by Trish Rudder
Jan Wilkins, Foxglove Garden Club president, asked and received permission from the Bath Town Council to complete the yellow brick walkway in the German Cemetery.
At the February 4 council meeting, Wilkins said the unfinished brick walkway that meanders through part of the cemetery will continue to the South Mercer Street entrance “at our own expense.”
The estimated cost of this last leg of the walkway is about $15,000, and construction will begin as funding becomes available, Wilkins said on Friday.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) walkway is being constructed using the historic yellow bricks that used to pave Fairfax Street, which were donated to the garden club by the Town of Bath.
The walkway must be a minimum of 36 inches wide, and it must be made with hard materials, like concrete, asphalt and wood and should not have any trip hazards, according to ADA regulations.
Local business owner, Master Mason David Stohl of Third Pig Masonry, will complete the walkway where the first phase left off last November.
“Stohl is a wonderful stone mason,” Wilkins said.
Stohl’s group also built the stone walls surrounding the cemetery because erosion was compromising the land and became dangerous for the members to work near the edges of the cemetery.
She said the last section of the walkway will continue from the cemetery’s circle to Mercer St. It will also include steps to the archway to make it safer to walk.
Berkeley Springs High School students in need of service project hours will be asked if they are interested in helping to install the pavers, which will give them masonry experience.
