This site was founded by the late John Skakel. Contact us HERE
Cemeteries Office Staff have asked that users NOT contact them with questions directly.

Cemetery Preservation An introduction

Dennis and Paul bringing a sunken base back to the surface. Photo by T nigh

An Introduction

First off, we want to tell you that we are NOT professionals in cemetery preservation. We have worked on many thousands of monuments and the project continues. Two adjoining cemeteries (Catholic and Protestant) alone contain about 50,000 graves. But among the first things we learned was that one needs to do many thousands of stones and absolutely endless hours of study before you become even close to such. Anyone interested in the field must also realize that even the professionals are learning. This is a whole new field. There are few 100% certain answers to questions. Everyone is learning. Even those who have done thousands upon thousands of stones do not know all of the answers.

One of our team also pointed out that in the very long run, this is a losing battle. Everything in the cemetery that you go walking in or have relatives interred in, or maybe you work there for a living. Everything is gradually returning to nature. Water and mother nature will win in the end! However, that does not mean that we cannot preserve the beauty of these places for others to enjoy. Preserve it in reality. Preserve it digitally. Preserve it photographically.

If you are coming here to learn all of the answers then you need to look somewhere else. We do not have them. BUT, if you are starting a project, and if you have been going from professional to professional being told different things, and your head is spinning trying to sort them out. We will TRY to help. I caution that we have much to learn. But we might just be able to give you some basic tips to get started that other sites forget.

In any event, we hope that you will enjoy the area of our site, and gain just a tip or two on how to preserve some historic beauty in your area.

Some common mistakes in the Cemetery See some of the common mistakes made by teams attempting restoration without training, and mistakes made by cemetery personnel. Things like logging chains, paint, premix in the wrong places, use of shovels improperly, etc.

Tools of the Trade Click to see some of the tools of the trade used by both Volunteers, and Professionals.

General Information. Stone Identification, When to move monuments in the Cemetery, etc.

Temporarily uncovering - the first major step We believe that crews working ahead of us are one of the most important aspects of preserving a large cemetery

The Steps toward Preservation of Monuments.

Working with old bases Should I leave old bases in the ground? Should I dig them out and if so what should I do with them? Can they be used again? Should I throw out old bases that have no stone to go with them?