BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — I’m Madi Vollmer, and I’m following up on a story I first covered earlier this year. A young woman and child were buried here in 1923 — a Bakersfield cold case that remains unsolved more than 100 years later. Now, a local resident caring for the grave is pushing for DNA testing to finally uncover their identities.
“That’s the biggest satisfaction to me — being able to rejuvenate something that is so old and make it look nice and shiny for many years to come.” Greg Zuniga said.
At Union Cemetery, one grave continues to stand out — not because of what’s written on the headstone, but because someone is finally taking care of it.
“You know, I was just like, I’m going to go ahead and restore that one for my community. And so that’s exactly what I did — that one and a few others around here.” Greg said.
Greg Zuniga is one of the owners and founders of Granite Guardians, a local headstone cleaning business here in Bakersfield.
He says giving back to the community is part of his mission. “Pretty much my slogan is: I do what I love, and I love what I do.”
Which is why he regularly cleans old and neglected headstones — including those in Potter’s Field. Potter’s Field is where many of Kern County’s unclaimed and indigent are laid to rest. But to Greg, they’re more than just markers. “Every life has a story — that’s what I’m learning. I’ll even Google random headstones, like what was this person known for, and you do find information out there.” Greg said.
Together, Greg and his fiancée, Aly, work to clean and care for these graves — hoping to preserve stories time almost erased.
Alyssha Geraldl is the Co-owner and Founder of Granite Guardians, and she says, “Any cold case like that, especially involving children, I just think they need some form of justice. So if we could get the GoFundMe going and figure out who they were, that’d be great.”
Greg and Aly are now launching a GoFundMe to help identify the mother and child. They also hope to use the funds to clean other old graves throughout Kern County.
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