Chilkat Valley News - Serving Haines and Klukwan, Alaska since 1966

Amid the graves and memorials, a group of about 20 people came out Saturday morning for the cemetery cleanup.

The Jones Point Cemetery, on Sawmill Road off Haines Highway, was the site of an annual cleanup that attracted men, women, children and one dog. Participants raked up the leaves and carried off the mess in a wheelbarrow.

The Alaska Native Sisters have conducted a cleanup on Memorial Day weekend for about 20 years. They were joined by the Salvation Army, which has also done a cleanup at the cemetery for about seven years. However, this is the first time they scheduled the cleanup for the same time of day, and therefore the first year that they did the work together.

Also, the ANB group had to take off three years due to COVID-19, so this is the first year they've been back. This year, they opened up the event to the public with signs posted at the supermarket, and with free hot dogs for participants.

"It's just an honor to do it. And just a good time for recognition for what they've done for us," said Jackie Mazeikas, speaking of the soldiers. "We're a blessed nation; we're grateful.

Cara Gilbert, president of the ANS, said she had just joined the group. She was named president, and her sister was named vice president. But the links go back farther than that."

"Our family has been involved in ANS, so it felt like a good thing to be a part of, something we had always planned to be a part of," she said.

Leeanne Converse, treasurer of the group, said this year's turnout was much better than the last time, when they were lucky to get a half dozen or a dozen people.

"I'm just glad we're back at it. It looks like it needed it. Hasn't been touched for a while," she said of the cemetery.

Capt. Kevin Woods, with the Salvation Army, described how his group got involved. The daughter of one of the people buried at the cemetery sent him a wreath, along with a request that it be placed on her father's grave. She was elderly and could not make the trip to Haines herself.

"And I came out here to put it on, and I've seen the pictures of the Salvation Army uniform on that grave over there," Woods said. "And I saw other ones, and the graves were really a mess, and I was just touched by that."

So he started contacting people, he said.

"I contacted the other folks and asked them, 'Could we - ?' Because we didn't want to take it on ourselves. I know there are traditions up here; sometimes they don't want stuff bothered. So I asked them, and all of them were very open to it."

Woods spent the morning putting Salvation Army flags on the graves of the 12 members buried at the cemetery. He added that the work is a group effort.

"Some ladies from our ladies group, which are kind of senior citizens, and kids from our kids' group, kind of come out here together. They rake and pick the stuff up. The ladies hold the trash bag, and we'll just kind of do it as a joint thing," he said.

"We're just happy to do it, happy to be in this community. Love to be able to give back, and this is just one way of giving back to the folks that have been here before us," he said.