Sacred Heart Parish, Waianae, Knights of Columbus take a break from their monthly cleaning of “forgotten” Waianae cemetery. (Courtesy photo)
By Sebastian Lopez
Special to the Herald
There is an old cemetery in Waianae, off the beaten path. It is tucked away behind commercial buildings and surrounded by homes in the area. Kaupuni Place runs along the makai side. Kaupuni Street and a couple houses are north of it.
Many graves have sunk over the years and have no head stones, and so we do not know who is buried there.
Ownership of this cemetery has been a topic of conversation. Some think Sacred Heart Catholic Church holds title. Others think it is the city. Others say it is state. The general conclusion is that it is city-owned.
For about 12 years now, Council 11485 of the Knights of Columbus, anchored at Sacred Heart, has been volunteering on a monthly basis to clean up the cemetery.
With help sometimes from the Ladies Auxiliary group, or the youth group, the Knights take their lawn mowers, weed whackers, clippers and hedgers to cut the grass, trim the trees and dig up weeds. Most of the time, four to six available Knights do the job.
Many of those buried there, from as early as 1900 to as late as 2007, are from local families. Families that live or work in the area notice the Knights’ work, and have expressed their appreciation for their loved one’s last resting place being so well cared for.
This task is an ongoing one, and the Knights are very much in need of other volunteers. Anyone willing to give some of their time, can contact me, Sebastian Lopez, at sebastianjflopez@gmail.com for cleanup dates. I also have a scale map of the cemetery, plus burial lists with dates, for those who might want help identifying the graves of relatives there.
