A standard human grave is 8 feet long, 3 feet wide and 4 feet deep. A strong person, working nonstop, can dig a grave by hand in about two and a half hours.
It’s a job as old as mankind, an ancient and solemn profession that’s hard on the body and punishing on the spirit.
Dennis Camp, 58, of Rockmart, Ga., is proud to be a professional gravedigger. His normal fee is $550, but for those who can’t pay, his services are free.
“The good Lord has blessed me with good health and let me continue to work,” says Camp, who has had shoulder and back surgery after digging “thousands” of graves.
Camp’s Grave Service is a family business. Dennis and his 19-year-old son, J.T., work full time digging graves, and Dennis’ oldest son, Steven, helps part time. The baby of the family, Wesley, age 8, is already telling people he wants to be a gravedigger when he grows up.