This April, in Ohio, the weather is playing catch up with the date on the calendar, but soon when Spring is in full bloom and shortly afterward when we move on to early Summer, we will be reading announcements of hands-on cemetery workshops to be held in Ohio and in nearby states.
Notice I didn't say what kind of cemetery workshops. They could be billed as cemetery conservation, cemetery preservation, or cemetery restoration.
Personally, I feel that the name chosen for a workshop doesn't matter nearly as much as what the practices are that will be taught by the instructor when the day of the workshop arrives.
Many of the readers of this blog will remember from past posts the main guidelines of what the harmful practices are that some professionals have used and promoted in their workshops, and sadly, going further with their more extensive full cemetery cleaning, re-setting, and repair work.
As a reminder, most professionals, (i.e. those who operate at a professional level and conduct gravestone clean/re-set/repair work for a part-time or full-time occupation), have themselves undergone some initial training somewhere. Some have attended classes with well known and highly respected organizations for their training -- and list those establishments to help bolster their resume in their brochures. That should mean that they demonstrate and promote the practices that they learned.
However, unfortunately, prior training does not necessarily translate into a guarantee that a professional will adhere to all of the “Best Practices of Do No
Harm” principles that they were taught at those workshops where they got started on their learning. They could be choosing easier and speedier shortcuts that are not at all approved or appropriate for gravestones.
For this post, we'll do a review of the Approved Do No Harm Cleaning Practices vs. the Unapproved and Harmful cleaning practices.
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The below chart is a Best Practices cleaning guide that offers help. Click on and enlarge size.
A good way to determine if you should attend a certain workshop is to "ask before you go and learn before you pay" by contacting the person promoting the workshop.
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Sharing a statement by:
Nathan A. Bevil - Community Planning & Preservation
Manager
Ohio History Connection (formerly the Ohio Historical Society):
"I have also worked with
some cemeteries in the past, including those that have had some restoration
work. Most of the stones used,
especially in older cemeteries, are extremely soft due to stone type and
exposure to acid rain and nature in general.
Any abrasive method of cleaning
is discouraged, much less using power tools.
Even power washing is discouraged, as this can deeply groove sandstone
and marble. Any cleaning of a gravestone
must be taken with careful consideration.
I have seen enough stones that have deteriorated to the point that I
would not even use a simple bristle brush.
Always conduct thorough research on the materials before undertaking a
specific action, and feel free to contact our office for additional
information.
In any case, power washing and
power tools are always discouraged and can have disastrous results for historic
gravestones.
If you have some specific cases
you would like to discuss, please feel free to contact me
(nbevil@ohiohistory.org or at
614-298-2000). I hope this information
helps."
Nathan A. Bevil | Community
Planning & Preservation Manager
Ohio History Connection | 800 E.
17th Ave., Columbus, OH 43211
