The Cemetery Preservation team had a great time teaching folks how to properly clean and repair historic gravestones in early October. The workshops, held in Henderson County, were the very first training events held with support from the Cemetery Preservation Education Program Fund of the Lana Hughes Nelson Endowment Fund for Cemetery Preservation. The Endowment and the Education Program Fund is administered by the Friends of the THC.
Students in the training program spent two days receiving hands-on preservation instruction and practice in a historic cemetery setting—either at Goshen Cemetery or Davis Cemetery, both located just outside of Athens. They braved unseasonably hot temperatures and learned how to clean, level, reset, and patch historic gravestones using tools and techniques recommended by professional gravestone conservators. The training was led by Rusty Brenner of Texas Cemetery Restoration.
The number one rule in cemetery preservation is Do No Harm. One of our participants, Richard Deupree, knew this instinctively. He’d been watching his great-grandparents’ gravestones deteriorate over many years. Still, he resisted intervening too much because he knew that if he didn’t use the proper repair method, he might cause more harm than good. He made a temporary, completely reversible repair as a stop-gap, but then waited until he could get professional guidance before making other repairs.
Thanks to our trainees, including Mr. Deupree, the gravestones for Mollie V. and Walton P. Deupree now sit level and are securely reattached to their bases. Mr. Deupree even got to apply the final infill patch himself.
Even with the very best intentions, it’s easy to harm a historic gravestone irreparably without a little knowledge about appropriate materials and techniques. Please join the team for a future workshop! The Cemetery Preservation Education Program Fund will hold educational events like this at least once annually. In the meantime, learn how to use D/2 Biological Solution to clean historic gravestones in the Do-No-Harm way by watching this video from our friends at the National Center for Preservation Training and Technology.