The historic St. Matthew Cemetery was in need of major work. Residents have asked if something could be done. Weeds and grass were as high as the stones. Debris everywhere. A lack of funding was hindering cleanup plans.

Work was done in 2021, but that was after Hurricane Delta swept through the area and the storm downed several trees in the cemetery. Graves and markers for veterans from the Spanish-American War, Civil War, World War I and World War II were damaged. Vaults were demolished, gravestones lost, and human remains mixed with debris from the damaged trees.

Volunteers at the time did their best to make repairs. However, the grass and weeds continued to grow and it was impossible to find grave markers.

No one expected what happened next.

Service over self

The New Iberia Yellow Jackets football team was exhausted. They played their hearts on in a road game, a tough loss to Opelousas on Friday night. In a game that featured 61 points, the NISH Yellow Jackets rallied and scored 21 points but fell short. The bus rolled into town and unloaded the team, equipment and coaches just before midnight.

At 8 a.m., NISH football coach Josh Lierman cracked a smile despite the loss from the night before.

The historic cemetery was about to get a make-over with some serious muscle-power, as 30 players and seven coaches went to work for the day. Suddenly, community members showed up to help as well.

And the idea started the the students.

“One of our senior football players, Christian Walker, told his mom, Missy Walker, about the cemetery and wanted to know if the football team could help,” Lierman said. “Missy brought it up at a booster club meeting. I said, ‘This is an awesome idea, tell me where I have to be, and when, and we will be there.’ We have a lot of really good kids with high character.”

NISH Principal Emanuel Harding also showed up and cleaned with the coaches and players. The school Facebook page posted some photos with the caption, “Our students truly are amazing! The football team decided to spend their Saturday morning cleaning some of the weeds and grass around St. Matthew Cemetery helping to restore it. Thanks for your early morning act of service to the community.

Community pride

District 5 Council Member Deedy Johnson-Reid was also impressed as she said, “Nothing is impossible when members of the community work together to accomplish a goal!”

Johnson-Reid provided additional history about the cemetery.

St. Matthew is the oldest African American cemetery in New Iberia. It was the only place African Americans could be buried for many years. The cemetery is home to graves that are over 100 years old. It is also the final resting place for several World War I and World War II veterans. Over the years, the cemetery has had many custodians, but all of these people have since passed on. The lack of a custodian has allowed the cemetery to fall into disrepair.

“However, Saturday, over 50 community members came together to clean this historic site,” Johnson-Reid said. “The community’s efforts from last Saturday has made it possible for people to go out and visit their loved ones.”She added another cleanup event will be scheduled in the near future as the goal is to have the work completed by All Saints Day.

Lierman is in his first year coaching at New Iberia, but he is a 20-year veteran of teaching, most recently civics. It shows with the kids following his lead.

“I think the kids are buying in and they want to help with whatever they can,” Lierman said. “We had some players who couldn’t make it, but they were sincere when they told us why they couldn’t make it. They all wanted to be there.”

During the four hours, Lierman said, “They were mowing, picking up grass ,picking up limbs, all sorts of things to help clean up. When I was in school, we did things around the community. I think it’s good to give back to a community that supports you. These kids didn’t have to do this, and when I brought it up, they knew they would be tired, but they all wanted to help.”

District 2 Councilman Marlon Lewis was hard at work as well. He said the work on Saturday was 105 years overdue.

“It was amazing, it was a massive community cleanup and we got 75 percent of the work done,” Lewis said. “People will now have a way to see their loved ones. This was established 105 years ago and many old cemeteries are like that. But a lot of them have an endowment to keep them cleaned up. This one does not. Grave sites like this exist all across the state of Louisiana. People were buried at minimal to no cost. But an endowment was not set up. So now, 105 years later, we have these issues.”

Lewis added, “It was years of neglect, but it was somehow rectified on Saturday. We shared life. I enjoyed being out there. Those kids from New Iberia High School were amazing, the church volunteers were amazing … there were too many to thank.”

A letter to the editor thanking the student-athletes appears on page A6. Lierman was told Johnson-Reid had kind words.

“It’s really good for these kids to get thank you’s and appreciation,” he said. “They understand the importance of this cemetery and this really means something.”

Johnson-Reid added, “I want to thank the Sons of Kings organization, the NISH Football team and Principal Harding, Councilman Marlon Lewis, Star Pilgrim Baptist Church and all the other wonderful members of the community who came out and helped.”