We had an awesome turnout on Saturday, Aug. 19, cleaning and restoring monuments in an older section of the Hinesburg Village Cemetery. In four hours, we accomplished so much and could not have done it without all the hard work and enthusiasm of our volunteers and contributors. With roughly 35 volunteers ranging in age from four to mid-70s, 100-plus stones were repaired or straightened; and around 200 monuments scraped and brushed of lichen, moss and mildew. Huge thanks to all who made this project such a success and appreciation to the VT Old Cemetery Association (VOCA) for their volunteers and expertise.
Thanks to the following local businesses and public for all the helpful donations and support: Hinesburg Sand & Gravel, Aubuchon Hardware, Kinney’s Drug Store, Jolley Mobil, Lantman’s Store, Wahl Landscaping, Steve Aube, Hinesburg Fire Department, and Ed Sprano.
I asked some of our volunteers about their experience, why they came, what they learned, what surprised them most, and would they volunteer again. Most volunteered to learn how to take care of their own family stones, to perform a community service, to meet others, for the love of the outdoors, and the need to honor those who went before us. Below are some of their responses.
Allison Cleary wrote, “My sister and I love to walk in the cemetery because it’s so peaceful and beautiful. We wanted to help care for it.”
Kathy Newton added, “We volunteered because my dad took pride in caring for this cemetery for years. He tried to keep up fixing the broken stone and my husband, Dave, works with stone.” (We were fortunate and thankful to have his expertise and knowledge.)
Cecilia Elwert said, “As I get close to retirement, I’m checking out volunteer activities I might enjoy. Cleaning headstones checked off a number of interests: working outdoors in a beautiful rural setting, genealogy, art in the stone designs and lettering, town history, a good upper body workout and meeting likeminded folks.”
Most found it very gratifying; they found cleaning simple but very effective; they enjoyed learning the proper way to clean and straighten stones, “do no harm,” and why and how trees and shrubs can negatively affect the monuments.
Many were surprised how many folks from Hinesburg showed up and shared a mission.
Diane Moore said, “I enjoyed meeting, learning and working with the VOCA. They seem to enjoy their work and helping others to fix these older headstones. I was impressed how much we got done and how just a little elbow grease could make such a difference.”
Robert Hyams added, “My biggest surprise was the history of the family whose stones I spent most of my time cleaning (for kicks, google ‘Eugene Sanctuary Vermont’).”
Daniel Jacobs said, “It felt good to connect with community members I normally don’t see and learn how to properly handle some of these old monuments.”
Cecilia Elwert commented, “First off, I learned what not to do and it was surprising how easy the moss, lichens and stains came off and very satisfying to see the before and after.”
Susan Miners added, “It was enriching to see our history etched in those old stones and to see how different families expressed their love and care. I think the thing that was most surprising and heartening was to see how many people turned up and enthusiastically pitched in on a cloudy, damp day! I was proud of us. Go Hinesburg!”
For myself, the fascination of cleaning a stone is the surprise you often get when a beautiful design or writing emerges that was previously hidden; or transforming a black stone to its natural gray. Seeing rows of broken and leaning stones is heartbreaking, seeing them fixed is amazing.
It was unanimous among our wonderful volunteers that they would all do this again. So please mark your calendars for next year’s cleaning session – Aug. 17, 2024. More photos of the day’s work are available on Hinesburg Cemeteries Facebook page.
