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Cemetery Volunteer Work General Methods
The following area will provide a general guide to methods used to work in the Cemetery.
Extremely ImportantIf you are working in a plot where a family member is still alive (no death date on stone) or close family are still alive we suggest you avoid it completely. If not simply put a very narrow band of gravel around stones there, etc. Please do not dig even a shovel full without contacting Bruce or John.
Extremely ImportantIf a family member asks you to work on a stone please tell them that they need to contact the cemetery office first for permission. Once they give permission, then volunteers can work on the stone if they wish.
It is very important that when ever possible that deeply buried stones (trip hazards) be uncovered in unmarked areas etc, with proper precautions being taken. If you are uncovering stones in Ward A for instance, please make sure that when you dig around a stone that is very deeply sunken into the ground that you angle the sides back almost parallel with the sod around them to avoid a trip hazard.
If you are working on fully completing restoration of stones providing gravel bases etc in spots like Block O for instance, it is also important that you finish projects. Please never dig a stone out, and leave it for others to finish. Either finish it with gravel, or replace the sod around it, etc. Thus avoiding a trip hazard once again. We realize that this may not always be possible due to shortages of material, etc. But please realize that we MUST do this whenever possible as the cemetery people have asked us to do that.
A wheelbarrow is available from St Anthony's Mortuary, but to use that, you have to find the key, etc. John, Bruce, or Paul can let you inside to get that if they are there or you can bring your own equipment. There is often one in behind the King Monuments, or behind the Old St Anthony's Mortuary. (Old gray cement block building)
If you are working in an area and the gravel runs out, or if you find that there is no material in an area where you are working please contact John at 692-5212, or Bruce at bwarwick at Kent.net
Important - Guys please remember that we have a number of gals working on our crew who do not have the sheer brute strength that some of you do. Please do NOT simply go through and do all of the light easy stones that are no work to lift, etc. Please be considerate and leave those for others who cannot lift heavy stones as easily as you can.
Important - If you have not been involved with the project lately we suggest that you might want to contact Bruce or John for more up to date information on some things. For instance, on when to raise a full stone, and when to leave it on the ground. Or on the method that we have developed to backfill with gravel, etc. Indeed we hope to post more information on this in the near future.
Important - If you begin to work on a stone and notice a crack or any other condition that might cause damage to it while you work with it, please record all information on the stone before beginning work. If damage occurs to the stone while you work on it, forward the text from the stone to Les. His email is edgacres10 at yahoo.ca. {Please note the use of the word at instead of the symbol to avoid spam due to posted email.} Please remember that our main goal is to rescue the information on the stone. The rescue of the historic stone itself is secondary.
In some cases we now believe that it might be better to actually leave some stones standing with the small text at the bottom written down, and once again buried. That way the stone is up to exposed to the air in order to decrease damage by rain, water, and frost. When you look at a stone and wonder if it could be stood upright we suggest the following. Look at the stone and see if you can have around 1/3 of it buried and 2/3 of it above ground. If there is a poem at the bottom for instance, you might consider actually burying that poetry, etc., leaving the name and dates and such. An upright stone will last longer than one laying on the ground. So, if we can upright them we probably should do that. But if the stone is cracked or broken that is often not possible. Burying that poetry at the bottom is often the lesser of two evils though as it allows the stone to be upright and dry during frosty period, etc.
Please try to never leave one end of a stone laying over the original buried base. If the two ends of that stone sink at different rates into the soil, the stone will break as a mower or back hoe passes over it. If you find a buried base we suggest that if the stone is laying on it that you move the stone back so all of it is on soil. Then simply make a gravel bed for the stone and away you go.