WESTFIELD - David Anderson can frequently be seen in the Middle Farms Cemetery, cleaning old gravestones and clearing out weeds and unwanted vegetation.

Anderson has been volunteering at the small cemetery on the corner of Russellville Road and North Road for 25 years. Now in his 80s, he once worked at Pratt and Whitney Aircraft for 10 years before moving to Digital Equipment for another 10 years. When he retired, he was asked to help out at the cemetery by groundskeeper Floyd Bull. When Bull passed away in 2010, Anderson took the reins.

In addition to general maintenance of Middle Farms Cemetery, Anderson often does the burials and grave digging with his assistant.

"We dig some of the graves ourselves and sometimes we hire somebody to come in and dig it," said Anderson, "There is always something to do. There is always something to pick up, or rake. There's no end to it."

Anderson said he has done 140 burials in his time volunteering at Middle Farms Cemetery. Part of his work also involves cleaning some of the older headstones that have become dirty and discolored over time. He uses the effective grave-cleaning product D2, which slowly strips away the dirt and grime that has accumulated on the stone. After volunteering at the cemetery for 25 years, Anderson is able to recite the histories of many of the graves and the people who are buried there. He pointed to the grave of Ed King, a man who died by suicide in 1889 after murdering his father, Joseph King, and burning down his home.

"Joseph King was one of the founders of Wyben Union Church, which I belong to," said Anderson, "So it's really neat to have that kind of history."

He said that as far as he is aware, the first known records of people being buried in the small cemetery were from 1790. The oldest existing grave in the cemetery is that of Solomon Root. "Were of the first settlers of Westfield Farms, great grandparents of Captain Horace Root," said Anderson, reading from the gravestone.

Anderson's volunteer work did not begin with Middle Farms Cemetery, however. When he was living in Connecticut in the 1960s, he was a member of the Connecticut Prison Association (CPA). Through the CPA, Anderson became involved with helping to rehabilitate a couple of prisoners.

"There were certain inmates who didn't have anybody to visit them. They were looking for people who were upright citizens, so to speak, to visit with these fellows," said Anderson, "I [visited] two, one at a time."

Both men, Anderson said, had been convicted of murder. One of the men, Ken Brown, was convicted of murdering his girlfriend. Anderson would visit him while he was in prison, because Brown had few other people to visit him there. When Brown was finally released, Anderson helped to get him back on his feet.

"I was the best man at his wedding. I got him a job. I got him a place to live," said Anderson. Anderson pointed out that getting Brown a place to live was particularly difficult because of the general racism of the time. Brown was white, but because property owners could not physically meet him, they were hesitant to allow him to move in, out of fear that he was black.

"The fact that he was in prison was no problem,"said Anderson. Anderson said that Brown met his wife-to-be at his new job. Unfortunately, Anderson said, he has lost contact with Brown, and does not know where he is in his life now. The other man, who Anderson only identified as "Richard," was a product of a rough childhood. Richard had been in jail for shooting a police officer. After his release, he got into an argument with a man who he proceeded to kill with a hammer.

Anderson would visit with Richard and would have him over at his house on the weekends after he was released again. During his visits, Anderson said that Richard would try to put his skills as a prison cook to good use. "He wanted to cook, but he was used to cooking for 200 people," Anderson joked, "He was a terrible cook, but he was a decent guy."

He said that Richard once confided in him that he should have "played it straight" like Anderson had in life. He claimed to Anderson that he had robbed over 200 liquor stores in his life, to that point. Anderson also lost contact with Richard over the years. He said he considers his work with both men to have been a success. He said he hopes they continued in a positive direction after he lost contact.

Anderson's volunteer work continued at Middle Farms Cemetery, even through the COVID-19 pandemic. He said there have been fewer burials than normal as of lately, though there were a few that were scheduled to take place soon. Anderson's life has been one filled with compassion for others, volunteerism and a positive outlook, which will continue to serve him -- and the community - well.