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Restoring pieces of history, one cemetery stone at a time
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By Ra'Vae Edwards
redwards@newstribune.com
CALIFORNIA, Mo. - When driving by an old cemetery at 55 mph, one isn't likely to notice the damage weather and time have played on grave markers, especially ones dating prior to the 1900s.
But when Wayne York drives by an old cemetery, his sixth sense kicks in. After two years of research and more than 10 years of experience maintaining old cemeteries, York launched a business and set out to restore as many old cemeteries as possible.
Only two years into his new business, he has restored literally thousands of stones and discovered just fewer than 200 that were buried.
Most of the stones, dating back to the 1800s, are made mainly of sandstone and can crumble and break easily.
Although his services do not include engraving restoration, he does possess the ability to piece the markers back together and place them as close to their original setting as possible.
“If I can find the pieces, I can put them back together,” he said. “I use an epoxy that I have found holds them very well, but I don't really mess with re-etching the lettering on the stones.”
Because he's still new in the business, York said he still has several kinks to work through.
“I'm still in the learning process,” York said. “I haven't by any means mastered the process and each cemetery is a learning experience for me. I haven't been able to find anyone close who does the same kind of work, so I'm really winging it.”
Recovering old stones and restoring the integrity and the historical value of the cemetery is York's main goal.
“Bringing the stones as close to the original placement as possible is what I'm trying to do,” York said. “I have found several stones that, after more than a 100 years, have been buried under dirt and grass because of the settling grounds. That's a lot of our history just disappearing.”
Some of the stones he has discovered have been buried as deep as 10 inches.
“As the earth settles, the stones sink,” he said. “It's nothing anyone can help, but there is really no way to know how many old stones have been lost over the years.”
All of the equipment is designed specifically for his business and every tool he uses is somehow modified.
“You can't just go out and buy the right tools to do this kind of work,” he said. “We have designed most of the tools we use. That's another part of the learning process.”
The process, York said, is quite simple. Once he is hired to restore a cemetery, the first thing he has to do is assess the needs.
“I usually see a lot of things that need to be fixed or repaired just by looking at the cemetery,” he said. “I probably see a lot of things that other people may or may not notice - like leaning stones, broken stones - and sometimes I can figure out where the missing stones are probably at.”
Once the assessing part of the project is complete, he moves on to the actual work.
“The size and the way it's made decides really how much work is involved and how long it is going to take to do the job,” he said. “Of course, if the stone is damaged, broken, or in pieces, the amount of work increases, but it's all a challenge.”
Unearthing, restoring, re-leveling and repairing the old sandstone markers can take several weeks, but it's well worth the time and the effort, York says, to restore the historical value of the cemetery.
Another interesting aspect, York said, is the difference of each stone.
“When they made these stones back then knew exactly what they were doing,” he said. “One thing is for sure, there are no two stones alike.”
For more information about the services offered by York, call 573-291-0254 or visit the Web site at www.yorkcemeteryservices.com.
But when Wayne York drives by an old cemetery, his sixth sense kicks in. After two years of research and more than 10 years of experience maintaining old cemeteries, York launched a business and set out to restore as many old cemeteries as possible.
Only two years into his new business, he has restored literally thousands of stones and discovered just fewer than 200 that were buried.
Most of the stones, dating back to the 1800s, are made mainly of sandstone and can crumble and break easily.
Although his services do not include engraving restoration, he does possess the ability to piece the markers back together and place them as close to their original setting as possible.
“If I can find the pieces, I can put them back together,” he said. “I use an epoxy that I have found holds them very well, but I don't really mess with re-etching the lettering on the stones.”
Because he's still new in the business, York said he still has several kinks to work through.
“I'm still in the learning process,” York said. “I haven't by any means mastered the process and each cemetery is a learning experience for me. I haven't been able to find anyone close who does the same kind of work, so I'm really winging it.”
Recovering old stones and restoring the integrity and the historical value of the cemetery is York's main goal.
“Bringing the stones as close to the original placement as possible is what I'm trying to do,” York said. “I have found several stones that, after more than a 100 years, have been buried under dirt and grass because of the settling grounds. That's a lot of our history just disappearing.”
Some of the stones he has discovered have been buried as deep as 10 inches.
“As the earth settles, the stones sink,” he said. “It's nothing anyone can help, but there is really no way to know how many old stones have been lost over the years.”
All of the equipment is designed specifically for his business and every tool he uses is somehow modified.
“You can't just go out and buy the right tools to do this kind of work,” he said. “We have designed most of the tools we use. That's another part of the learning process.”
The process, York said, is quite simple. Once he is hired to restore a cemetery, the first thing he has to do is assess the needs.
“I usually see a lot of things that need to be fixed or repaired just by looking at the cemetery,” he said. “I probably see a lot of things that other people may or may not notice - like leaning stones, broken stones - and sometimes I can figure out where the missing stones are probably at.”
Once the assessing part of the project is complete, he moves on to the actual work.
“The size and the way it's made decides really how much work is involved and how long it is going to take to do the job,” he said. “Of course, if the stone is damaged, broken, or in pieces, the amount of work increases, but it's all a challenge.”
Unearthing, restoring, re-leveling and repairing the old sandstone markers can take several weeks, but it's well worth the time and the effort, York says, to restore the historical value of the cemetery.
Another interesting aspect, York said, is the difference of each stone.
“When they made these stones back then knew exactly what they were doing,” he said. “One thing is for sure, there are no two stones alike.”
For more information about the services offered by York, call 573-291-0254 or visit the Web site at www.yorkcemeteryservices.com.
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