Tracy Stewart is hoping the heat is what kept some people away from a scheduled cleanup day at Oak Lawn Cemetery on Saturday.

Despite having had the event planned for more than a month and many people promising they would come, only two people showed up to help Stewart clean the cemetery off Market Street in downtown Saturday morning.

But he wasn’t fazed — along with their help, Stewart mowed and sprayed weed-killer throughout the old, abandoned cemetery.

“I was hoping to get a little more done,” Stewart said, clearly disappointed at the lack of support. “The city did put a couple Dumpsters out here. Unfortunately, I didn’t have anyone to put anything in them.”

Stewart started leading an effort this spring to save the cemetery from longstanding neglect. He since has been cutting the grass, mostly with his own time and money. He also has recruited Western Tidewater Regional Jail to send inmates out to help.

The cemetery, established in the late 1800s, holds the graves of some of Suffolk’s most respected and well-known black ministers, bankers, public officials and businessmen. But nobody quite seems to know who owns the cemetery, and whoever does own it has not been taking care of it.

At a meeting last month, a group of citizens decided to form a corporation to accept donations for upkeep at the cemetery. Another meeting is set for Aug. 8 at 6:30 p.m. at First Baptist Church, 112 Mahan St.

“We’re going to do this again in the fall, when it’s not as hot,” Stewart said Saturday.

For more information on the foundation, call Stewart at 434-6713.