Berlin/Kritner cemetery recognized as historical location

May 23—The Alabama Historical Commission has officially recognized the Berlin/Kritner Cemetery as a historical site and placed in on the state registry.

Nancy Kuykendall, Jamie Bryant, Cheryl Hawkins, Dot Gudger and Berlin town clerk Keirstyn Montgomery, have championed for the preservation of the all-but-forgotten cemetery for the past several months.

Kuykendall previously told The Times how the tombstone of Ollie May Kritner — the infant sister of her grandmother — was the only identifiable marker remaining in the cemetery, estimated to be the resting place of between 40 and 50 individuals. She has spent weeks researching and attempting to identify other individuals who might be buried in the cemetery in hopes of contacting surviving family members.

"At one time they were walking, talking human beings just like us and they need the same respect that anyone would want for their own family," Kuykendall told the The Times in April.

Hawkins owns the property adjacent to the cemetery and said she and her brother cleared extensive brush from the property shortly after learning of its history. She recently submitted an application for the site to be recognized by the Historical Commission in hopes of installing a historical marker or monument recognizing those buried there.

The Berlin Town Council announced Monday that Hawkins had received a favorable response from the commission.

The property currently sits just beyond the town limits, but Montgomery said the council has discussed annexing the property in an effort to aide in its preservation. She said because there is no current property owner, she believed in might take legislative action for the annexation to occur, but was encouraged by the recent momentum.

The town also approved amendments to its business license requirements to adhere to federal labor regulations.

Businesses profiting less than $10,000 inside the town limits will no longer be required to obtain a local business license.

While anyone operating a business within the town limits had previously been required to obtain a license, the town approved to set the same $10,000 minimum for physical locations in an effort to not discourage local entrepreneurship.

The minimum requirements for rental properties was also increased from $15,000 to $20,000 to account for adjustments in property values and inflation.

In other business the council:

— Announced the Berlin Neighborhood Watch would be holding an introductory meeting Thursday, May 30, at 6 p.m. in the Berlin Community Center.

— Approved the hire of four temporary, part-time employees for the Community Tractor Show in celebration of Sweet Grown Alabama on July 13. The position is not to exceed 20 hours per week with an hourly rate of $15.