This past Sunday, the Wake Forest University varsity baseball team visited Historic Odd Fellows Cemetery for the third consecutive year. With support from a Leadership and Character Departmental Grant received last spring, the team helped clear brush and overgrowth from the 13-acre cemetery and participated in a redesigned tour exploring its history through the lens of leadership and character.
The baseball team plays at The Couch, just across the street from the cemetery, and has become a committed volunteer partner. While most groups volunteer for one or two hours, the team contributes four to five hours during each annual visit, making a significant impact on the site. Because the team visits each fall, its members often face the accumulated growth of the summer—and plenty of brush to remove.
Designed by Dr. Brock, the tour focused on the tradition of community-based leadership embodied by the cemetery. That tradition can be seen in its founding by local African American chapters of the Grand United Order of Odd Fellows, in the accomplishments and contributions of the people buried there, and in the ongoing work of the Friends of Odd Fellows Cemetery.
Together, these stories present a model of leadership grounded in respect, responsibility, compassion, and care: recognizing the humanity of others, accepting responsibility as a member of a community, responding to people who are suffering, and joining with others in ethical acts of care. The tour invited participants to reflect on these principles and consider how they might apply them in their own lives.
The tour also placed the cleanup within a broader context. By showing up to support their community, the players made the day about more than raking leaves and pulling weeds. Their work was an act of stewardship—and an expression of ethical care for a place and its history, and a sign of respect to the over 9,000 people buried in that cemetery.
We are grateful to the team for giving part of its weekend to support our research and restoration efforts at Odd Fellows Cemetery. We look forward to returning the favor this spring!
Interested in bringing your group to Odd Fellows Cemetery to explore leadership through history, service, and reflection? Contact CHARG to learn more about arranging a program. We also have regularly scheduled weekend Cleanups that you can register for on our GivePulse Page.
