Community Clean-up Day 2024
Thank you to HHC’s Friends and Families for an awesome clean-up day! May 25, 2024 Supervised by HHC’s Grounds Manager, Elmer Bob Barnes. Sponsored by the HHC.
2023 Memorial Day Ceremony
The Helping Hand Cemetery Club and the Courtland community honored the African American servicemen interred in the Helping Hand Cemetery by unveiling their Historic Marker and shared stories of three of Courtland's citizens: Ursula Evans, C.W. Brown and Maxine Darden Nowlin.
125th Anniversary Ceremony
For the 125th anniversary of the Helping Hand Cemetery, the HHCC hosted a Anniversary Meet and Greet Luncheon featuring speakers Chief Lynette Allston of the Nottoway Indian Tribe of Virginia, Ms. Ann Chinn, Executive Director of the Middle Passage Ceremonies and Port Markers Project, and Mr. Elwood Cephus Stith, Southhampton County genealogist and local historian. Read more about the event in the Tidewater News' feature of the event.
Past Memorial Day Celebrations
Maurice Darden- Memorial Day Organizer
Dolores Peterson- Highlighted all veterans in the Cemetery
Melvin Johnson- Cemetery History update
HHC Street View
Salute to all Veterans
Community Participation
Parade March to HHCC
Community Participation
. Prep for Salute to all Veterans
Veteran Roles
Cemetery Program Helpers
Preservation Of Virginia Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR)Project
Melvin Johnson
"On the morning of 12 November, several board members of Helping Hand Cemetery Club (Maurice Darden, Shelton Darden Jr, Dolores Peterson, Vernon Darden, and Melvin Johnson) met with the Preservation Virginia team, David Givens and his assistant, to perform GPR survey of the Helping Hand Cemetery in Courtland.
Also in attendance was Stephen H Cowles, Staff Writer, from the local newspaper, The Tidewater News, who chronicled the activities taking place.
Over a period of approximately 4 1/2 hours, the team was able to cover the open areas in the cemetery. To everyone's surprise, there were many hidden graves beneath the surface in these areas. These unmarked graves were marked with flags to be better identified later as grave sites.
The Preservation Virginia team, after further analysis, will provide the Helping Hand Cemetery Club with a detailed printout of the GPR results."