What: Seven Star Cemetery flag pole dedication
When: Noon Friday, Feb. 22
Where: Seven Star Cemetery, 1875 N. 14th St. in Temple
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What: Gospel Music ‘extravaganza’
When: 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 23
Where: Greater Zion Church of God in Christ, 808 E. Central Ave. in Temple
Note: Dinner will cost $6 per plate
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The accomplishments of the veterans who rest in once-neglected Seven Star Cemetery will be honored at last. The Al Edwards Juneteenth Association Chapter 111 will dedicate three flag poles at the Seven Star Cemetery to honor those, especially the veterans, who are buried in this historically African American cemetery.
The ceremony, featuring numerous local and state dignitaries, begins at noon on Friday at the cemetery, 1875 North 14th St.
The dedication is part of the Juneteenth group’s Black History Month observances to recognize and honor the accomplishments of local African Americans. Of the documented veterans buried there are Lig J. Clark, Spanish-American War( see related story page 3E and online at www.temple-telegram.com); and Wallie Johnson and Will Young, who both served in World War I. Juneteenth volunteers estimate about 20 veterans are buried in unmarked graves.
Located at the corner of East Shell and North 14th Street, Seven Star is a 1.4 acre narrow tract running parallel to the Union Pacific Railway tracks. For many years, head-high weeds and thick brush covered the head stones.
Mayor Bill Jones III will present a proclamation, and State Rep. Al Edwards of Houston is expected to attend. A Fort Hood color guard will present the colors. The band and buglers from 1st Cav, Fort Hood, will play the National Anthem and Taps. Juneteenth Association president Susan Peoples will be mistress of ceremonies.
Also on the program will be the Rev. U.C. Barnes, prayers; Genevieve Gregg, history; and the Juneteenth queens. In case of rain, the ceremony will be moved to the Wilson Park Recreation Center.
On Saturday, a gospel music “extravaganza” will begin at 4 p.m. in the Greater Zion Church of God in Christ, 808 East Central Ave., to raise money for cemetery upkeep and improvements. Food and refreshments will also be sold.
The cemetery now has three donated flagpoles at the cemetery’s northwest corner for the U.S., Texas and specially designed Juneteenth flags. Billy Bachmayer of Temple Iron and Metal Co. donated the poles.
Documenting the historically African American cemetery has been difficult because so many graves are unmarked. In July 1997, volunteers and friends of the Temple Ward, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, cleaned, surveyed and mapped the cemetery. They concluded that 480 were interred there, but that only 87 had legible markers. Later surveys estimated more than 90 burials.
By the next season, the brush and weeds had returned and the cemetery lay hidden. In the subsequent decade of neglect, more stones were damaged. Then, beginning in 2004, volunteers with the Al Edwards Juneteenth Association of Temple began cleaning and documenting the cemetery as part of its historical preservation efforts.
Now that the volunteers have been keeping it mowed and trimmed, Juneteenth volunteers are now trying to record the people buried there.
Seven Star Cemetery has had numerous names throughout its history: Evergreen, MKT Cemetery, Temple Negro Cemetery, among a few. Records held at nearby Hillcrest Cemetery indicated that the cemetery may have been named Seven Star, to symbolize the seven stars of the Big Dipper and the North Star that helped guide slaves to their freedom before the close of the War Between the States. The group formally adopted the name in 2005.
The Juneteenth Association also dedicated an official Texas Historical Marker and Historic Cemetery Designation Medallion in 2006.
