Hackney Cemetery needs a new fence

Florence Sikes is at again.

In her continuing mission to care for an old cemetery on Hackney Road, the 75-year-old Gibsonton resident recently obtained estimates for new fencing and needs the community to help pay for it.

"This one is badly rusted and (bowing)," Sikes said, pointing to a chain-link fence installed in 1982 and repaired several times since. "If we don't replace it, no one else will."

Estimates for the fence range from $8,000 to $11,000, and Sikes has collected more than $4,000.

Almost 125 years old, Hackney Cemetery sits alongside the perfectly manicured, much larger Serenity Meadows Memorial Park in a quiet neighborhood off Providence and Hackney roads.

Over the years, residents who have family members interred there have relied on themselves and the generosity of others to maintain the eight-acre burial ground, which they say is the responsibility of Serenity Meadows.

"As you know, (Hackney) is an abandoned cemetery, (which comes under the county's auspices)," said Michael Bonner, general manager of Serenity Meadows Memorial Park, Funeral Home and Crematory. "Our obligation is really to maintain its dignity."

Bonner said Serenity Meadows has a recently renewed an agreement with Hillsborough County Parks, Recreation & Conservation to coordinate burials and keep records of the people interred at the site, some of whom were Civil War veterans.

"We do the best we can," he said. "We are obligated to mow and provide general maintenance, as needed. We mow about every other week," he said.

But that's not enough, community volunteers say.

"During the summer, when it rains every day, the Bahia grass grows so high you have to trudge through it, just to get to the grave sites," said Bobby Ward of Riverview. "I come by about twice a week to pick up flags and trash.

"They mow their property every week, but they skip Hackney," Ward continued. "I was there this morning, and it still hadn't been mowed, even though Serenity was mowed last week. The two cemeteries should be maintained the same way."

Sikes said more than 1,000 people are buried at Hackney. All of its lots are purchased.

"This cemetery isn't abandoned because I'm still around," she said. "I have 13 family members buried in this cemetery, including Mama and Daddy, and I'll be here too someday. My tombstone's over there.

"I want Hackney to look like Serenity."

Every year, Sikes hosts a community clean-up at the cemetery on the first Saturday in November. This year's event will be from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Nov. 6. If you would like to help, bring a pair of gloves and just show up, or you may call (813) 677-7606.

And if you'd like to make a donation to help Sikes pay for the fence, send a check earmarked for the Hackney Cemetery Trust Fund to Sunshine State Federal Savings & Loan, 7459 U.S. 301 S., Riverview FL 33578.