There is a cemetery restoration project planned for Sep 24th & 25th (this month), at
the Ebenezer UM Church Cemetery in Jennings County. We will be assisted with restoration
tecniques and instructions by John "Walt" Walters and his wife. Please advise if
you'd like to participate - see info below.
Press Release:
Ebenezer United Methodist Church, located on 20 N in Vernon Twp. is having its second
cemetery restoration training and work event over the weekend of September and 25th.
Through the legacy and funding provided by the family of Bonnie Peters Wrightman, John
“Walt” Walters and his wife Mickey will be demonstrating again the appropriate ways to
restore old marble tombstones. Beginning at 8 AM Saturday, September 24th at the Ebenezer
cemetery all volunteers will receive training and participate in restoring stones that
have been illegible for years with lichens and damage from air pollutants and weed
killers. Maybe you didn't even realize these old tombstones were usually white marble
from their present rough texture and gray color. The results are breathtaking, and help us
understand the beauty of these old cemeteries in an entirely different way. There are
examples in the Ebenezer Cemetery from work accomplished in the fall of 2010. This is an
opportunity for a free workshop with a noted authority on restoration. Mr. Walters has
been doing this for over 15 years. Besides cleaning the proper way so as not to damage the
stones, learning to repair broken stones is also demonstrated. The workshop will continue
on Sunday morning, September 25th for several hours. Please see the Walters web site at
www.graveyardgroomer.comgraveyardgroomer.com for details about the process and before and
after pictures of earlier projects. Lunch will be provided on Saturday and work will
continue on Saturday until 4 PM. If you have any questions please contact Susan and Steve
Heitzman at 873-6012.