Living Heritage Podcast Ep206 Cemetery Clean Up Tips and Tricks, with Andrea O'Brien and Robyn Lacy

Often well-meaning people clean or “restore” old gravestones in ways that actually damage them or hasten their deterioration by using the wrong methods. In this episode of the podcast we talk with Andrea O’Brien and Robyn Lacy about some tips and tricks for cemetery cleanups including headstone cleaning and repairs. We also learn more about the work happening in the Immaculate Conception Cemetery in Cape Broyle including some stories of local characters buried in the cemetery.

Andrea O’Brien is Heritage NL’s Municipal Outreach Officer and Provincial Registrar. A graduate of Memorial University, she has a BA focusing on folklore, history, Newfoundland Studies, and English, a Bachelor of Education, and an MA in folklore. She serves as Heritage NL’s Register of Historic Places, Municipal Outreach Officer, Heritage Places Poster Contest coordinator, Historic Commemorations Program coordinator, and web manager.

Robyn Lacy is a PhD student in Historical Archaeology at Memorial University, studying 17th century burial landscapes in North America. She is also co-director of Black Cat Cemetery Preservation which specializes in historic gravestone and monument conservation and restoration in Canada. Wife and husband team Robyn Lacy and Ian Petty, have a combined 20 years of experience in the heritage sector as archaeologists, gravestone conservators, and cultural heritage technicians.

  

Check out our two upcoming cemetery workshops: Headstones Cleaning and Basic TLC for Old Headstones. These workshops are offered by Heritage NL with support of the Labour Market Partnerships program, Department of Immigration, Skills and Labour, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador.

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Living Heritage is about people who are engaged in the heritage and culture sector, from museum professionals and archivists, to tradition bearers and craftspeople - all those who keep history alive at the community level. The show is a partnership between HeritageNL and CHMR Radio.

Theme music is Rythme Gitan by Latché Swing.

Bauline Burial Ground

Group in the unmarked cemetery.

On Thursday Dale and I met with three archaeologists from Memorial University, and three residents of Bauline to discuss the possibility of completing a project in an abandoned cemetery in the community. The unmarked cemetery is an old Methodist burying ground which predates the old United Church cemetery in the community.

Measuring out the cemetery. The rock walls delineating the cemetery can be seen in the foreground.

We met beside the United Church and walked down to the site which is on an incline and is only marked by a short rock wall. One of the residents pointed out two rocks which he was told by an older community member was the entrance to the graveyard.

Reviewing the church floor plans.

After a trip through the graveyard and a discussion of what the next steps were we visited the United Church building. The church is due to celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2020. Dale is completing some research on the history of the church itself and we were able to find some floor plans of some alterations done in the 1980s.

Undenominational Cemetery. 1925.

Once we finished exploring the church we took a quick detour on the way back to town to visit an undenominational graveyard where several goldpreachers or coonies are buried. We are also interested in learning more about this religion and are looking into where else there were goldpreachers practicing in Newfoundland and Labrador.

One of three marked stones in the undenominational graveyard.
Several unmarked stones are also located in the small graveyard.

Stay tuned for more updates on the church and the graveyard! But in the meantime if you have any information about either please reach out to Dale Jarvis at 739-1892 ex. 2 or dale@heritagenl.ca

Queen Victoria's Grave #FolklorePhoto

Photo by Kelly Drover.

Today's folklore photo comes from the General Protestant Cemetery which is located between Waterford Bridge Road and Old Topsail Road in St. John's. A couple of months back I interviewed Roberta Bugden about growing up in St. John's. Along with her own stories she told several stories from her mother Queen Victoria (Ross) Young. If you want to learn more about Queen Victoria's memories of the great fire click here for a previous blog post.

When Queen Victoria Ross was born in 1885 the reigning Queen offered a bounty for multiple births above twins. While she didn't qualify for the bounty as a single birth where she was the eighth girl in the family it was suggested that she was named after the Queen. Pictured above is Queen Victoria's grave in St. John's.

