Volunteers enhance Fall Creek Cemetery preservation
Lead Summary
By
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Courtesy of Support Our Troops Of Highland County
This summer, a group of local community members took part in a Gravestone Restoration and Repair class, instructed by Mark Morton of Gravestone Guardians of Ohio.
This special event project was hosted by Support Our Troops Of Highland County in the efforts to bring to light the fact that many of our Highland County veterans' and ancestors’ gravestones are in dismay and on the verge of being lost forever.
“I am proud of what we were able to accomplish. I learned a lot of valuable information from this class and am so glad that I decided to be a part of it,” said class attendee, Jeff Crone of New Vienna.
“Our Fall Creek Cemetery preservation class was the second class in less than a month that I instructed in Highland County," Mark Morton said. "It’s very important to me to teach proper cemetery restoration methods to others so we may all continue to save more of our history. And a large part of that training is explaining why some procedures and techniques are damaging to these old tombstones.
"Things like bleaches, harsh chemicals, and mechanical cleanings with Nyalox wheels are can destroy old stones. A short list of specific fairly inexpensive products is really all anyone needs to properly restore a tombstone. The rest is just procedures and practice. The group that showed up for this one day class learned a lot and have already begun taking this knowledge on to restoring another small cemetery in Adams County.”
If anyone wishes to see a night-and-day difference in what can be accomplished by a few dedicated people, please visit the cemetery in Greenfield on the grounds of the Greenfield Historical Society. Scott Andersen would be happy to have you participate on one of the days they work in that cemetery.
Kathe Chaney, a member of Support Our Troops Of Highland County, states “this class was a very spiritual experience. I felt that those whose time on earth came before mine, were happy that we cared enough to make sure they [their respective headstones] were alright, and if not, we are going to try to help get them fixed up.”
"There are cemeteries all over Highland County – most are maintained really well; some are not; and some cannot easily be found anymore – and that’s sad," said Steph Roland. "I look at it this way: I’m going to be where they’re at now, and even though I’m not a famous person, I do hope there are caring individuals that are willing to make sure what little bit I can leave here on earth is here for a long, long time, even if it is just a gravestone. And that is what has made this class so very special, we not only learned so many proper procedures for cleaning and repairing several different types of gravestones, but we unexpectedly unearthed a Revolutionary War Veteran’s (Alexander Wright, 1759-1819) gravestone that appears to have been almost entirely buried for many, many years. Who knows, it could have eventually ended up never being found again had we not had this class.
"And what is even more special to me is that I am the one that began documenting and placing Veteran Flags and Grave Markers here in Fall Creek [cemetery] a few years ago when no one else was, other than one or two families of the 13 veterans who are interred there. And because many of the older stones have been unattended for so many years, a lot of those respective inscriptions have weathered severely, or become completely covered with lichens, making them illegible at all. I had what now looks to be Mr. Wright’s son marked as the Revolutionary War Veteran because all I could read was the name, and that was only because my daughter helped me clarify it by conducting a stone rubbing a couple of years ago, by using a piece of sketchpad paper to cover the inscription and then gently rubbing a crayon over top. Had I been able to know back then how to be able and clean this particular stone, we would’ve already known that Mr. Wright’s stone was "missing" from the grounds, as there are other documents stating his final resting place and Veteran status. All in all, it was a great day for everyone that attended and we hope to continue this effort later this fall.”
Many thanks to the class sponsors, Eagle Riders FOE Aerie 1161, Peggy Carter, Bill and Marjorie Pike, Barb Vergamini, Letcher Langston, Steve and Kim Witham, KC and Kathe Chaney and J&K Rentals, Ltd. Without their help of supporting this effort, the class may not have been able to take place.
All who attended this class are interested in starting a Friends of Fall Creek Cemetery group and intend to plan more visits to clean and conduct more restoration work at this cemetery, located on Morrow Road in Liberty Township. They hope that their effort can help educate others, as well as get individuals in the community interested and involved in helping preserve history right here at home. Also, if there are any genealogists in the area that would like to help research these Veteran graves, their help would be greatly appreciated.
For more information on how you can help preserve and maintain gravestones at the final resting areas of those in our community, reach out to one of the following:
Mark Morton, a cemetery conservator trained in the preservation of pre twentieth century cemeteries and follows the guidelines set forth by the National Park Service, Arlington Cemetery, and best practices in the do no harm methods. He can be reached via his website gravestoneguardians.com and https://www.facebook.com/Gravestone-Guardians-of-Ohio-538662842826649/ on face book.
Scott Anderson - Greenfield - Old Burying Grounds - can be contacted via email at: chunxtm400@yahoo.com
Elaine Hinton - Friends of Cherry Fork Cemetery - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1078801552163318/
Steph Roland - Support Our Troops Of Highland County - can be reached via text at 937-763-8164
For more information about upcoming events pertaining to our Veterans and Military Personnel, follow SOTOHC on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Support-Our-Troops-of-Highland-County-12620245… and also, Highland County Veterans Service Office: https://www.facebook.com/HighlandCountyVeteransOhio/
This summer, a group of local community members took part in a Gravestone Restoration and Repair class, instructed by Mark Morton of Gravestone Guardians of Ohio.
