The improvements to Fairview Cemetery in West Catasauqua are clearly discernible.

Brush and overgrown greenery have been groomed. Old tombstones and monuments have been pressure washed. Coupled with a compassionate, consumer-focused board of directors, Fairview is returning to an extraordinary cemetery.

Fairview was developed more than 225 years ago. It is located on the top of a hill overlooking the valley below, the Lehigh River and the early communities of West Catasauqua and Catasauqua. When founded, it was surrounded by a forest of trees in a picturesque location. Most industries, stores and homes were closer to the Lehigh River.

Fairview holds the remains of wealthy industrialist families and people considered prominent - Fuller, Thomas and Holton - and the remains of common working people. Earliest remains date back to the late 18th century.

The remains of numerous members of the Union Army - The Grand Army of the Republic - of the Civil War also populate the cemetery.

Its tombstones and monuments run the gamut from ornate, perhaps ostentatious, displays to simple tombstones.

A Union Army memorial plaza with four real cannons surrounding a large monument in a grassy area is the centerpiece of the cemetery. A chapel, deteriorated and removed years ago, once graced the grassy plaza area that has a number of park benches there.

Like many cemeteries, Fairview, over a period of years, entered a state of unintentional neglect. Some referred to the cemetery and its overgrown vegetation as the “spooky cemetery.”

Enter the Brobst family.

Fairview Cemetery Association Board President Scott Brobst Sr. and members of his family took control of the board about a year ago. They set out three early goals to improve the cemetery: headstones needed to be picked up and properly placed, general maintenance improvements and overgrown areas on the perimeter of the cemetery needed removal.

Board member Ashley Brobst added a culture of compassion for the bereaved families and respect for the deceased is another goal she emphasizes.

“We want to be an example of compassion toward people who are grieving,” Ashley said.

The history of Fairview is indeed impressive. The history and relationship of the Brobst family and Fairview are strongly intertwined.

Superintendent Sterling Miller Jr., a Brobst family member, has worked the cemetery since 1964. Called Pop Pop by Ashley, his granddaughter, she plans to follow in his footsteps. Ashley is the current vice superintendent and displays, as do other board members, a palpable reverence for Fairview.

Other board members are William Brobst - Scott Brobst Sr.’s brother - and Scott Brobst Jr. Both have been involved with Fairview since they were in high school. They also have family members buried in the cemetery.

The nexus of many years of family involvement, including formative years, family members’ remains there, a sense of Fairview history and a passion for what they do create an enduring commitment to their work.

Scott Brobst Sr. acknowledged and possesses a sense of pride in what has been achieved in the last year but recognizes there is much more to do. Hours of work have been done, at times at their personal financial expense.

The board’s passion for Fairview and its clear sense of purpose may transform the “spooky cemetery” into, potentially, a jewel in West Catasauqua - a status it possessed in the glory days of the Fuller, Thomas and Holton industrialist era.

If you want to assist the effort, donate or have burial lot questions, call 610-740-3892 or email fairviewcemetery18052@gmail.com.