Fifteen-year-old Christensen Porter of Marion went looking for an Eagle Scout project and he couldn't have found one in a more remote location - an abandoned cemetery deep in a wilderness thicket off Grapevine Trail Road that connects Anna and Cairo.

"Grandpa has property near there and we found it," Porter said about a cemetery with gravestones dating back to the mid-1800s.

Located about a mile off a single-lane blacktop road, the cemetery was in desperate need of a cleanup and some restora-tion work. And more importantly, some kind of documentation about the graveyard's existence needed because there was none, according to an inquiry Porter made to Cairo Public Library.

After getting permission from property owner Jimmie Williams who remembered the cemetery's last refurbishing oc-curring in the 1960s by a group (possibly college students) doing civic projects, Porter got to work.

With help from his father, Robert Porter, and others, the Life Scout from Egyptian District Troop 7021 in Marion de-tailed a plan to refurbish the cemetery. Once that was completed, he wanted to complete the project by documenting all grave locations using a Global Positioning System that could aid future survey and research work.

A huge project challenge was finding a sponsor in the form of an organization or business that was responsible for a final seal of approval when the project was done. Porter had to go no further than The Genealogy Society of Southern Illinois at John A. Logan College.

"We are really pleased he sought us out," said society President Mike Brush.

Porter's work and documentation will be published in future newsletters and other quarterly reports the society pub-lishes, said past society president Jeanette O'Boyle,

"This work is invaluable for people looking for ancestors," O'Boyle said, noting something she heard from director Mike Jones of the General John A. Logan Museum in Murphysboro, who said cemeteries are sometimes the only proof someone actually existed.

"When you get back in the 1800s, it's surprising that so many of the people who died were children," she said.

After eight months of back-breaking work with help from about 75 volunteers, Porter finished his project. He got a grateful seal of approval from the genealogy society and project acceptance from area Boy Scout district officials.

Porter said he remembers hauling cement bags more than a mile up a ridge to rebuild memorial stone foundations. He remembers frustrating delays in project work because of weather. His ears still ring from the massive amount of chainsaw work required to clear tree debris.

He's also aware with the help of Boy Scout officials, his father and all who volunteered, that he's achieved something extraordinary that will benefit many.

"I feel pretty good about it," Porter said about his project.

scott.fitzgerald@thesouthern.com

618-351-5076