You would have a hard time finding a more beautiful and picturesque gravesite than Riverview’s Hackney Cemetery, and that’s just the way Florence Sikes likes it.
Sikes formed the Hackney Cemetery Trust Inc. in 1995 and since then the retired real estate broker has devoted a good deal of her time and energy to enlisting the help of volunteers to help keep the cemetery in pristine condition.
Once a year Sikes leads a team of volunteers — including a contingent from Team Depot, a volunteer group from Riverview’s Home Depot — to the graveyard to make sure it is spruced up, cutting back trees where needed, pulling up weeds and, just in time for Veterans Day, placing flags.
On a brisk Saturday morning, Nov. 1, there’s nowhere Sikes would rather be, paying respect to those who helped build the Riverview and Gibsonton communities into what they are today because, for Sikes, it’s all about respect.
“When it gets bad, I can’t stand it,” said Sikes, a diminutive woman with a sparkplug personality who by force of will has made the cleanup a success. “Since I was a child [her family] would get together and meet at the graveyard to clean it up. It breaks my heart when they look terrible. These people [who are buried here] are the pioneers. There are even some graves here from people who fell in the Civil War.”
When the graveyard, which had only a dirt road when she started, needed to be paved properly, “I had no problem collecting the money [$25,000] to do it,” said Sikes, a Gibsonton resident.
Tractor trailers would also use the graveyard as a parking lot in the past. She helped put a stop to that. “J.B. Gordon started a trust account when he was caretaker, and I started collecting money,” said Sikes, whose mom and dad and 11 other relatives are buried in the cemetery. Not only did those funds help pay for a new paved road but also a new chainlink fence.
Sikes’ commitment to cleaning up the cemetery brooks no sentiment. She said: “People are afraid to take off old flowers from graves. But if they are old and ugly, I will take them off. If you don’t like it, put some new ones on the grave.”
Peggy Speece of Riverview has been part of the cemetery cleanup for five years, and she said it’s especially important that the cleanup comes near Veterans Day.
“There are lots of veterans here who we honor,” Speece said. “There are also a lot of people who are buried here whose families are no longer here, so somebody’s got to take care of it.”
Although she has no family members buried at Hackney, Speece still returns every year. “It just gives you a good feeling to help those that can’t help themselves,” she said.
Sikes’ son, Mason Sikes Jr. of Riverview, was busy planting 133 large American flags on graves at Hackney on Saturday morning. Sikes’ mom has a sign near the graveyard asking those interested to help or donate to the cleanup effort. Those donations helped pay for the flags.
Mason Sikes Jr. said, “I think it’s important to keep it clean for the people who are here and for their families. It’s respect for people who are no longer with us. When we first came here and started burying our kin, it was a disaster. Serenity Meadows wasn’t here then. It was just Hackney and we just wanted to do it, to clean it up so it looked better.”
Pitching in, wearing their distinctive orange shirts, were members of Team Depot. They were busy doing everything from weeding to cutting down overgrown branches. They also supplied plenty of hot coffee and doughnuts on the chilly morning.
“Home Depot has been fantastic,” Sikes said. She said they “bring herbicide for the weeds” and all types of good supplies.
Debi Dolonbach, a team member from Riverview and a 20-year Home Depot employee, led the group of 10 Team Depot volunteers at the cleanup.
“We are here to show our support for the community,” Dolonbach said. “We always come out to help the community if we can give them a hand.”
The event holds a special significance for Dolonbach because, she said, “This is the heart of Riverview, where the majority of the people are buried and if you just look around and see everyone that comes out, it just shows a great support for the community.” She is right. The cleanup crew totaled some 40 volunteers.
Team Depot has been helping community groups with civic projects for more than 20 years. The group has also helped with parks and recreation projects, and with school projects.
To help or donate to the cleanup effort, call Florence Sikes at 813-677-7606.
For information on Team Depot or to seek help with a community project, call 813-664-0042 or 813-246-5714.