Springboro Universalist Cemetery Restoration Clinic

Sponsored by the Warren County Genealogical Society and

presented by the Dayton Ghost Hunters Society

 

The next Universalist Cemetery Restoration Clinic will be conducted at the cemetery on Sunday May 31st, 2009.

(The cemetery is located on the east side of 741, (N Main St.) north of 73, at Parker Dr. behind the old Eyler Building.)


This clinic for novices will empower participants providing them with the tools they will need to document, preserve and restore gravemarkers. The clinic will demonstrate in step-by-step fashion how to preserve and restore a graveyard. Restoration is discussed with recommendations as to what lay people should and should not undertake.


The clinic will be conducted by “Walt” Walters, a graveyard restoration professional from Connersville, IN.


Those of us who have attended attended Walt’s previous clinics were inspired to bring Mr. Walters to provide others with experienced, professional training and advice in cemetery restoration, beginning with the Universalist Cemetery.


Walt tells how he started in graveyard restoration when he was asked to temporarily mow cemeteries for his township and how his concern and respect for good maintenance and preservation of the graveyards grew. It is quickly evident  that Mr. Walters' cares very much about his work.


Mr. Walters has educated himself well in the principles of gravemarker restoration and graveyard conservation. He has attended conferences and classes through the Association for Graveyard Studies in Greenfield, Massachusetts. This clinic will include detailed handouts concerning the right and wrong way to approach preservation and conservationß.


In the workshops you will learn the basics of gravestone repair and preservation, such as properly cleaning gravemarkers, leveling stones, building new bases and repairing broken stones. During the workshop and under the supervision of Mr. Walters and his staff, participants will have the opportunity to work on actual gravemarkers.


(Regular cemetery clean-ups are conducted by the DGHS & Springboro AFROTC; contact Penny Massie for notifications.)


The pictures below show a small row of stones four of us straightened and a winch used to replace the larger stones.

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