Names In Stone News Room

Christmas in the Cemetery

Cemeteries across the country are getting all dressed up for Christmas. NAMES IN STONE wants to share a few of those stories with you!

NATIONAL WREATH PROJECT

The National Wreath Project, sponsored by the Sgt Mac Foundation, honors veterans by decorating their graves with beautiful wreaths.  The decorations are obtained through donations and placed by volunteers.

In its fourth year, volunteers for the Project laid 1,620 wreaths on graves in Soldiers’ National Cemetery in Gettysburg, and 3,400 in Quantico National Cemetery located in Virginia.

The Sgt Mac Foundation was started by the family of Marine Sergeant Jonathan Eric McColley, a 23-year-old soldier who was killed in a helicopter accident in 2006 off the coast of Djibouti. 

In 2008, the wreaths were decorated by third graders from Sergeant McColley's elementary school in Gettysburg. Read more about the National Wreath Project and view photos in Gettysburg's Soldiers' National Cemetery.

 

ARLINGTON WREATH PROJECT

Since 1992, volunteers have laid holiday wreaths in Arlington National Cemetery, thanks to wreath donations from Worcester Wreath Company of Harrington, Maine. That first year, Morrill Worcester donated 4,000 wreaths from his holiday decoration company. Every December since, he has set aside several thousand wreaths to lay on the gravestones at Arlington.

How do they determine where to lay their wreaths?  Each year, the director of the Cemetery selects the area, and they plan to cover all areas of the Cemetery over a number of years. 

In December of 2011, 15,000 volunteers laid 90,000 wreaths on headstones at Arlington National Cemetery.  

Watch this special report about the Arlington Wreath Project.

 

 

HOLIDAY WREATH PROJECT OF FORT HOWARD MEMORIAL PARK

A retired Marine in Green Bay, Wisconsin wanted to honor the veterans buried in Fort Howard Memorial Park Cemetery in a special way. So he decided to replicate the the tradition of laying the holiday wreaths at Arlington National Cemetery.

Earlier this year, John Havey began raising money for his project. He was able to raise $1,100 and just before Thanksgiving, he and eight other volunteers assembled the wreaths and placed them at the graves of 57 veterans buried in the cemetery.

Havey told the Green Bay Press Gazette, "It's very emotional for me right now," Havey said. "It's just like a dream come true, and now we can actually look at the fruits of our labors and think about what a fitting and meaningful way to pay tribute to these folks. I'm just really happy about it."

You can read the full story here. 

 

Does your cemetery do something special during the holidays? NAMES IN STONE would love to hear about it. Visit our FACEBOOK page and share your story! 

 

 

Guidelines for Cleaning Gravestones

Often in our cemetery visits, we come across gravestones that could use a good cleaning. But immediately we are faced with questions...

• Is the stone cleanable?

• What cleaners and tools are safe to use?

• How do I clean the gravestone?

 

Here are some guidelines to get you started:

 Decide if a headstone is cleanable.

• DO NOT CLEAN: Wood markers; a stone that is chipping, flaking, or has a grainy surface that is falling away; a stone that has significant fractures; a stone that is brittle or at risk in any way.

• Marble, sandstone, and limestone have all commonly been used for gravestones. However, these are softer stones that should not be cleaned too frequently. Once every ten years should be sufficient.

• Granite markers are a harder stone and can withstand a more vigorous cleaning.

• Cast iron and bronze markers can be cleaned. However, do not try to remove rust or flaking metal.
• Before cleaning any gravestone, you should always get permission from the lot owner or next of kin if you are not a relative of the deceased.
  
  
  Safe-to-Use Cleaners and Tools.

• The most important thing to remember: improper use of cleaners or tools can irreparably damage gravestones!

• DO NOT USE: wire brushes; metal tools; abrasive pads; acid or acidic cleaners; household cleaners (such as soap, detergents, Borax, bleach, 409).

• Always have plenty of water on hand. A portable pump sprayer will give you a source of clean water, which is vital. Don't rinse the stone with dirty water from your cleaning bucket.

• Bring a wide variety of soft, natural-bristle or plastic brushes. Always start with the softest brush to see if it will do the job. Automobile detailing brushes are a good choice. Do not use old brushes that have been contaminated with unapproved cleaners.