~Terra Barrett

A cemetery visit on Orangeman's Day - the grave of William Janes

Yesterday was Orangeman's Day in Newfoundland and Labrador, one of the curious provincial holidays that some people get off work, and other people know nothing about.  While the Heritage Foundation office was closed, I headed off to Carbonear for a meeting about a possible future oral history project, and a visit to St. James Anglican to meet with their committee about their cemetery cleanup project. We'd blogged about St. James Anglican before (read here) and today was the first day their student workers in place. So off I went to help them make a plan for removing brush, and to prioritize which sections of the cemetery they should work on first.

When I arrived, the students had already cleared away some of the brush from around the memorial stone for William Janes, work appropriate, perhaps, for Orangeman's Day. William Janes was killed in the notorious Harbour Grace Affray, and his marker reads:

SACRED

TO THE MEMORY OF

WILLIAM JANES

AGED

22 YEARS

Who was shot dead whilst

walking in an Orange Pro

cession at Harbour Grace

ON DEC 26TH 1883.

There is a detailed account of the affray here:
http://canadianorangehistoricalsite.com/HabourGraceAffair.php

The Church of England Cemetery in Harbour Breton. #folklorephoto

One of our former board members, Doug Wells, was inspired by the podcast we did last week with archaeologist Robyn Lacy (listen to that interview here). He sent us a few photos of the old gravestones at the old Church of England Cemetery in Harbour Breton, sometimes referred to as the Newman & Co. Cemetery.

Heart's Content Graveyard Mapping Workshop and Cemetery Clean Up

Guest blog post by Celeste Billung-Meyer a Folklore student working with the Heritage Foundation this summer:

Last Saturday (July 16 th , 2016), I attended the Graveyard Mapping Workshop and Clean Up in Heart’s Content. It was an event co-organized by the Heritage Foundation and Youth Heritage in order to help Heart’s Content get ready for their 150th anniversary of the first successful landing of a trans Atlantic cable.

We had a fantastic turn out! The majority of our volunteers gathered at the Heritage Foundation for 9 am, where we got on a bus and drove to Heart’s Content. When we arrived and met up with the rest of the volunteers, the weather looked dubious; however, much to our delight, within the hour the sun came out and the day ended up being gorgeous and warm!

Practising gravestone rubbing.

For the morning, the group was split between two activities. One group started cleaning up the cemetery and the other group went with Terra who led a workshop about grave rubbing. As it happened, there was no tracing paper to be bought anywhere in St. John’s during the days leading up to the workshop and so Terra resolved to use exam table paper (found in doctor’s offices) as a substitute.  However, the substitute paper combined with the windy morning (making it hard tape the paper tightly to the stone) lead to mixed grave rubbing results. Nonetheless, everyone came away with a working knowledge of the process and an solid understanding of the value of grave rubbing.

Cemetery cleanup.

Around noon, we were invited to a lunch provided by the Mizzen Heritage Society. Hotdogs for all! After lunch, we had the graveyard mapping workshop lead by Dale and Michael. While this type of mapping is quite a slow and painstaking process, it can be used by anyone with just a couple of tools that are cheap and easily accessible (two stakes, two tape measures, a plumb bob, graph paper, a large clip board, a geometry kit, a scale ruler and a pencil). After the demonstration, the group was split in two again and anyone who wanted to try the mapping first hand stayed with Michael and was given a chance to do so.

Dale and Sarah demonstrating how to map the graveyard.

Michael drawing out the map.

The rest of the group followed Dale on a walk around the cemetery and he explained the meaning behind the symbols on some of the graves!

Dale giving a tour of the cemetery symbols.

Once the tour ended, everyone came together to finish cleaning up the cemetery.

Photo of our wonderful volunteers and the progress of the graveyard!

We finished the day with a walk over to the Mizzen Heritage Society and then the newly renovated Heyfield Memorial United Church and Cemetery. Along the way, we learned a bit about the history of Heart’s Content, some of the ghost lore of the area and a bit about what the Heritage Foundation and Youth Heritage are up to in the next couple of months!

Learning about Heart's Content's history.

Free Graveyard Mapping Workshop - July 16th

Measuring the distance between graves.

The Heritage Foundations of Newfoundland and Labrador, in partnership with Youth Heritage NL, is looking for your help in getting Heart's Content ready for their 150th Anniversary Commemoration Celebration "Connected and Contented"!

We are organizing a cemetery mapping and cleanup for July 16. The mapping workshop will take place in the morning, followed by at short lunch provided by the Mizzen Heritage Society and HFNL, then a cleanup of the cemetery before taking the bus back to St. John's. Help HFNL and YHNL cleanup the cemetery and learn how to map in the process!

