The hundreds of motorists who drive past North Side Cemetery on North Main Street Hill every day, as well as those who walk the cemetery for exercise, might never have noticed that nary a blade of grass is out of place at the well-kept property.

That state of affairs doesn’t happen by magic, and the dedicated brothers who respect those lying in eternal rest at the property by keeping it as neat as a pin have been recognized for their work.

With a combined 90-plus years experience caring for the cemetery, brothers Merle and Ron Ealy found their images on Page 1 of the Sunday edition of the Butler Eagle.

In the interesting tale by staff writer Eddie Trizzino, readers learned that Merle began his work at the cemetery when he graduated from high school 56 years ago, and his brother Ron signed on 20 years after that.

Merle said in the late 1960s when he started at the cemetery, the grass was cut using a push mower, and the fringe of encroaching grass around each of the hundreds of tombstones was trimmed with a hand clipper.

Merle even cares for his own grave plot and stone, which the cemetery association gave him after 50 years of employment.

Today, riding mowers, weed whackers and leaf blowers make the job more convenient, but the Ealy brothers are no less diligent about keeping the cemetery in good shape.

The Butler Eagle commends the Ealys for their dedication to the family members of our county’s residents who are buried at North Side Cemetery.

Visiting a relative in a cemetery is a difficult task, but is made slightly less harrowing if the late loved one rests in a beautiful, well-maintained setting.

Hats off to Merle and Ron Ealy, and we wish them many more years on this side of the ground at North Side Cemetery.

— PG