COOPERSVILLE, Mich — Storms caused damage all over West Michigan Tuesday night, from downed power lines to flying debris, but the Coopersville Polkton Cemetery got hit harder than most places.
Dozens of downed trees make it the worst damage Karen Laug has ever seen. She's visited the cemetery throughout her whole life, and has been the board chair person for 10 years. She said when she saw the state of the cemetery it brought her to tears.
“If somebody gets their house damaged from a tree coming down that’s worse than this," she says, "but this hurts. I hated to lose that tree, it was a beautiful tree.”
She's referring to a specific sycamore that stood at least 40 feet tall. Laug says falling trees are a risk the cemetery knows well, but when trees fall in a cemetery, they do it in a specific way.
"They always fall between the stones," she says. Laug calls it a sign of respect, and it shows – very few headstones or grave markers were damaged.
For the repairs that do need to happen, Laug says insurance will cover it. The tree, that's a different story.
“We clean it up, we’ll cut them down, we might have to plant new ones – I don’t know, we’ll have to talk about that,” Laug says. "It'll cost thousands."
While the fallen trees are being removed, the front gates will be closed to cars, but walkers are still welcome to visit.
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