04/27/2023
April 25, 2023
By Deacon Kevin Cody Superintendent of Holy Cross Cemetery and Mount Calvary Cemetery
For years at Holy Cross Cemetery on Gilcreast Road in Londonderry, NH we have been struggling to manage a problem with Asiatic Bittersweet and Poison Ivy that have been growing throughout the cemetery especially along some of our beautiful stone walls.
We have tried to control it ourselves by w**ding and pruning but considering the type of w**ds this can turn into a very itchy situation that none of our employees wanted to deal with. We have in the past few years turned to commercial applications of vegetation control but alas this too was not successful. Plus, this wasn’t the most ecological solution for our problems.
This year at Holy Cross Cemetery we are going to manage the aggressive, invasive species of Bittersweet and Poison Ivy by getting to root of the problem. We have turned to our Friends Kelly and Josh from Broken Boat Farm in Henniker NH.
I had seen a post on social media about them last fall: “We specialize in removing difficult and irritating vegetation such as bittersweet, poison ivy and brambles. If you need to reclaim some of your land from Mother Nature call and rent your Goats.”
Goats, huh, who would have thought. I don’t know who is the Public Relations company for the Goat Union, when we think of Biblical references the goats can sometimes have a bad rap. “And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.” Matthew 25: 32-33 But when you need a tough job that no one else wants we turn to the Goats.
I was immediately intrigued and hopeful by their advertisement that we could finally find the right solution to our invasive w**ds. I was willing to look outside the box and overlook their biblical attributes.
When I first arrived to meet them at the cemetery, these workers of Goat Union Local Shop 33, were on their mandatory lunch break. Lucky for me I was supplying the lunch and they were not fooling around. They certainly knew their business.
I was introduced to Vincent VanGoat who is daddy goat, father to Michael Angelgoat, Wayne Goatzky, Goat Simmons, Hermione Grazer, and Carl Whether (Pic on the rock wall) Mama is the mama to all of them. Abigail Baaadams, Tiny Elvis and A Doe named Bob who joined the herd last year.
Even after Vincent Vangoat bit my finger, I was willing to take a chance on this motley crew. I even patted Vincent on his head then Kelly gave me a Witchhazel wipe to clean my hands, I had forgotten that Vincent Vangoat had been in the Poison Ivy. Carl Weather posed for me with Kelly on the wall while the rest of the crew grumbled about being left to the task at hand.
The use of goats to help out in w**d control isn’t new, in fact many different cemeteries throughout the country have used this for difficult w**d control and terrain issues. Kelly from Broken Boat Farms told me that they are working on permits to employ their newest workers, a group of Finn sheep that will be working at the Manchester Solar Site this season once the final permit is secured.
Once the goats are done munching and partaking in the vegetation Kelly and Josh will be hard at work removing the branches and shoots that are left behind. The land next to the front wall on Gilcreast Road will be used for Burial Spaces that will be available for purchase. The biggest impact will be once again exposing the beautiful wall to this country side cemetery in Londonderry NH.
The Crew of 10 Goats will be with us for a couple of weeks, Holy Cross will be providing all lunch and tasty afternoon snacks for this dedicated group of Union Workers. Sorry Kelly and Josh as owners you’re not part of the union agreement.
I will be posting pictures as we continue this project, I look forward to seeing the covered stone walls once again be exposed.
