Inaugural Greenwood Cemetery Humanitarian Award

Knights of Pythias Greenwood Cemetery announces the inaugural celebration for The Greenwood Cemetery Humanitarian Award.

This Bi-Annual Award recognizes the unsung heroes who volunteer their time and energy to keep alive Northeast Philadelphia’s historic past while providing a better future and quality of life in the communities they live and serve.

Award Recipients have shown incredible effort in at least one of the areas of community development, historical research, environmental outreach, education research, and humanitarian efforts. They have continually demonstrated great courage and creativity in their work, embodied the power to inspire others, show their ability to lead and follow, and have displayed incredible integrity in difficult circumstances.

Howard Linde, our first award recipient, was unanimously confirmed by the nominating committee and will be honored September 2018 with the first Greenwood Cemetery Humanitarian Award. Howard, a longtime resident of the area with ties to Greenwood Cemetery, has researched and transcribed all records from Greenwood’s 19^th Century Archives. The catalog which he created, both written and electronically, contains a list of all individuals interred on cemetery grounds and will serve as the foundation for future navigation tools that will allow residents and families access to these important and historical records.

When asked what inspired him to complete the cataloging, Howard said “It is because of the history of the people buried in Greenwood. Not only the genealogy of my own family, as my grandparents are buried there; but about the men who were paid 40 dollars a month in the 1880’s to dig those graves; the veterans buried there: one with a Congressional Medal of Honor and another who died in France in 1918 and was returned from France in 1921. I am helping others find information about their families. That is what makes all this rewarding, interesting, and keeps my 91-year old mind active.“ His hard work continues to enrich Northeast Philadelphia and serves as an example of how one individual’s story can impact the lives of an entire community.

On September 6^th, 2018 we will celebrate and acknowledge Howard’s commitment and dedication to serving his community. Requests for additional information on Knights of Pythias Greenwood Cemetery can be found at http://www.kpgreenwoodcemetery.org/ or by reaching out to Michael D. Vante, KP Greenwood Cemetery Communications & Website Coordinator at (786) 418-3116 or at vantem@icmcvi.com.