." As I mentioned above, although a graveyard may appear unkempt, it does not necessarily mean it has been abandoned. Har Hasetim actually became the property of Gladwyne's Beth David Reformed Congregation in 1999. The most complete history of Har Hasetim has just been published in the Spring 2015 issue of "Chronicles," the Journal of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Philadelphia (Vol. 32 - 1). The article, written by Philadelphia's LandHealth Institute member Rachael Griffith and Beth David Executive Director Jill Cooper, is entitled, A New Era for an Abandoned Jewish Cemetery (past issues are available at this link online). 

Back in 1999, the courts ruled that nearby Beth David Reformed Congregation be granted ownership of Har Hasetim, as the cemetery was facing a land development threat. Since its inception in 1895, Har Hasetim changed ownership a few times, and has faced a number of challenges. Since 1999, Beth David has kept the cemetery intact, and has reached the point where a master plan for the property will soon be adopted. The plan is being created with the help of LandHealth Institute. Details of the plan will be made public in the near future. The people directly involved with the care of the cemetery are members of Beth David's "Friends of Gladwyne Jewish Memorial Cemetery," a non-profit company (click here to go to the Friends website).

Wineberry thicket photographed in 2014

Keeping the sacred ground intact, maintained, and eventually restored is the main goal of the Friends group. I sat in on a recent meeting of the Friends and was taken by their knowledge and enthusiasm. The group has already had several cleanup days this spring, with a major goal of removing the wineberry (a relative of the raspberry) vines that tangle the grave sites at the lower end of the grounds. They've done wonderful work. Much of the thorny wineberry plants have been uprooted and removed. This allows access to individual graves. Another cleanup day is scheduled for this Sunday, May 17, 2015. Their volunteer efforts have certainly been evident. I visited Har Hasetim at the beginning of May, 2015, and was struck by how walkable the grounds are. Vines and weeds had been cut back and the walking trails are clear of woodland debris.  

Since forming in 2012, the Friends of Gladwyne Jewish Memorial Cemetery has done much genealogical research (a list of a thousand names from the burial records appears on their new website). Working to publish these names as well as publishing the concise and accurate history of the cemetery (Spring 2015 "Chronicles" article) satisfies the curiosity of many and fills in some of the gaps of Jewish history in the Greater Philadelphia region. I, for one, did not know that Philadelphia had many Jewish burial associations, which owned plots at Har Hasetim for the purpose of providing "poor Jewish immigrants with a proper burial according to Jewish law" (1). This explains all of the pieces of rusting iron fencing throughout the property. Also shocking are the documented attempts by land developers over the years to build on the cemetery grounds. In 1912, when Har Hasetim had fallen on hard financial times, a Narberth, PA, contractor purchased a majority of the land at sheriff's sale and disinterred an estimated half of the bodies before he was stopped.

Har Hasetim Cemetery currently has clear paths on which to walk its grounds (you can see the tree branches in the photos above and below, which bound the walking path). This is just the beginning. The future of Har Hasetim, "its continued survival and success," as Griffith and Cooper put it in the Chronicles article (1), "is in the hands of those who care about it. Themes of survival emerge from many parts of the cemetery's story. [It's] existence has been tenuous since its establishment, but there have always been people who cared enough to save it from obliteration." The Friends, along with the LandHealth Institute, are developing a master plan to ensure this will continue.

So if you have wondered about this formerly abandoned cemetery, tucked in the woods, totally off the beaten path – as I had – please consider stopping by for at least a tour this coming Sunday. The Friends group welcomes all volunteers and would be happy to show you around. If you’d like to help clear some weeds, the formal invitation from the Beth David Reform Congregation is reprinted below:

We Need Your Help!

Sunday, May 17th

Calling All Gardeners and Horticulturists

Tucked among the homes and estates of Gladwyne is a gem of an historic cemetery, as well as a hidden haven for nature, the Gladwyne Jewish Memorial Cemetery. Beth David Reform Congregation of Gladwyne has been tasked to maintain it, and the Friends of the Gladwyne Jewish Memorial Cemetery has plans to restore it. This Sunday, May 17th, we will be cleaning up the cemetery by removing the dead wood, overgrown weeds, and invasive plants. Meet at Beth David at 12:30pm, 1130 Vaughan Lane, Gladwyne PA 19035 (proceed to the very end of the lane). Wear appropriate clothing including stable footwear, jeans, and work or gardening gloves. Bring hand tools for weeding and clearing such as rakes and clippers. Additional tools will be available for those who need them.

Questions? contact Jill Cooper, Executive Director, jcooper@bdavid.org, 610-896-7485 x104

References
1. Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Philadelphia, Vol. 32 - 1, Spring 2015 (http://jgsgp.org/Pages/chronicles.html)