An unlikely collaboration: Cemetery system helps high school

By Tanya Connor
The Catholic Free Press

WORCESTER – In a collaboration of Catholic institutions, the St. John’s Cemetery System dug a trench for outdoor lighting at St. Paul Diocesan Jr./Sr. High School.

The school wanted the lights in its upper parking lot wired permanently, explained Nathan Schroeder, diocesan director of facilities. He said the underground feed from the school building to the light pole hadn’t worked in years. New lights had been installed and powered by a portable gas generator for the Celebrate Priesthood gala there last fall, but it wasn’t practical to have school staff members manually power up the generator for multiple occasions, he said.

He figured the cemetery system had the expertise and equipment to dig a trench for a new underground feed from the football field press box. So, why hire outside vendors?

“I just thought it was a good example of us cooperating,” he said. “The school employees and the cemetery employees are all diocesan employees. … The guys working will get paid.” They would just use some of their cemetery work time at the school. And the school would save about $2,000.

Mr. Schroeder said he talked about the possibility with George DiLorenzo, cemetery system director.

Mr. DiLorenzo told The Catholic Free Press he wanted to help the school; they “worked in collaboration” and the cemetery system did not charge anything.

 He said Matthew Deeds dug a 270 x 2-foot, 18-inch-deep trench from the press box to the parking lot with a cemetery backhoe. He himself helped Richard Martel shovel sand into the trench for the new feed.

Mr. Schroeder said an outside contractor – Morse Bros. of Westminster – installed the feed and hooked up the lights. Cemetery personnel were to fill in the trench this week.