KENTWOOD, Mich. — Gerry Noorman has spent 15 years piecing together the history of Kentwood — including the stories of 24 Civil War veterans buried at Pine Hill Cemetery.
Pine Hill Cemetery holds the remains of 24 Civil War veterans, many of whom lived in what is now the city of Kentwood, formerly known as Paris Township. Gerry has made it her mission to ensure their stories are not forgotten.
She previously worked as a board member for the Kentwood Historic Preservation Commission for over a decade. In recent years she's taken upon herself to continue learning the history of the city.
"I decided to have a cemetery walk, and that's when I found out how many veterans we have in the first two sections of our cemetery. How many people from right here fought in the Civil War," Noorman said.
Her research revealed that many of those veterans returned home from the war carrying lasting physical wounds.
"Some of them had a lot of injuries, they did not recover from their injuries in the Civil War, they came back here and they still made a living, and were able to take care of themselves," Noorman said.
Noorman guided me to a 1998 book titled "The Story of Kentwood," put together by the city, which highlights Kentwood's history and its soldiers — like a man named Eli Buck.
According to "The Story of Kentwood," Buck was just 17 years old when he joined the Union Army's 6th Michigan Cavalry in 1862. He was later captured by the Confederate Army and imprisoned at Camp Andersonville in Georgia.
"They had so many men, they couldn't feed them, they starved, they had terrible, terrible sanitary conditions. That was a horrible place to be," Noorman said.
Buck attempted to escape the prison twice before succeeding on his third attempt, ultimately reaching Union forces in Savannah, Georgia.
"How he got away from there was almost impossible, but determined," Noorman said.
It is that determination and spirit that Noorman is working to preserve.
"History is so interesting. Things that happened here years ago, very interesting," Noorman said.
Those interested in learning more about Kentwood's veterans or the city's history can visit the Heritage Room at the Kentwood Library, which Noorman runs. She is also available to be contacted directly for more information.
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