What better time than the nation’s 250th birthday to clean up a historic graveyard? Granville’s Old Colony Burying Ground on S. Main Street will host a volunteer morning from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, June 6, for headstone cleaning and straightening. Interested citizens are encouraged to sign up to participate. The rain date is Saturday, June 13.
Volunteers under the age of 16 should be accompanied by an adult.
Headstone cleaning is easy and fun, and no prior experience is needed. However, volunteers do need to know the right techniques and must use appropriate materials. With that in mind, all participants are asked to attend the 15-minute instructional session that will precede the work. The session will convene promptly at 9 a.m. on the center path east of the flagpole. Supplies (cleaning agent, brushes, buckets, etc.) will be provided, although participants may want to bring their own work gloves.
Pick out your favorite headstone from among those marked for cleaning, and gently help it lose the lichen, moss and dirt that’s making it hard to read and stealing its beauty. Plan to stay for two hours, if possible, as that’s the average amount of time needed to clean a dirty headstone.
Volunteers are asked to email Lyn Boone (boonel@denison.edu) to register or to ask questions. Help get the Old Colony ready for its big birthday bash on the afternoon of July 3 – when costumed Revolutionary War soldiers and their wives will welcome visitors to their headstones to hear their stories.
Information submitted by Lyn B. Boone.
This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Help clean historic headstones in Granville
Reporting by Special to Granville Sentinel, USA TODAY NETWORK / Newark Advocate
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