UNIONDALE — It’s 7:30 a.m. and CSEA members working at the Town of Hempstead’s Greenfield Cemetery are beginning their shift.
After taking a few moments to put on their protective equipment, the crew begins a long day of mentally and physically draining work.
The workers are responsible for burying the dead and maintaining the grounds for all 156 acres of the cemetery. That task is lofty enough during normal times, but when the COVID-19 pandemic hit Long Island, our members’ workdays became even more intense.
Members prepare a grave for the next burial.
At the height of the pandemic, members labored through 10 to 12-hour workdays. There was little time for rest with 20 burials per day and preparing the ground for another 20 burials the following day.
There was one point when Greenfield Cemetery workers buried 140 people in the span of two weeks. That is a huge jump from the average four or five burials a day, before the pandemic.
Because the town never placed a cap on the number of funerals that could be held in a day, or the number of visitors in the cemetery, it was not uncommon to see long lines of cars in the cemetery waiting for burials to begin.
There was one burial that had more than 120 cars, which created a traffic issue on cemetery grounds.
With that workload, members had no choice but to call in their fellow CSEA members in the Town of Hempstead Parks Department, who cut the grass, and the town highway department, who provided extra dump trucks.
Further complicating an already difficult situation, our members had to figure out ways to follow social distancing guidelines while respecting the families of the deceased.
“The families are being instructed to stay in the car while our members are at the gravesite in order to decrease exposure,” said CSEA Town of Hempstead President Theresa “Terry” Kohutka. “I spent a couple of days with our members at the cemetery and I couldn’t believe how difficult their job is.”
Members act as pallbearers and carry a casket to the gravesite.
Unit members say that the families of the deceased don’t always stay in their cars, so they try to finish their duties as quickly as possible, which allows families to have a service while our members keep a healthy distance.
Normally the Town of Hempstead would only bury town residents. During the height of the pandemic, the town agreed to allow residents to buy a two-person plot in order to bury a family member from out of town.
Unit members say their dedication stems from wanting to do their best to help people who are living through a time of grief.
“We’re here for the families all of the time, not just during the pandemic,” said Greenfield Cemetery Worker Chris Umhafer. “People don’t know what we go through.”
“There may be eight burials in December, but we’re digging through three feet of snow,” said Umhafer.
“Under those conditions a family may cancel on us, but we never cancel on them. It doesn’t matter what time of year it is, or the circumstances. We’re here six days a week doing our part to help the community.”
— Wendi Bowie
