A weekend at the cemetery isn’t for everyone, but aspiring Eagle Scout Joseph Lazarus has taken it upon himself to restore the Agawam Cemetery for his Eagle Scout service project.

With the help of family, fellow Boy Scouts, and current and former troop leaders, the Upper Cape Tech senior has restored large sections of wall, repainted a rusting fence, and fixed the Agawam Cemetery sign.

While the goal of the project is to help him earn the highest rank achievable in Boy Scouts, Lazarus also has a personal interest in ensuring the cemetery is well-maintained.

“I have 11 relatives here," he explained. The project "just gives me the feeling that I’m giving back. I’ve lived here all my life.”

The deadline to complete the project is his 18th birthday, which is in February, but Lazarus should be done long before the deadline.

“We’ve been out here about five weeks," he said. "We’ll be done in, hopefully, one more weekend.”

Lazarus predicted that the project would take approximately 100 hours of work, but, he said: "I’ve well surpassed 100 hours by now."

He says the response from the community has been very positive, from passersby pulling over to say "thank you," to a stranger dropping off doughnuts for the work crew.

Lazarus has also received material support from local businesses such as Hi-Way Concrete, which donated concrete, mortar, and sand for the wall restoration.

Lazarus said the wall was the most labor=intensive part of the project. The team lifted the stones – some weighing as much as a ton – with the help of a Bobcat.

Noting that the wall was originally built in the 1800s, Lazarus marveled at the work of men who labored without the aid of modern construction equipment, saying, “America was built on manual labor.”