Published: September 19, 2006 01:27 pm            

Cemetery monuments fixed by North Tonawanda youth

Acacia Park Cemetery in Pendleton has some sparkling monuments due to the help of a young North Tonawanda man.

Thomas Rozborski, 17, worked on the Masonic Chairs and Altar during June. The monuments were re-dedicated Monday afternoon at the cemetery in front of a group of Masons. Rozborski’s name now adorns a plaque on the refurbished altar.

Rozborski fixed the chairs and altar as part of his project to become an Eagle Scout. Rozborski is a member of Boy Scout troop 431, of St. Leo the Great Church in Amherst.

Rozborski, along with family members and friends, spent a weekend in June sanding, scraping and re-painting the monuments. It was a lot of work, Rozborski said.

“I called up cemeteries and Acacia responded energetically,” Rozborski said.

Rozborski, a student at St. Joseph’s Collegiate Institute in Kenmore, was touched by the response of the Masons in attendance.

“It’s amazing,” Rozborski said. “Right now, it’s an overwhelming feeling.”

Rozborski had no shortage of options for his Eagle Scout project, said Patricia Young, Acacia Park Cemetery Director of Family Services.

“I said, ‘Well, we have 34 features, pick one,” Young said.

Richard Vaughn, Acacia Park sales manager and Mason member of Tonawanda Lodge No. 247, spoke about what the re-dedication meant. He noted Acacia Park Cemetery was originally a Masonic cemetery. The chairs and altar are representative of what exists in a Masonic lodge.

“We’re trying to get back to our roots here at the cemetery,” Vaughn said.

The Masons in attendance were paying proper tribute to Rozborski’s work, Vaughn said. Rozborski showcases a lot of the Masonic principles, such as dedication, honor and integrity, he said.

“Thank God we have young people like him,” Vaughn said.

Contact Phil Dzikiy at 693-1000, Ext. 114.

        

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