Happy Holiday All, An article appears in today's Milwaukee Sentinel-Journal, Monday, September 3, 2001. It might be of interest to some for I have seen questions posted about this cemetery on this message board. And I know just how big a job they are taking on as we, when I was a pastor in Wisconsin Dells in the early 1960s, found a cemetery in like disrepair. We spent a month working part-time cleaning it up for it was completely overgrown. When finished we had three piles of shrubbery and trees each almost as big as a small house. With the help of the local fire department, many of whom were members with us of the Kiwanis Club who undertook this labor of love, we had three very, very large bonfires on neighboring property with the "O.K." of the farmer who owned the land. We found a stone honoring a veteran of the Revolutionary War in that cemetery so that the U.S. Government now takes care of the entire cemetery. Today article in the Metro Section on pages 1, continued on 3" Jewish brotherhood undertakes labor of peace - Group cleans up church cemetery left in disrepair. By Marie Rohde of the Journal Sentinel staff. River Hills - Brad Michel; is a businessman who like most of his neighbors hires a yards service to care for his 5-acre lot. But this summer, Michel and friends from his synagogue grabbed weed trimmers and even a scythe to clean up the abandoned church cemetery. 'So why should a bunch of Jewish guys care about a German Christian cemetery?" Michel asked. 'Seeing it made me think about a biblical passage that says we're supposed to care for the deceased even if they are not of our religion. That's the way of peace.' Michel, a member of Congregation Emanu-el B'ne Jeshurun, had recently joined the synagogue's brotherhood, a men's group that undertakes civic projects as well as those that serve the synagogue. The cemetery of St. Peter's German Evangelical Lutheran Churcdh, near where the Milwaukee River crosses into Ozaukee County, dates back to the mid-1800's and is the resting place of immigrant farmers. The church is long gone. Yet, the question of who is responsible for cemetery upkeep remains in dispute. The brotherhood, at least for this summer, took up the cause. Michel lives about six blocks from the pioneer cemetery. After reading a newspaper story about the cemetery upkeep, he went for a drive looking for the orphaned graveyard in the 9500 block of Upper River Road. 'I couldn't find it at first because it was so overgrown,' Michael says. Wading onto the burial grounds, Michel found overturned tombstones amid the weeds. Ed Sternberg, the president of the brotherhood, agreed that cleaning the cemetery would be a mitzvah, a good deed. He found a scythe and was one of the first to cut into the field of weeds. 'Our primary purpose is to aid the synagogue,' Sternberg said. 'But we very much see the synagogue as a part of the broader community.' Why not hire someone to do the work? 'Getting your hands dirty is good for the soul,' said Michel. Michel also had contacted a headstone company in hopes he can persuade them to right markers that have fallen. The brotherhood is also considering raising money to buy some sort of permanent marker for the cemetery, something to commemorate of piece of forgotten history. St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church, 8080 N. 47th St., Brown Deer, inherited the pioneer church and its parsonage but apparently not the cemetery. The congregation had maintained the cemetery for a number of years but no longer has enough volunteers to continue the work. Then, for a time, a descendant tended the graves but had to give it up a few years ago because of his health. Earlier this year, Buckley Tree Service of Waukesha had cleared some fallen trees. The brotherhood was left to clear waist-high weeds, a job that took some care because of the dozens of tombstones. There are 53 known graves, the last burial dating to the 1940s. Communities around the state are concerned that an increasing number of cemeteries have been abandoned. State law requires municipalities to pay for the upkeep of cemeteries. A number of municipalities are supporting proposed legislation that would provide state funding for such care." There is an accompanying picture of Mr. Michel and his 13 yr. old son, Danny, and a Mr. Brazner at work in the cemetery. Haven't checked this out but in the past found articles by going to www.jsonline.com/news if you are interested.