SOUTH MOUNTAIN, Pa. — Before dawn Friday, someone went through Strang Cemetery knocking over 93 grave stones and shattering 110 light posts.
"It looked like a tornado set down," said Rev. Lee Daywalt, vice president of the Strang Cemetery Association. "All of the debris from the posts was in the middle of the road."
Some families have generations of ancestors buried in the cemetery.
Longtime South Mountain resident Jackie Boyd comes to visit her daughter, brother, daughter-in-law, mother-in-law and father-in-law, all buried there. When she saw the grave stones of her daughter-in-law, mother-in-law and father-in-law were overturned, she said she felt devastated.
"It`s a terrible sin," she said. "I mean why? Why would anybody do this?"
Local leaders are organizing a volunteer effort to re-raise the grave stones and pick up the debris, with several businesses donating time and materials for the cleanup. They will meet Feb. 3 to start the work.
"They pretty much stick together in this community," said Kim Cordell, a Waynesboro resident who has family in the cemetery. "It`s a small area and pretty much everybody knows everybody or are related in some way."
Daywalt is also accepting donations to help pay for the work.
Checks can be mailed to:
They can also be dropped off at the Preserving Our Heritage Museum, open Monday, Wednesday and Friday 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.
A gold Chevrolet truck equipped with two off-road lamps on the front grill was seen in the area around the time the vandalism occurred. Police are asking anyone with information about the incident to call 717-264-5161.