Hello Mark
Jack Belcher out going Perry Township Trustee, has reset many a stone over the years, and
he will be out main advisor. I have spoke to Dave Sullivan who takes care of Mount Tabor,
and has reset stone in that cemetery Larry Truitt of the Boone County Genealogical
Society has also volunteered his expertise in cleaning and resetting of the stones.
The project has been approved by the trustee and the township advisory board who have
oversight of the cemetery. Many of the stones are in disrepair, a large number are
buried in the ground. My husbands family and extended family are buried in Howards, so I
can assure you that all care is going to be taken in preserving the stone markers. A
number of our 4-H families also have relatives buried in Howards. It has been our clubs
responsibility to maintain the cemetery for more than twenty years. I have degrees in
History, therefore I understand the steps needed to preserve the history of Howards.
We first are going to put in cement footing, which are going to be at least a four inch
width outside of the bases, that will be poured. Then the original stones will be cleaned
in a historically approved manner. The stones will be reset with an epoxy, that has been
used in previous stone resetting at Howards and Mt Tabor Cemetery. Prior to excavation
the stones will be marked with a GPS tag, so the original location can be found. Pictures
will be taken of the stone in the original condition and position. Documentation will be
done throughout the entire process, and will be supplied to both the Lebanon Public
Library and the Sullivan Museum. Because of the type of stone that were available and
widely used during the 1800's, the stone are going to have to be cleaned extremely
carefully. I am researching various methods to find the best process. I am very
schooled in archeology; so I can assure you that the excavation will be done to preserve
the stones. The excavation of the stones is a delicate process and only those member and
parents that participate in a "How To" class will be allowed to excavate. The
excavation has to been done properly, just as if a Hohokom pot was being removed from the
earth. Those that are deeply buried need to be kept in a water bath and dried out slowly.
Drying them out too quickly could destroy the integrity of the markers. The stones are
not as old as Hohokom pots, but they are just as fragile.This is a historic restoration,
not just a one weekend project that we are undertaking. This is just the first phase of
the restoration of the cemetery. The buried stones are the main focus, then repairing of
existing footers and bases. We plan to have landscaping in place by August 15th. We are
committed to the cemetery as it is our communities heritage. Eventually all the stones
that can no longer be read will have a small stepping stone set in front of it, with all
the burial information transcribed.
May I ask if any of your family are buried in Howards Cemetery.
Thank you for your interest.
Karen Everett
Perry Future Farmer 4-H Club Leader
Boone County Genealogy Project Leader
-----Original Message-----
From: md9105 <md9105(a)rogerscomputers.net>
To: inboone <inboone(a)rootsweb.com>
Sent: Sun, Nov 28, 2010 8:05 pm
Subject: Re: [INBOONE] Howards Cemetery
Could you explain the extent of the stone restoration, what techniques will
be used and documentation of the project. Also how will stones be reset,
what type of bases you will be using, mortars, epoxies,etc.
Mark Davis
Original Message:
-----------------
From: Karen Everett thatawayqh(a)aol.com
Date: Sun, 28 Nov 2010 12:01:34 -0500 (EST)
To: INBOONE(a)rootsweb.com
Subject: [INBOONE] Howards Cemetery
Hello Boone County
In the Spring on 2011 our local 4-H Club Perry Future Farmers is planning
on restoring grave markers at Howards Cemetery located east of Fayette.
After the stone restoration we plan on beautify the cemetery with some
needed landscaping. After the completion we are going to have a community
day, and we would like photo's, family tree's, family histories of the
individuals and families buried in Howards, especially any information of
unmarked graves.
Thank you
Karen Everett
-------------------------------
To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to
INBOONE-request(a)rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes
in the subject and the body of the message
--------------------------------------------------------------------
mail2web - Check your email from the web at
http://link.mail2web.com/mail2web
-------------------------------
To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to INBOONE-request(a)rootsweb.com
with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of
the message