Vandals hit old Jewish cemetery in Frankford

John Gibson began his workday as he always does, surveying the 7,000-plus well-kept stones at the Frankford cemetery just after sunup.

Something wasn't right Thursday. He knew it immediately.

"I saw two stones turned over, then two more, then 10 more, then 40 more," said Gibson, Adath Jeshurun Cemetery's longtime caretaker. "When it was done, I counted 124."

Vandals struck the historic Jewish cemetery at Bridge and Walker Streets this week, upending dozens of heavy headstones that on Friday were in the process of being righted with heavy equipment.

"I don't know who would do this - someone who wanted to do a badness, maybe some rascal new to the neighborhood," said Gibson, who came to work at the cemetery in 1971 and never left. "I was shocked."

Once Gibson is inside the small residence on the grounds, he hears very little, he said. He's not sure when the vandals did their work, but is confident that at least two people were involved, as some of the toppled stones weighed perhaps two tons.

Because the vandals left no graffiti or other marks on any stones, neither Gibson nor officials at the sponsoring synagogue - Congregation Adath Jeshurun in Elkins Park - believe the desecration was related to anti-Semitism.

"It's the summertime, kids are bored, and they get into the cemetery," said Robert Friedman, executive director of the synagogue.

The 12-acre cemetery, which adjoins another Jewish burial ground, Mount Sinai, is a green preserve in the neighborhood of redbrick rowhouses. It opened in 1861.

On Friday, dozens of beautiful old stones dating more than 100 years awaited repair. "Levy," one read: "Jacob 1850-1890, Tillie 1859-1920. Father. Mother."

"It's near and dear to a number of families that go way back here at A.J.," Friedman said of the cemetery. "I myself have great grandparents, grandparents, and my father buried there. I'll be there someday myself."

Gibson is a native of Glasgow, Scotland - everyone in the neighborhood knows him as "Scotty." He found work cutting grass at the burial ground 44 years ago, about a decade after he immigrated to Philadelphia with his family.

"I like the job - nobody bothers me," Gibson said. "My dad said, 'That job will never pay much, but it will be peaceful.' It's good work taking care of people at the end of their lives."

At one point, the cemetery averaged 30 burials a month. Now, there are perhaps 10 a year, as many Jewish people choose larger cemeteries, or places outside the city.

Gibson still keeps the grounds in fine shape. He begins work every day at 6 a.m., toiling alone most days until about 2 p.m.

At one point, Gibson shut and secured the cemetery gates at night, but people kept smashing the locks, requiring costly repairs, so now he keeps them open. Neighbors mostly use the main path through the graveyard as a cut-through.

"People don't give me trouble," he said.

Gibson and Friedman said they hope the vandalism is an aberration. The last large-scale desecration happened at the cemetery 25 years ago.

"We have a good relationship with the neighbors," Friedman said. "It's an older cemetery, but it's kept immaculately."