Hillside Cemetery headstone and monuments cleaning project - a photo essay
A nice day for cleaning and sprucing up
Good afternoon Norwich and the Upper Valley,
I recently attended a workshop on how to clean headstones and would like to share this photo essay with you.
This was the announcement of the event:
Hello Norwich Community,
We will be hosting a workshop on how to properly clean cemetery
headstones. If you have a family plot at Hillside Cemetery or are just
interested in learning how to clean headstones, please join us:
When: July 13th from 8:00-10:00am
Where: Hillside Cemetery, Hopson Rd., Norwich
How to sign up: Please fill out this form:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeNHbNk5xb-zuzljfYJxRgBD0j2lmmHn8yTpwInJ_jIPlQO1g/viewform?usp=sharing&ouid=103607596589113215273
We will be using equipment provided by the generous support of the
Norwich Women's Club.
Thanks so much,
Emily Myers and the Norwich Cemetery Commission
As you will see from the below photos this event was a success.
Stay tuned for the next announcement of a headstone cleaning project workshop as there are quite a few headstones that would love your attention.
Nicole Vecchi explaining the mornings mission to the group of volunteers as Emily Myers looks on. Each volunteer was loaned a kit for a day with all the goodies inside.
The cleaning kits were made possible because of a grant from the Norwich Women’s Club. A special thanks to them for doing this, as it certainly made the job a lot easier.
Each kit had a spray bottle of water, and a spray plastic bottle of D-2 Biological cleaning solution along with the brushes and scraping tools.
And here is the group receiving the instructions …The Hillside Cemetery volunteers AKA the headstone/monument cleaning crew for the day.
Preventing and cleaning crud buildup on headstones and monuments
Monuments and headstones are susceptible to crud buildup from various sources, including:
Environmental Factors: Dirt, dust, hard water deposits, air pollution, and weather elements like rain, wind, and freezing temperatures contribute to buildup and deterioration.
Biological Growth: Algae, moss, lichen, and even bacteria can thrive on monument surfaces, particularly in shaded or damp conditions. These organisms can stain the stone, trap moisture, and potentially cause erosion over time.
Vegetation: Overhanging trees, shrubs, and other plants can drop sap, berries, or leaves, leading to stains and promoting mold or mildew growth.
Human Activity: Bird droppings, accidental damage from cleaning or other activities, and even the use of inappropriate cleaning chemicals can also contribute to buildup and deterioration.
Step one is to spray the monument/headstone with water
A sample of a simple cleaning kit used to scrape off the growth on the headstone.
A D-2 cleaning solution is then sprayed on and then:
As you can see the water loosens all the bad stuff that has been scraped and sprayed with the D-2 solution. Mother nature takes care of the rest
Each volunteer picks up their kits and getting their questions answered and then heading out to their duty station in the assigned area.
These three headstones don’t have a chance with this crew in charge
And they both are smiling all the while.
These two seem happy to be here and do their part
A production line if you will
Twice the effort but look at the results
A nice clean headstone is the result here also
Now starting on the other side and letting the front dry until mother nature does her thing and really washes the goop off.
This one is coming out nice I think ( this photo courtesy of Emily Myers)
Even the instructors gets to clean a monument and headstone or two or three!
And seem just as happy to do this as the crew is
Almost at the finish line here
Thanks for reading and hopefully supporting my newsletter about Norwich