Ingoglia pledges cemetery help

He’s not the last guy I’d expect to show up in a cemetery to pitch in, but close.

Yet, there was Sen. Blaise Ingoglia with Andrea McCray, rattling off a list of things the state may be able to assist in the Crystal Memorial Gardens Cemetery project.

Andrea, beaming like she just discovered sunlight, soaked it in.

---

“What do you think of Blaise’s plan?” I asked her.

“We’re just so appreciative of anything,” she answered, and meant it.

Here’s the story.

I wrote in January about Crystal Memorial Gardens, a historic Black cemetery on Citrus Avenue just outside the Crystal River city limits. The cemetery is the final resting place for generations of Black Crystal River families, but the property is in disarray.

Four-wheelers tear up the grounds. Many of the old tombstones have fallen apart or are unreadable. There is no log of the cemetery. Some gravesites flood due to the property’s topography.

Project organizers seek an identity for the cemetery. It has deep personal meaning to many people, and they want the cemetery to reflect that.

McCray, a fifth-generation Crystal Riverian, heads up Friends of the Crystal Memorial Gardens Cemetery. They kicked off the effort with a Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Leadership Gala last January and the next one is Feb. 1.

In general, financial support for projects such as these comes from non-government sources. Fundraisers, donations, that sort of thing.

So, when Andrea sent me an email saying she had invited Sen. Ingoglia to visit the cemetery, that got my immediate attention.

For a couple of reasons. One, that vaulted the project into a whole other area. She gets a senator’s ear, and it won't be long before Crystal Memorial Gardens is on the radar of a high-ranking state official who’s already heard from Ingoglia’s office.

Two, Ingoglia isn’t known for being community, warm and fuzzy. It’s all politics for this guy. True, he’s running for re-election, so this may have partially been a timing thing. Still, it was pretty cool seeing our senator walking thoughtfully through that cemetery.

Andrea asked him out for a specific purpose. She wanted Ingoglia to know that while Citrus County has the whitest per capita population in the state (oddly true), its African-American community is steep in tradition.

It worked. He was impressed and spoke of getting state help for a cemetery registry, drainage work, and a survey.

“Two hundred years from now, they’ll know what has happened now to preserve what was here before,” Ingoglia said.

Difficult to say where this will go. Government help for community projects is never a guarantee, and it comes tied up in red tape.

Influence, though, that’s a whole other deal. 

That it could potentially be coming from Ingoglia is the real kicker.

Citrus County became acquainted with Blaise two years ago after redistricting, and Gov. Ron DeSantis’ interference, placed him as our new state senator. Blaise had served in the House from Spring Hill, and in 2022 was elected to Senate District 11. He's on the ballot again this year.

Well, huge difference between the House and Senate. There are 120 House members; Citrus County shares House District 23 with Dunnellon.

The Senate, however, has only 40 members. Think about that. Forty. The entire Senate membership wouldn’t fill seats at a Citrus County Commission meeting.

You see why a senator’s support of your project could pay dividends.

Should Blaise find particular interest in Crystal Memorial Gardens, that’s even better. 

His representation of Citrus County has, so far, been OK. What really counts locally is state funding for projects. Ingoglia, despite a joined-at-the-hip relationship with DeSantis, was of no help this year as the governor sliced projects from the budget.

This might be different. Sen. Ingoglia’s visit to Crystal Memorial Gardens is now etched into his mind. He’s committed to doing what he can.

Speaking of the cemetery, they’re having a cleanup Saturday, Oct. 5, from 8 a.m. to noon. And don’t forget the MLK Gala in February.

Andrea McCray has Sen. Blaise Ingoglia’s attention. That’s good news for Crystal River and us all.

Join the discussion on our Facebook page.

Enjoying the blog? Please consider supporting it at Venmo, PayPal, or Patreon.