‘They took everything': Volunteers devastated after major theft at N.S. cemetery
A community centre in East Stewiacke, N.S., has had thousands of dollars worth of equipment stolen.
Volunteers at Pine Grove Cemetery in East Stewiacke, N.S., say they feel heartbroken and violated after discovering nearly all of their maintenance equipment was stolen in an overnight break-in.
The cemetery's main equipment shed was targeted sometime at night on June 18. The thieves forced their way past a door lock and a steel gate to get inside.
'They pried this first lock off, and then the steel gate,' said Diane Smith, the cemetery's secretary and treasurer. 'They tried to pry it open but couldn't. The lock is hidden, so it looks like they used a battery grinder to cut it. They left shavings at the bottom of the steel door.'
Once inside, Smith said, the thieves made off with nearly everything.
'They just removed a two-year-old John Deere tractor with a mulching deck, another John Deere with a mulching deck, but it was older, two Stihl whippers, a pole saw that cleaned out parts of our headstone jack system,' she said. 'There was 520 litres of gas and two 10s, and I had just filled them—$130 for the lot.'
The only items left behind were a plank—likely used to load the tractors—and tire marks on the ground.
'They left the plank lying there… plain as day. It's like they left an invitation saying, 'We robbed you,'' said Danny Lake, a long-time volunteer. 'When we saw the lock and swung the doors open, I'd done a lot of cursing and swearing. It wasn't nice.'
Lake, who helps maintain the cemetery grounds weekly, said the theft was more than just financial—it felt personal.
'Anybody that would come into a cemetery and take what they took…has no feelings,' he said. 'If your parents are in this graveyard, or someone you love rests in this graveyard, you have no feelings for them.'
Pine Grove Cemetery is home to 3,215 graves and is maintained entirely by volunteers. It runs solely on donations and does not carry insurance, something Smith says they simply can't afford.
'We don't get a lot,' she said. 'I've spent since 2007 trying to make this a beautiful place: painting the doors, putting siding on, making sure our headstones are straight and clean.'
The stolen equipment was essential for upkeep. Grass mowing typically takes two full days every week, with trimming done twice a month.
'When it comes to being used here, it's very important,' Smith said. 'The grass has to be cut. It's not just about how it looks. It's about honouring the people who are here.'
'I do this and volunteer because I have feelings,' Lake said. 'One day, I'll be in one of these. And I'm hoping someone will volunteer to take care of my grave. Make it look nice for me.'
This is the third break-in the cemetery has experienced in recent years, but Smith said this one is by far the worst.
'In the one before, they broke into the other building and stole pry bars, a shovel, gas, and then spun one of the headstones around on its base,' she said.
The RCMP is investigating, and volunteers are now offering a $1,500 reward for any information that could lead to an arrest or the return of the stolen gear.
Smith says the emotional toll has been overwhelming.
'I can't sleep,' she said. 'I keep thinking of how we can find the stuff.'
'The only thing I could say to anybody that broke in here: just bring the stuff back,' Lake said. 'Leave it in the middle of the night so we don't see. We don't care. Just bring it back to us.
'No questions. You bring the stuff back to us—no questions. We'll be glad to get it back.'
Cemetery volunteers have launched an online fundraiser to buy new equipment.
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