I enjoy digging around in a pile of historic records to see what went on in the “olden days” and to meet people who are no longer with us. Recently I came across some information about Charles Newell Barber, one of our Maplewood Cemetery residents. The Barber family has the large monument near the top of the hill in Maplewood and shown in the photo above. Additionally, other family members are just across the driveway in another Maplewood lot. Dr. Barber is noted for many things in his life, one accomplishment not publicized is “cemetery commissioner.”

Here’s the approach that I demo at VOCA workshops. A low contact technique, this approach can stretch a gallon of D/2 to treat about forty headstones. It creates a slurry (of D/2, water and residual organic material) on the stone for rains to wash off.

This month's column tackles the issue of what are sometimes called "simply epoxy repairs." This technique has been advocated by some AGS members as well as several publications (for example the Canadian Landscape of Memories: A Guide for Conserving Historic Cemeteries and the Michigan Historic Cemeteries Preservation Guide) as a routine method of repairing broken gravestones. It seems to be widely used, perhaps because it represents a simple solution to a complex problem. These repairs require the purchase of only epoxy and a few simple tools. In addition, the technique is seemingly easy, requiring relatively little skill. It involves using a thin bead (or sometimes dabs are suggested) of epoxy to rejoin broken headstones.

This document was developed as general guidance for the cleaning of government issued headstones based on research undertaken by the National Park Service National Center for Preservation Technology and Training and funded by the Department of Veterans Affairs National Cemetery Administration. Recommendations are intended to be used by cemetery directors, operations staff, foremen, maintenance staff, contractors and headquarters staff. The document focuses on general cleaning and regular maintenance of marble headstones that are soiled from dirt and biological growth. Recommendations do not address cleaning needs from unusual events such as removal of road tar, mower scars, vandalism, or other accidental damage. Cleaning recommendations for other stone types such as granite, sandstone, or limestone are not presented here.