Storm damage to Northview Cemetery took a toll on the trees that for decades shaded the final resting place for many Cedartown and Polk County residents.

Now as Many as 40 new plantings will be going into the cemetery in the coming months to replace what trees were blown down in a late March 2021 storm.

Cedartown City Manager Edward Guzman noted during his report during the Cedartown City Commission meeting on October 11 that thanks to the efforts of a local resident and arborist Roger Cauthen who helped the city find this opportunity.

Cedartown was selected as a Georgia Relief Community, and is set to get a $7,500 grant to pay for new saplings to go into the ground as well as organizing a volunteer event for planting.

“The plan will be to plant at least 40 trees -probably more – near The front section of the cemetery,” Guzman said

He said the city expects to plan an event around Arbor Day in 2023.

City Commissioner Sam Branch – an employee at Olin Gammage & Sons Funeral Home -said he was personally glad to see trees returning so that future generations who go to visit loved ones will one day be able to enjoy the shade of trees over their final resting places.

“I spend probably more time than anyone in here in Northview Cemetery, and my feelings were greatly hurt when the storm came through” he said. “It’s Mother Nature. there’s not a lot that we can do about it. However, we have a right to work on finding solutions on going back in and make that hopefully back beautiful to the way it was

An announcement about the event and opportunities to get involved will be forthcoming, Guzman said in his report.

Depending on which Arbor Day the city chooses to celebrate. the state of Georgia has Arbor Day in mid-February annually, while nationally it is held in late April.

A whole swath of trees and buildings took a hit from a storm in March 2021, including a number of old trees which used to stand in front of Northview Cemetery across from the campuses of Cedartown High School and Westside Elementary.

Some of those trees which blew down on property next door to the cemetery remain where they lay as of Tuesday afternoon.