• Non-ionic cleaners are safe for nearly all cemetery stones. They have a neutral PH that will not harm the stones, and are sold as a photography product (such as Photo Flo - a Kodak Product, Trion-X 100, or lgepal). Mix 1 ounce to 5 gallons of water.

• Do not use shaving cream. The high levels of alcohol and menthol have been found to damage the stone.

• Do not use sand as a cleaning agent. It will scratch the surface of all stones.  

 

        Cleaning Guidelines.

• Begin by saturating the stone with clean water. Rinse often with clean water to monitor for damage or flaking of the stone.

• Start with a clean water rinse, which may be sufficient. If more cleaning is necessary, progress to the softest brush that will be effective. Scrub gently in a circular random motion.

• Some conservators recommend beginning at the bottom of the stone and working to the top. This prevents residue from staining as it dries.

• Don't let cleaners or residue dry on the stone. Streaking and staining can occur if you allow the dirty water to evaporate. Rinse often with clean water as you work.
  
  

Every time a stone is cleaned, part of that stone's surface is removed. NAMES IN STONE recommends a thorough evaluation of the stone's composition and condition before proceeding.

 

RESOURCES:

Gravestone Preservation.info: Cleaning Gravestones, Monuments, & Stone Sculptures

The Association for Gravestone Studies: Tools and Materials for Gravestone Cleaning Projects

International Association of Cemetery Preservationists: The Proper Way to Clean a Headstone

Everlife Memorials: Cleaning and Preservation of Tombstones, Headstones, and Gravestones

 

 

Volunteers Map the Lake Point Cemetery in Utah

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Near the south shore of the Great Salt Lake lies a small well-kept cemetery in the town of Lake Point, Utah. And LeAnn Carreola and DeAnn Wall are related to nearly every person buried there!

LeAnn got interested in preserving the records of her ancestors in the Lake Point Cemetery when she saw photos and records others had posted online. She says, "I saw some of the gravemarkers online and thought what a neat thing it was that relatives and interested people could go to these sites and actually see [the photos of] the grave with its marker, and get the information they wanted off of the marker itself."

LeAnn decided she wanted to do the same for her own ancestors. She had previously done some work for the North Ogden City Cemetery, so she contacted them and asked where she should start. They guided her to NAMES IN STONE, where she could not only post photos online, but create her own cemetery map.

From there, LeAnn says, it was easy!

"I contacted Bruce at Names in Stone and he was willing to meet with me so that he could show me the program and all its benefits.  The Names in Stone website tells you exactly what to take with you and how to map the cemetery.  So I followed the guidelines on the website which were easy and fun."

She continues, "I loved meeting with the Names in Stone people.  They were wonderful to work with."

At the cemetery, the sisters mapped out the graves on paper and recorded the headstone data from each grave. Then they took photos of each headstone to attach to the map when they created their digital map on NAMES IN STONE.

LeAnn and DeAnn had some touching experiences while at the cemetery. LeAnn says, "A neat experience I had was when I was just taking pictures.   There were three sisters around the grave of their recently deceased father.  They were crying and talking about how much they missed their father. 

"I walked over to them because they kept looking at me.  I knew they were wondering what I was doing.  I explained to them that I was taking pictures of the graves to put them online so that people all over the world could visit the graves. 

"They were so delighted and told me that their brother was moving out of State the next week and was distraught over not being able to visit his father's grave.  Now they could tell him the grave was going to be online and that he would be able to visit the grave anytime he wanted, day or night. 

"They thanked me over and over again for doing this great work and service for them.  It was very sweet and gratifying to know that this work made a difference to people I didn't even know."

What advice do LeAnn and DeAnn have for others who would like to preserve cemetery information?

• Go for it! "Learn the [Names in Stone] program, it's so easy to do.  Then pick out your favorite graveyard that has not already been done and go for it.  It is an amazing experience."
  
  
• Get your family involved. "The work is easy and I loved getting my family involved with this work.  We had a great time doing this together.  It only took us 2 1/2 hours to do the entire cemetery with three people."
  
  
• Be organized and methodical. "I would be more methodical in the way I photographed the graves and make sure I got each and every headstone photographed.  I found that I left a few headstones out and need to go back to finish the job."
  