This special event project was hosted by Support Our Troops Of Highland County in the efforts to bring to light the fact that many of our Highland County veterans' and ancestors’ gravestones are in dismay and on the verge of being lost forever.
“I am proud of what we were able to accomplish. I learned a lot of valuable information from this class and am so glad that I decided to be a part of it,” said class attendee, Jeff Crone of New Vienna.
“Our Fall Creek Cemetery preservation class was the second class in less than a month that I instructed in Highland County," Mark Morton said. "It’s very important to me to teach proper cemetery restoration methods to others so we may all continue to save more of our history. And a large part of that training is explaining why some procedures and techniques are damaging to these old tombstones.
"Things like bleaches, harsh chemicals, and mechanical cleanings with Nyalox wheels are can destroy old stones. A short list of specific fairly inexpensive products is really all anyone needs to properly restore a tombstone. The rest is just procedures and practice. The group that showed up for this one day class learned a lot and have already begun taking this knowledge on to restoring another small cemetery in Adams County.”
If anyone wishes to see a night-and-day difference in what can be accomplished by a few dedicated people, please visit the cemetery in Greenfield on the grounds of the Greenfield Historical Society. Scott Andersen would be happy to have you participate on one of the days they work in that cemetery.
Kathe Chaney, a member of Support Our Troops Of Highland County, states “this class was a very spiritual experience. I felt that those whose time on earth came before mine, were happy that we cared enough to make sure they [their respective headstones] were alright, and if not, we are going to try to help get them fixed up.”
"There are cemeteries all over Highland County – most are maintained really well; some are not; and some cannot easily be found anymore – and that’s sad," said Steph Roland. "I look at it this way: I’m going to be where they’re at now, and even though I’m not a famous person, I do hope there are caring individuals that are willing to make sure what little bit I can leave here on earth is here for a long, long time, even if it is just a gravestone. And that is what has made this class so very special, we not only learned so many proper procedures for cleaning and repairing several different types of gravestones, but we unexpectedly unearthed a Revolutionary War Veteran’s (Alexander Wright, 1759-1819) gravestone that appears to have been almost entirely buried for many, many years. Who knows, it could have eventually ended up never being found again had we not had this class.
"And what is even more special to me is that I am the one that began documenting and placing Veteran Flags and Grave Markers here in Fall Creek [cemetery] a few years ago when no one else was, other than one or two families of the 13 veterans who are interred there. And because many of the older stones have been unattended for so many years, a lot of those respective inscriptions have weathered severely, or become completely covered with lichens, making them illegible at all. I had what now looks to be Mr. Wright’s son marked as the Revolutionary War Veteran because all I could read was the name, and that was only because my daughter helped me clarify it by conducting a stone rubbing a couple of years ago, by using a piece of sketchpad paper to cover the inscription and then gently rubbing a crayon over top. Had I been able to know back then how to be able and clean this particular stone, we would’ve already known that Mr. Wright’s stone was "missing" from the grounds, as there are other documents stating his final resting place and Veteran status. All in all, it was a great day for everyone that attended and we hope to continue this effort later this fall.”
Many thanks to the class sponsors, Eagle Riders FOE Aerie 1161, Peggy Carter, Bill and Marjorie Pike, Barb Vergamini, Letcher Langston, Steve and Kim Witham, KC and Kathe Chaney and J&K Rentals, Ltd. Without their help of supporting this effort, the class may not have been able to take place.
All who attended this class are interested in starting a Friends of Fall Creek Cemetery group and intend to plan more visits to clean and conduct more restoration work at this cemetery, located on Morrow Road in Liberty Township. They hope that their effort can help educate others, as well as get individuals in the community interested and involved in helping preserve history right here at home. Also, if there are any genealogists in the area that would like to help research these Veteran graves, their help would be greatly appreciated.
For more information on how you can help preserve and maintain gravestones at the final resting areas of those in our community, reach out to one of the following:
Mark Morton, a cemetery conservator trained in the preservation of pre twentieth century cemeteries and follows the guidelines set forth by the National Park Service, Arlington Cemetery, and best practices in the do no harm methods. He can be reached via his website gravestoneguardians.com and https://www.facebook.com/Gravestone-Guardians-of-Ohio-538662842826649/ on face book.
Scott Anderson - Greenfield - Old Burying Grounds - can be contacted via email at: chunxtm400@yahoo.com
Elaine Hinton - Friends of Cherry Fork Cemetery - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1078801552163318/
Steph Roland - Support Our Troops Of Highland County - can be reached via text at 937-763-8164
For more information about upcoming events pertaining to our Veterans and Military Personnel, follow SOTOHC on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Support-Our-Troops-of-Highland-County-12620245… and also, Highland County Veterans Service Office: https://www.facebook.com/HighlandCountyVeteransOhio/