Monday, August 19th 2013, 6:47 pm
Loved ones of people buried in a neglected cemetery in northeast Oklahoma City hope to restore the burial site to its former glory.
The Trice Hill Cemetery has clumps of cut grass everywhere and overgrown weeds, along with piles of dirt.
"We didn't notice the deplorable conditions out here," says Claybra Selmon, who realized how bad it had become since she buried her husband Lee Roy Selmon at Trice Hill in September of 2011.
Lee Roy Selmon played defensive lineman for the Sooners and had a Hall of Fame career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. His grave sits on an area that is a far cry from the manicured fields he once graced as a player.
"I remember this cemetery being a beautiful place," says Claybra, who was just elected to Trice Hill's Board of Directors.
Claybra says she will work with others who have loved ones at Trice Hill and raise money for improvements.
Trice Hill was one of the city's first Black Cemeteries. More than 16,000 people are buried there and the site has no more room to sell plots.
With little money coming in, Trice Hill says it needs to start holding fundraisers so crews can maintain the grounds.
If you would like to help, you can send donations to P.O. Box 13352 OKC, OK 73113.
Karl Torp is an award-winning journalist who’s been part of the News 9 team since 2012. He co-anchors the 4 p.m., 5 p.m., 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. newscasts on weekdays. Karl loves telling Oklahoma’s unique stories, and he’s also a huge sports junkie. He loves to think of trades that would help the Oklahoma City Thunder win a World Championship (despite knowing little to nothing about salary caps and luxury taxes).
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