A group of 29 volunteers spent Saturday cleaning the historic Miller Grove Cemetery in Pope County.
The U.S. Forest Service reports it had been 11 years since the cemetery had been cleared of brush and small saplings.
Before getting started volunteers enjoyed a brief introduction given by Heather Carey, Forest Archaeologist about African American settlement Miller Grove and the cemetery.
21 of the volunteers were SIU students from Sigma Phi Sigma -- the mortuary sciences business fraternity -- three from Backcountry Horseman, two from the Shawnee Trail Conservancy, 1 R-R Trail Society member and 1 individual from the Shawnee Mountain Bike Association.
The Forest Service says the vegetation removal will assist subsurface mapping using above ground technology being done in cooperation with the SIU graduate program.
