Old House Handyman: Elbow grease turns old to new in cemetery
On the weekend after Memorial Day, nearly 50 people filed into a cemetery to help keep alive the memories of people who died a century or more ago — some more than 200 years ago.
Those early settlers are now the residents of the Old Colony Burying Ground in Granville, the village’s first cemetery, established with the founding of the town in 1805.
The first burial came in 1806, and the cemetery filled fast in the days when health care was minimal, infectious diseases could sweep through a community like a tornado and the average life expectancy was 40-50 years old.
Sadly, many children found their forever homes in the cemetery. Little Emma Wright was among them. She died at age 1 in 1844.
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The volunteers who showed up that Saturday morning were there to help preserve tombstones — and history — by gently scraping and brushing away the algae, lichen, moss and other biological material that takes up residence in the cracks and across the surface of the old stones.
The process they used provides lessons applicable to all sorts of restoration projects — patience being chief among them.
Amid "oohs" and "ahhs" about inscriptions on the stones, a chorus of scritching scrub brushes and symphony of hissing water hoses could be heard across the cemetery on the bright sunny morning.
Organized for many years by local residents Lyn and Keith Boone, the cleaning parties have been visiting the tombstones regularly for 33 years. Some of the stones have been cleaned several times during those decades.
“It’s not just about aesthetics,” Keith Boone said as he worked to straighten the base of a stone that was starting to lean toward falling over. “Cleaning them is about preservation. The lichen will eat away at the surface of them.”
Volunteers included families with children, teenagers and older adults. Many were from the Granville area, and some came from other communities, including Pataskala and Westerville, to gain knowledge they could take back to their cities to maintain their old cemeteries.
Lyn Boone walked the volunteers through a seven-step cleaning process, which includes no harsh chemicals or abrasives. The goal, she said, is to be as gentle as possible. Tools for the job include a small bucket, a soft-bristled scrub brush, a toothbrush, a plastic paint scraper, a wooden shish-kabob skewer and a wooden tongue depressor.
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The toothbrush and wooden tools are for getting into crevices, such as inscriptions in the stones. Gloves and protective eyewear are recommended for the job. The process involves a lot of water and a few ounces of a cleaning agent called D/2 Biological Solution, which is available at hardware stores and other retail outlets.
D/2 is described as a “quaternary ammonium solution with surfactants that help carry away surface contaminants.” It is routinely used in the cleaning and restoration of architectural features and monuments, Lyn Boone said.
The seven steps “to a clean and happy headstone” provided by Lyn Boone are the following:
Soak the headstone in water
Remove loose algae and lichen with a soft, plastic, putty knife. Scrape lightly.
Soak the stone thoroughly again with water from a hose or bucket.
Lightly spray the wet headstone with D/2 Biological Solution. (Stand upwind of the spray!)
Wait 10-15 minutes for the D/2 to take effect. This is essential; patience counts! Use this time to remove growth from the back or base of your headstone or from another stone.
After 10-15 minutes, soak a brush in water and start gently cleaning the stone. Keep your brush wet. Change to a wet toothbrush, manicure brush or wooden stick for small carved areas. Periodically rinse the stone with water to remove debris. Get clean water in your bucket often.
Repeat steps 3-6, if desired, or simply hose down the stone. Before leaving, lightly spray the stone again with D/2, which will be left on the stone to continue is work.
Lyn Boone encouraged volunteers to take before and after photos of the stones.
The two stones I cleaned belonged to Mary Lowe and little Emma Wright. Both stones were so caked in lichen — ranging in color from light green to black — that it was impossible to read anything carved into the stones.
The process to clean them is tedious, but it works. After about three hours of scraping, brushing and picking gently with wooden tools, the brief details of the brief lives of Mary and Emma were revealed.
Emma Wright’s small stone included this inscription: “In Memory of Emma, Daughter of Wm. S. and Samantha Wright, who died July 1st, 1844, Aged one year.” It also included this Bible verse: “Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not for such is the kingdom of God.”
Cleaning the larger stone revealed the following: “Mary A., Wife of Rev. B.J. Lowe, Daughter of the late Hon. John Linn, died August 18, 1855, Aged 50 Y’s, 5 M., 15 Ds.”
And the inscription concluded with this verse: “She is not dead but sleepeth, St. Luke XIII, 52.”
More than 50 permanent residents of Old Colony Burying Ground once again sleepeth beneath legible tombstones after the weekend’s cleaning.
Alan D. Miller is a former Dispatch editor who teaches journalism at Denison University and writes about old house repair and historic preservation based on personal experiences and questions from readers.
@youroldhouse
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Old House Handyman: 1805 cemetery shown some love after Memorial Day