Manatee County won't bury its history during Heritage Days.

Michelle Leahy, a Manatee County volunteer specialist for Parks and Natural Resources, wasn't doing some kind of ritualist dance before she started cleaning gravestones March 12 at the Rye historical burial grounds.

It sure looked like it, though, as she was twisting and turning, her hands running over her arms, face and neck.

She had walked through a spider web.

Obviously, the graveyard, on the Rye Settlement Trail in Rye Preserve, doesn't get a lot of visitors.

Despite the icky encounter with the spider web, Leahy was thrilled to be back at the cemetery. She had started the Rye Cemetery Preservation and Beautification project four years ago as part of Manatee Heritage Days that runs the entire month of March. Last year's cemetery preservation event was the last Heritage Days event before COVID-19 shut everything down.

Being able to run the program for a fifth consecutive year — even if everyone had to wear a mask — was a victory in itself for Leahy.

Only three volunteers showed up to join Leahy and Sara Alvarez, an eduction and volunteer specialist for Manatee County, but the cemetery work would be completed, even if it took a little longer. Usually about a dozen volunteers participate.

"Despite the number, the impact will be the same," Alvarez said.

Parrish's Linda Wiedemmyer, who comes every year to volunteer with the project, was one of the three volunteers. She knew just what to do when arriving, as she grabbed a bottle of the soft cleaning solution Leahy had mixed and began spraying a headstone. She then gently rubbed off the lichens and fungi which make the lettering on the headstones harder to read.

"This is great for the people doing it and it's great for preserving history," Wiedemmyer said. "It's wonderful people will try to preserve it and keep it from falling into ruin."

The cemetery dates back to the 1800s and several of the 13 graves were children.

Leahy was working on a headstone.

JOSEPH B. RYE

DEC. 2, 1868 

APRIL 21, 1875

AT REST

While the event is somewhat of a work detail, it also serves as a historical tour. Leahy is passionate about the area's history and she doubles as a tour guide during the event. She explained how access to medicine was limited in the 1800s so children would succumb to disease.

The group met on Rye Wilderness Trail where the Rye Settlement Trail begins. A short, pretty hike of about a quarter of a mile leads back to the cemetery.

Leahy began talking about the area's history as the group walked to the site.

Wiedemmyer went off the path and picked some weeds. Leahy explained it was Caesar's weed, an invasive species that chokes out other vegetation. It was named because it is shaped like Caesar's shield.

While Leahy said she was not a Girl Scout, she puts together many similar events all over the county so she is familiar with the vegetation.

After shedding the spider and its web, Leahy took photos of all the headstones and footstones. She noted that for the area, it was common for families to use both head and foot stones to honor their family members who had died.

She explained the photos are to record before and after condition of the stones. She then passed out the solution.

"I think we will get a lot done today," she said.

Besides Wiedemmyer, the other volunteers were East County's Laurel Audet and Sarasota's Lisa Ulrich. The event is sponsored by the Florida Public Archaeology Network. Manatee Heritage Days is in its 42nd year and is supported by the Manatee County Clerk of Circuit Court's Department of Historical Resources.

"The fact we could do this (during the pandemic) is a sign of resiliency," Leahy said.