Peyton Kenny, a senior at Trenton High School, presented a community project to the City Council Nov. 24 detailing an effort to restore more than 100 veterans' headstones at Bloomdale Cemetery.
Kenny said she originally estimated about 70 veteran headstones but found "a little over a 100" during the project. She credited sponsors and partners — the Enforcers Motorcycle Club, Expert Heating & Cooling (Mister Angelotti), Trenton Sons Allegiance (which provided flags) and Elliot's Bakery (which provided donuts and hot chocolate) — and thanked city staff (water hookups and recycling/trash bins) and volunteer leader Kevin Sargent. "We dug him out a little bit to be able to read it... and we cleaned him up, and we honored him," she told council while showing before-and-after photos of cleaned markers.
Council members praised the project for honoring veterans and engaging students. The presentation noted about 30 student volunteers, several out-of-town exchange students, cold-weather working conditions (around 40°F) and specific cases where markers were uncovered and made legible again. The council applauded the youth-led community service and encouraged similar projects in the future.