Sorry this post is so late in response to a wonderful, successful event.
Congratulations, Scott. It sounds like you began a project that involves so
much more than the restoration of a cemetery. Please keep us posted!
Katie Karrick
Tomb With A View
http://members.aol.com/TombView/twav.html
katydid579(a)aol.com
In a message dated 98-05-24 01:21:00 EDT, randyk(a)si-net.com writes:
<< Way to go Scott....wish we could all have those good feelings as you do!!!
Randy Klemme
Franklin County PCRP Coordinator
Scott Satterthwaite wrote:
Hi all,
Saturday May 23rd: This morning I hosted a field trip of Project
Challenge students to Pilcher's Chapel Cemetery. Project Challenge
provides academic and social challenges to 5th and 6th grade elementary
school students. There was a total of 25 students and adults in
attendance. We discussed many aspects of the life cycle of a cemetery,
stone identification and reading, grave location, and restoration /
preservation techniques. The lectures and demonstrations were
supplemented by lengthy "practical" sessions where everyone was allowed
time to practice some supervised, hands on restoration work.
We started the day by picking through the tall weeds and grass and
collecting limbs and trash to be removed from the site. This "clean-up"
also provided a detailed tour of the terrain and helped prevent
accidents.
I have never had a more pleasant experience with a group of young
people. These kids were interested, enthusiastic and very well
behaved. They all had plenty of questions for me and became genuinely
excited about each new "find" as they worked. I spent most of the
morning walking from grave site to grave site answering questions and
offering pointers. Two of the young ladies even identified a submerged
grave stone that was not on any previous readings of the cemetery. We
carefully dug away the sod and freed the stone, which was lying face
down in two pieces. We turned the stone over in place and with plain
water and cleaning brushes, cleaned the face to reveal an engraved
surface as pristine as the day it was cut. A representative of a local
newspaper was on hand to cover the event as a followup to a front-page
article they had done in March on the PCRP and my efforts locally.
To top off the day: The students, teachers, parents, and even the bus
driver asked to adopt the cemetery and assist with the "real"
restoration work. Two more Saturdays have been scheduled for June.
Signed.
Feeling good
Scott Satterthwaite
>>