During last week’s weather freeze, a group of SLUH students still made the effort to collaborate with DeSmet Jesuit and Loyola Academy students and parents to do an annual cleanup of the historic Greenwood Cemetery located in North St. Louis. 

The cemetery’s rich history focuses on the many Black Americans who served in America's armed forces throughout the nation's history.

           “It is predominantly an African American Cemetery that's been around since the mid 1870s,” said school President Alan Carruthers. “There are numerous military vets buried in the cemetery, ranging from World War One through the Korean War.”

            The cemetery was very well kept under the watch of the veterans’ families. It was used as a community park as well as a resting place for the men who sacrificed their lives. But as the families who once helped to maintain the cemetery passed away, the cemetery saw a steady decline in maintenance and care in the 1980s. The cemetery was eventually sold where it was left to essentially rot.

              “The cemetery grow went feral, and grew over with weeds, bushes and vines,” said Carruthers. “So in the early 2000’s to the mid 2010’s, a man named Rafael had started to do the clean up of the cemetery with his wife as a voluntary act.”

          Eventually, SLUH and De Smet agreed to collaborate to help clean the Greenwood Cemetery Annually. The day of service required coordination across the schools, especially in light of new leadership.

            “There's been some leadership change over at De Smet. But the good thing is that the new president at De Smet is actually my spiritual director, Fr. Ronny O’Dwyer, also a graduate of Regis Jesuit High School in Denver which I was previously principal of,” said Alan Carruthers. “Then I approached Father Matt Stewart and pitched the idea to him. He came on board and we started running with it.” 

The cleanup was green lit and took place on a Saturday weekend. What could have been a much longer endeavor, was turned into a few productive hours thanks to the great teamwork displayed by all three Jesuit schools. 

          “It was very refreshing to work alongside not only my SLUH brothers, but also guys from De Smet and Loyola who we see as separate because of school rivalry,” reflected sophomore Archie Carruthers. “It helped me remember that we are both Jesuit schools with the same mission to serve God as men for others. Everyone was really nice and happy to be there to help their community”

         Before heading to the cemetery, the volunteers from SLUH, De Smet and Loyola congregated for a Mass in the SLUH Chapel.

 “We coordinated and got everyone there around 8 in the morning and we worked until 12,” said Alan Carruthers. “In total, there were around 80 to 85 of us.”

            The efficiency of the process of how everyone worked together is what made the cleanup work so well. The students worked impressively together in order to achieve the goal of successfully completing the cleanup by noon. There were several steps involved in order to make it possible. 

              “It was a cool experience being able to help restore this historic cemetery that clearly means a lot to the community,” said Archie Carruthers. “We split up into groups, most of the work was cutting down trees to clear the area, we cut the trees down and chopped them up with chainsaws while other groups cleared brush and put it all in piles.”

        Once the group was done they decided to enjoy a treat by going to eat a meal as a group. 

               “ A lot of the SLUH folks, as well as some from Loyola and De Smet, joined us for a meal at Chuck-A-Burger afterwards,” said Alan Carruthers. “It really drove home the idea of having a shared experience especially after our work.”

       In the end, the cleanup was a success, and many SLUH, De Smet and Loyola volunteers were glad to participate in the cleanup.

          “The project was really meaningful to the people involved because we were helping to conserve and restore the beauty of the cemetery,” said Archie Carruthers. “Just the sheer amount of people that came and helped out, made it clear how strong the Jesuit mission is with our community. I personally feel great just to have helped out.”

            “I think this project exposed us to a part of Saint Louis history that has been too easily forgotten,” reflected Alan Carruthers. “Going to North Saint Louis and just seeing the graveyard with many veterans. I spent a lot of time at a couple World War One veteran gravestones, it served as a reminder for the selfless service to the country.”

For the volunteers, the symbolism of cleaning a cemetery filled with military vets also drives home the bigger picture of being Men for Others.

          “We also have to remember that the United States military was not integrated until after World War 2,” said Alan Carruthers. “It’s a reminder of this shared history and in reality, it’s no accident we did this project during Black History month. It is a way of not only celebrating Black History in our community, but in fact bringing it back to life. We look at the world around us right now and we see on the geopolitical stage that we have to be more loving. It’s good for us to come together, we are not different, we are all the same.”