The Town of Tryon is discussing doing major repairs and clean up to its cemetery, located on Markham Road just behind downtown. 

Tryon Town Council met in June and heard from Jerry Soderquist, chairman of the town’s cemetery committee.

Soderquist thanked the town for coordinating a recent grass cutting and said there were 70 flags placed in the cemetery for Memorial Day.

Commissioner Roy Miller mentioned that there is $8,500 budgeted this fiscal year for parks and the cemetery. Miller asked if the cemetery committee is planning to repair the broken headstones in the cemetery.

Tryon Mayor Alan Peoples said the $8,500 is for cutting trees and grass. He said he had an estimate done and it will cost approximately $50,000 to do everything that needs to be done with the headstones. Peoples said the town is trying to get the cemetery cleaned and will then start fundraising.

Miller said because it is the town’s cemetery so the town should invest money into the headstones.

“Some of those have been broken for 20 years and we need to give them respect and honor,” said Miller.

Soderquist said the cemetery has a lot of issues and the committee is currently creating a list of those issues.

“At this point we’re picking and choosing from this list as to what we can accomplish now,” said Soderquist.

Miller said he is the caretaker at the Good Shepherd cemetery and it has a lot of visitors.

“I would recommend the cemetery committee bring us a proposal of a cost of the headstones and bring it to the board,” Miller said. “It was talked about by Jules Larsen (former town cemetery committee chair) 13 years ago. I would love to see us repair headstones.”

Soderquist said the committee will likely be coming to the town for matches to grants the committee is pursuing.

Tryon resident Joyce Kimpton said it’s the town’s cemetery and the town’s founding fathers are buried there. She said she would like to see something about who is there, like an article in the paper explaining who they were and their connection to the town.

Peoples and Soderquist said they are exploring having something written about everyone buried there.

The Bulletin visited the cemetery over the weekend and there were several areas with high grass and vegetation covering gravestones. Some stones were leaning and broken, particularly on sections were graves are placed on the back hill. There are also many unmarked gravestones in the Tryon Cemetery.