Both sides of the controversy at Elm Lawn Cemetery met on Friday, and Elmhurst Boy Scouts Troop 82 helped to begin the reconciliation process.

A May 6 Elmhurst Patch story featured complaints by Vietnam Veteran Ken Lepla about severe neglect of graves sites at Elm Lawn Cemetery, which is run by owner Scott Troost. 

Troost responded by ordering his groundskeepers to attend to overgrowth, as well as lift and reposition some headstones. First Ward Alderman Paula Pezza helped organize the clean-up event with Scoutmaster Walter Salek of Elmhurst Troop 82.

“I used to be a scout leader myself and thought it would make a great community volunteer project that would fit in well with the scouts,” Pezza said. 

Seven members of Troop 82 scouts came with shovels, rakes and clippers to work alongside Troost, his head groundskeeper Jim McClellan, Pezza and others. 

Focusing their attention on veteran section 17, the group edged and cleaned 165 veteran headstones, placed red and white carnations provided by Troost and posted American Flags.

“It’s a good opportunity to help the community,” scout Bradley Hanebuth, 11, said.

Fellow troop member, Peter Salek, 13, added, “It’s a great way to support veterans.”

Troost appeared visibly impressed by the scouts, and repeatedly expressed his gratitude to the scouts individually and as a group as he worked alongside them to edge and clean headstones.

Although Lepla was there to meet Troost, he did not help clean the headstones.

“It was very emotional for me,” Lepla says. “They didn’t even work on the worst areas. It would have been a better use of the scout’s time if they had worked on the more severe areas.”

Lepla and Troost spoke early on at the event, and Lepla says he told Troost about his being mistreated by the Elm Lawn office staff. 

“Mr. Troost was disappointed to hear how his staff treated me,” Lepla says. 

Troost was focused on the excitement and enthusiasm of the scouts coming out to help.

“This is just a great thing for our veterans who deserve so much honor,” Troost says. “This was a fantastic experience.”

Sharing that perspective was McClellan, who explained that burials take first priority, followed by cleaning and straightening headstones, at the cemetery.

“It’s kinda like doing chores,” McClellan said. 

Community members also joined in to lend a hand at the event.

Terry Webb read about the situation on Patch and contacted Pezza.

“My dad is a veteran who is buried here, so I wanted to help,”  Webb said, adding that her father, Chuck, served in the Navy during World War II.

Longtime Elmhurst resident Paul Goff came out to help because his first wife is buried in Elm Lawn and his son Jeremy served in the Iraqi war. 

“It’s a great thing to do,” Goff offered. “It felt good to help out and make a difference.”

And what about the other areas of Elm Lawn that still need attention? 

“I’ve talked to the scouts,” Pezza says. “And some are interested in coming back and working on other sections of the cemetery as part of their service project requirements.”