EG Students Find History During Cemetery Cleanup

Students of Andy Perrin at East Greenwich High School rolled up their sleeves this week to help restore some dignity to local historical final resting place.

The class helped clean up Rhode Island Historical Cemetery 48 in East Greenwich and photos from the event were posted on the EGHS Success Blog. The photos were taken by Paige Mattos, a student in Perrins’ local studies class.

The effort came to fruition thanks in part to Perrin’s recent appearance at a East Greenwich Historical Cemetery Commission meeting. He attended a meeting in October and mentioned he was interested in exploring local history with his students by visiting the local cemeteries.

Members of the commission were excited about the idea and soon, the plan was formed. His class would be walking down the street from the school to the cemetery and as they cleaned, they took note of historical data. And an historic cemetery is a goldmine for historical data.

Student involvement in historic cemeteries continues. Senior James Deakin is focusing on restoring an historical cemetery in EG for his senior project. And other students have signed on for cleanups.

Photo Courtesy: Paige Mattos

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