Why Preserve or Protect our Cemeteries?
When cemeteries are ignored and are allowed to deteriorate, and markers
are destroyed or damaged, we lose historically important information
about our past and ultimately a part of ourselves. A cemetery isn't just a place where the dead reside, they are where the living should learn from the dead and
a cemetery's symbols are a guide into the past. A cemetery's
existence adds to our understanding of the history of Florida,
Hernando, Pasco, and its people. Cemeteries are a place with
specific visual characteristics including markers, ornamental
landscaping, fences, and a recognizable relationship between all of
these components. Cemeteries are scattered across the landscape
and are found in nearly every community and sometimes in no community at
all. The present day travelers of our back roads will frequently
pass an isolated cemetery located some distance from today’s
communities and churches. Our historic cemeteries are dynamic and
reflect changing cultures, social values, and often a regional ethnic
or industrial identity. All cemeteries encode social and cultural
values reflecting specific choices and therefore provide the insight of
how people organized their physical and social landscape.
Consequently, many of our historic cemeteries are often neglected,
vandalized, and even developed in the area’s ever changing
enviroment. Cemetery preservation efforts are most successful
when the community, young and old, becomes familiar with the history
and information learned from their historic cemeteries.
** PLEASE NOTE:
An untrained individual should NEVER attempt any aspect of cemetery
preservation or restoration work as this can often cause irreversible
damages and/ or the loss of valuable historical resources. Cemetery
preservation and restoration work is delicate and is not a simple back yard
project that can be accomplished over night. The Pasco County
Historical Preservation Society, Inc., d/b/a/ Friends of Pasco
County's Historic Cemeteries and Friends of Hernando County's Historic Cemeteries, does not teach cemetery preservation
and restoration but instead acts as consultative support group to assists in
a community, grass roots effort, of bringing the community and families
together to preserve and restore their historic cemeteries. While
our association conducts headstone repair and restoration this is
something that has taken us years to learn. We do not
condone restoration, preservation, repairs, cleaning, or any
activites which might cause more damage to a cemetery. If you are untrained then you should consult someone who is.
Preservation and Restoration Services:
The Pasco County Historical Preservation Society, Inc., d/b/a/
Friends of Pasco County's Historic Cemeteries and Friends of Hernando
County's Historic Cemetery, has been
actively involved with the preservation and restoration of Pasco and Hernando counties most historic and
older cemeteries and we have made this work a top priority. This tedious and wide ranged preservation and
restoration work includes but is not limited to historic research, field
research and investigation, headstone transcriptions, headstone repair and
restoration, burial locating, mapping and burial records, and the cleaning and
beautification of cemetery property. All
of our cemetery preservation and restoration projects/ services are
performed in accordance with guidelines and standards supported by the State
Historic Preservation Office and the Historic Tallahassee Preservation Board.
Simple Cleaning of headstones:
The simple cleaning of headstones in your local cemetery can be
performed with good intentions and seem harmless, however to the
untrained individual this simple cleaning can often cause extensive,
irreversible damages to a headstone. One common
myth that must be dispelled is the use of bleach and household cleaners
to clean headstones. NEVER use detergents, soaps, vinegar,
bleach, or any other soulution on a stone, no matter how mild!!
Soaps (i.e. Ivory), commercial household detergents (liquids and
powders), or bleach are not recommended for cleaning any type of
masonry. They are rendered insoluble by calcium ions present in
the stone and hard water. They may also produce free alkali and
fatty acid salts. Damages caused by bleach and household
detergents can take years to develop causing excess weathering, lichean
growth, and stone flaking, which can render the stone illegible.
Don't use
stiff bristled or wire brushes, putty knives, nail files, or any other
metal objects to clean or remove lichen and algea from the stone.
Never attempt to remove or scrape stubborn lichean or algea from
the stone. If you can't read a stone NEVER use chalk, graphite,
dirt, powder, or other concoctions in an attempt to read the worn
incriptions as they may have ingridents that scratch the stone.
DO NOT attempt to do a rubbing of a stone unless you have had
training
on how to do it. Chalks, graphites, and other methods used in
ameteur
rubbing can damage the stone. Rubbing, if done improperly, can
also
cause a stone to break if pressure is applied incorrectly or if the
stone is not level. Either write down the information or take a
picture. At all cost avoid magic marker type pens or other
perminent color materials as they will permanently damage the
headstone.
It should always be
remembered that the headstones in a cemetery are the private property
of the families who placed them there, no matter how old they are.
Cemetery Beautification:
Like the cleaning of headstones, cemetery beautification can be peformed
with good intentions, however to the untrained eye, and in the process
of simple beautification, delicate grave items can be removed
unintnetionally. Grave items are any items that are associated
with the burials, i.e. small knick-knacs, human bones, temporary
markers, ornamental plants, small statues or figurines, and coping or
fecning. Like the headstones in a cemetery, these grave items
belong to the families who placed them there and in some cases these
items may be the only identifying feature of a burial; such as an
ornamental plant. Today, most commercial cemeteries have rules
and regulation, which prohibit the placement of certain grave items
that might have or cause maintenance issue. In the case of a
cemetery that has no orgnaization to oversee activites, grave items
should never be removed without having permission and consent to
do so from the proper party or parties. In most states, including
Florida, there are laws protecting grave items and as a result
these laws prohibit the removal of grave items.
Volunteer Service Project:
If you are interested in getting involved in the preservation and
restoration of our local cemeteries, the Pasco County Historical
Preservation Society, Inc. always has active volunteer service projects
underway. Volunteering your time to one of our active volunteer
service projects is the same as making a donation to our organization
and to your community. Our active volunteer service projects
allow you to get involved in local cemetery preservation while learning
more about your community's roots. Please contact us if you are
interested in joining one of our volunteer service projects.
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Cemetery Preservation & Restoration
