Most people find the volunteering in a cemetery business off putting. Perhaps its the whole "dead people in the ground" bit that makes people nervous. But what you have to realize is that those stones not only mark where a person's final location is, but a treasure trove of genealogical information. It shows who they were, sometimes that they did, and who they were related to. In addition, it shows how they were remembered and treasured by their loved ones.
It's a shame how many of the small cemeteries around rural NY are often neglected and disappear into nature. Often it will take a group of volunteers to clear out areas to find where stones are, identify who was buried there, and get information out to people.
Having spent several dozen hours mowing and trimming around gravestones, there's a lot of work to be done to preserve the memory of loved ones.
Interestingly enough, sometimes a cemetery plot was the only land a family owned. They'd go on a day off and have a picnic in said plot.
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