sterlingmade Summer 2026

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LEGACY

Restoring Dignity

Volunteers give back to those who came before by repairing and cleaning gravesites

O n a quiet acre sandwiched between neigh borhood streets, trees cast shade over weathered stones that tell the earliest stories of Sterling Heights — farmers, immigrants and families whose lives shaped the land long before subdivisions. Here at Sterling Grove Cemetery, history isn’t printed on the pages of a book. It can be touched. Each year, the Sterling Heights Historical Com mission invites residents to do exactly that through its Gravestone Cleaning Work shop — a hands-on pro gram blending preservation and community service. “It’s a unique experi ence. You have to have an appreciation for the past,” said commission member Cynthia Appleton, who now leads the class. “Histo ry becomes so real when you can actually touch it.” Participants begin with a walking tour of the cemetery, learning about the people buried there and examining the crafts manship etched into each marker before rolling up their sleeves.

said. “People who attend really feel like they’re do ing something greater.” The annual event is open to all ages, and Cyn thia has been pleasantly surprised by the diversity of volunteers — from old er generations wanting to learn how to properly care for relatives’ graves to high school students awestruck by Sterling Grove’s incredi ble history. “We know a lot about the people in that ceme tery — there are many oral histories on file,” Cynthia said. Though Sterling Heights

was established in 1968, Sterling Grove dates back to 1878. Through its gravestones, the stories of roughly 160 people can be pieced together — an enchanting historical puz zle Cynthia hopes leaves a lasting impression on participants. “I hope people feel a reverence for what came before and an appreci ation for the depth of history,” Cynthia said. “I get the question all the time: ‘Is there any history in Sterling Heights?’ I think you have to be interested in who these people were.” In recent years, Cynthia noted, participants often linger — making progress on multiple markers and even asking to return on their own. In a city that continues to grow and change, those quiet hours among the stones offer a reminder that Sterling Heights’ story did not begin with subdivisions, but with the names etched into granite beneath the trees. The next Gravestone Cleaning Workshop will take place June 20 from 10 a.m. to noon.

“We teach them how to clean a gravestone properly using the correct equipment and supplies,” said Tammy Turgeon, library director and ad ministrative liaison to the commission. “It’s a way for people to give back to their community and learn something new.” The workshop origi nated nearly a decade ago, when a University of Michigan – Flint profes sor trained commission members in restoration techniques. “It just turned into such a nice thing to do,” Cynthia

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