  

Thanks LeAnn and DeAnn for your efforts! Would you like to see the results of their hard work? Visit the NAMES IN STONE map of the Lake Point Utah Cemetery.

Are you interested in mapping a cemetery where your ancestors are buried? Find out how!

 

101 Best Websites of 2011

Every year, Family Tree Magazine--America’s #1 family history magazine--shares a list of its 101 top genealogy websites of the year. And for 2011, NAMES IN STONE has once again been chosen as one of the best!

NAMES IN STONE has been singled out as one of the top ten websites for Genealogy CSI: Death and DNA. David Fryxell of Family Tree Magazine says:

A smaller but snazzier addition to the cemetery-site landscape, Names in Stone offers dynamic updating, interactive mapping and GPS coordinates. Membership ($7.95 per month, $39.99 per year) adds extra privileges, including saved searches, automatic notifications of new data and a cemeteries of interest list.

Family Tree Magazine has high expectations. This year, they were looking for "technological sophistication, attractive interface, souped-up search capabilities, and some razzle-dazzle"--and we're pleased to say that's what they've found at NAMES IN STONE!

Thanks, Family Tree Magazine!

A Cemetery in a Parking Lot?

If you're a North Carolina State fan on your way to a football game, you might pass by two tiny isolated cemeteries in the parking lot without even knowing it.

But if you look closely, you would see several headstones resting in two little groves of trees in the parking lot of North Carolina State University's Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, North Carolina.

That's right -- Cemetery #1 is in the grove of trees in the center of the parking lot behind Parking Space #93034B. And Cemetery #2 is towards the stadium and slightly to the right in a wooded area, where there are four headstones visible in front of Parking Space #00589.

The maps for these two hidden cemeteries have been added by a user to the NAMES IN STONE database. Take a look -- you can view them here and here.

 

 

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How is it possible that these cemeteries could end up in a parking lot?

Little family cemeteries are always in danger of the developer's bulldozer. Sometimes, the developers have an appreciation for the past and do what they can to preserve the graves that are in their way. Rather than tearing out the cemetery, the developer will preserve the site, leaving a small cemetery in the middle of urban development. And often, that is right in the middle of a parking lot!

And those cemeteries at Carter-Finley Stadium aren't the only ones. If you start looking, you might see a small cemetery in the middle of a movie theater parking lot, a freeway interchange, or even at the entrance to a shopping center!

In Hattiesburg, Mississippi, there's a small cemetery located in the middle of an apartment complex parking lot. It's elevated and fenced - apparently the developer couldn't get permission to move the cemetery when he built the apartments, so they left it in the middle of the complex.

 

In an article at WashingtonPost.com by Theo Emery - More Family Cemeteries Dying Away in the South - we can learn more about how development is affecting these little cemeteries.

"Throughout the South, family cemeteries pepper the landscape. But as cities...radiate rapidly outward, the growth is swallowing rural land that swaddles the graves. In Tennessee alone, dozens of long-hidden cemeteries appear each year--sometimes in mid-construction--creating headaches for builders and heartaches for families of the dead. Some cemeteries are moved at landowners' expense. Those that stay sometimes become forlorn islands of green amid parking lots and suburban developments. Others are paved over or bulldozed." WashingtonPost.com, More Family Cemeteries Dying Away in the South, Theo Emery, March 27, 2006.

What can we do to help these endangered cemeteries?

Sometimes we are able to get into the cemetery and do clean up, preservation, and restoration work. Another thing we can do is preserve the records of these small cemeteries. There are many ways to do this -- taking photos of the headstones and publishing burial listings are helpful.

NAMES IN STONE has developed a great way to preserve these records -- creating an on-line map of the cemeteries.

Creating a map preserves the records in a format that makes it possible for everyone to see the cemetery as it really is - who is buried next to whom. It's like a virtual walk through the cemetery. And the records become searchable -- so records that were previously unknown are now available for everyone to see and use for research.

Do you have a small isolated cemetery in your community? We invite you to add your cemetery to NAMES IN STONE. It's an easy, quick, and permanent way to preserve those priceless records before it's too late!

Learn more about mapping a small cemetery at NAMES IN STONE.