Wyandotte’s historic Oakwood Cemetery shows signs of vandalism by a pickup that was driven on the soft ground the first full week of February, digging ruts in the grass in what may have been an attempt to remove items in and around the storage shed.
By SUE SUCHYTA
Sunday Times Newspapers
WYANDOTTE – Historic Oakwood Cemetery, near Ford and Biddle avenues, was vandalized in early February by the driver of a red pickup who rutted the grass driving to the storage shed.
The ground was soft due to warmer temperatures at the time, and the driver may have been attracted to an older, non-functional riding mower parked outside of the cemetery’s storage shed.
Wyandotte Oakwood Cemetery Association Vice President Dan Galeski said the pickup became stuck in the muddy ground and created more ruts trying to get free.
He said the cemetery is a historical site and is not locked up to allow the public to enter freely.
Wyandotte Oakwood Cemetery Association President Mary-Johna Wein said that when the truck became stuck in the mud, some nearby donated brick paver stones, which border trees in the cemetery, were used to try to improve the pickup’s traction, but were broken by the weight of the vehicle.
She said the person appeared to have moved a wood panel on the shed to look inside it, but discovered that only shovels are stored within.
Wein said the outdoor surveillance cameras at the police station south of the cemetery did not capture any footage of the vandalizing pickup.
She said it will probably take six to eight volunteer hours to repair the ruts left by the vehicle once the weather is warmer.
Wein said the red pickup driver may have decided to get out of the cemetery after freeing the vehicle from the mud, deciding not to push their luck by taking the broken riding lawnmower left outside the shed.
She said the vehicle left a damaged tire on the cemetery grounds as well.
“I wouldn’t mess with the spirits in Oakwood,” Wein said.
