Town Meeting will be asked this year to approve a coordinated effort of three town commissions to preserve our Shaker Cemetery. As you recall, a big storm a few years ago blew over a large pine tree damaging some of the markers in the world’s best preserved Shaker “lollipop” cemetery.
The Cemetery Commission has since removed the other large trees from within the cemetery. Now the Historical Commission has examined the trees just outside of the cemetery to determine which present a threat to Harvard’s very historical asset. This perimeter land belongs to the Conservation Commission, and so the Historical Commission met with them and the Cemetery Commission. The commissions concluded that about 35 trees present a serious threat to the cemetery for several reasons; some are diseased, and others lean toward the cemetery or are sufficiently close so that in a storm they might come down on the grave markers.
Based on the bids received from three contractors, the Historical Commission submitted a $17,000 application for Community Preservation funding to remove these trees. Given the historical preservation basis for the need, the application was determined to be well qualified by the Community Preservation Committee.
Supported by the Conservation and Cemetery commissions, the Historical Commission urges the voters of Harvard to approve this warrant article for the sake of the preservation of the Shaker Cemetery, a historical asset that is important to our nation, state, and town.
Joe Theriault, vice chairman
Harvard Historical Commission