There will be a bus leaving 1 Springdale Street, St. John's at 9am and returning around 4pm.

Schedule:
 9:00-10:30 - Travel to Heart's Content
10:30-12:00 - Mapping the cemetery
12:00-12:45 - Lunch!
12:45- 3:30 - Cemetery cleanup
 3:30- 5:00 - Travel back to St. John's

Of course this is not limited to volunteers from St. John's. If you are interested in helping, please contact us at YouthHeritageNL@gmail.com and we will provide details (transportation may not be included depending on your location).

This is an outdoor, hands-on activity, so please have appropriate clothing, workboots, gloves, hats, sunblock, bug spray, etc.

If you want to get involved register here for this free workshop.

Plotting the graves on a map.

Witless Bay Cemetery Clean Up

ICH development officer and members of the Witless Bay heritage committee.
Left to right: Peter, Kevin, Dale, Bonnie, Mary.

This morning Dale and I drove out to beautiful Witless Bay on the Southern Shore to meet with several members of the heritage committee.  In a couple of weeks time on June 23^rd the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Witless Bay heritage committee are partnering with Memorial University for the second year to do a cemetery clean up as part of MUN’s Make Midterm Matter.  This year students from MUN will have the opportunity to spend the day out of the classroom and in the graveyard engaging with the community while gaining volunteer experience. 

View from the Witless Bay cemetery.

Cemeteries are an interesting part of our past with many stories to tell, however, older cemeteries are often forgotten and fall into disrepair.  Taking care of cemeteries in this province is difficult with a climate which is rough on the gravestones.  However, looking after these gravestones is important as they often offer information which is not found elsewhere.  In order to show the students some of the information which can be learned from the graves we will be doing a couple of gravestone rubbings.  Dale will also discuss the significance of the gravestone symbols and how reading these symbols can give us information about the people who are buried in the graveyard.

Several symbols are displayed on this gravestone in the cemetery.
A cross, an anchor, a harp, a plant and a sacred heart.

The students will be working together to clear brush, mow grass, paint and fix fences, clear garbage and generally tend to the cemetery grounds.  The Witless Bay heritage committee is looking to restore the graveyard to its former glory and any and all volunteers are welcome.  If you are interested in volunteering and wondering how you can become involved send me an email at terra@heritagefoundation.ca


-Terra

Headstone Rubbing Workshop

Workshop participant outlining the symbols on the headstone.

On Friday July 18th Lisa and I geared up and drove to Cupids for the second annual Headstone Rubbing Workshop. It was a beautiful day for a drive to Cupids and it was both of our first experiences at the Cupids Legacy Centre. Although we didn’t have much of an opportunity to explore the centre it looked wonderful.

Participants rubbing one of the older headstones in the cemetery.

Located next to the Cupids Legacy Centre was the Cupids United Church and cemetery. After Lisa’s introduction to the practice of headstone rubbing, and ideas of which stones to choose we headed to the cemetery. Lisa did a demonstration of the process which involved taping a thick paper over a headstone and using charcoal to outline the shape of the headstone and wording on the headstone.

These sisters chose a husband and wife's headstones to do their rubbings.

It was my first experience with headstone rubbing and I found the technique very methodical. It was interesting to see people’s different approaches to the very hands on process. Some people were looking to uncover the words on headstones while others were interested in taking their time and enjoying the practice.   

Almost done!

It was a great workshop and participants left with a greater knowledge of the practice, some information on resources for information on genealogy, and their own headstone rubbing.  It was a beautiful way to spend a Friday afternoon!

Headstone Rubbing in Action!

If you have two minutes to spare, please watch this video showing the artful hands of our headstone rubbing participants! This event took place on July 18, 2014 as a collaboration between the HFNL and Cupids Legacy Centre.  It was a great day in Cupids--we had a good turn-out and lots of fun learning about cemetery documentation under blue skies. This short was recorded and put together by Lisa Wilson, who facilitated the workshop. Accompanying music is Gerard Chaytor of Conche, NL, on accordion.

Also, please stay tuned to see photos of the event, which will be posted in the near future.

Cupids Headstone Documentation Workshop

If you are in Cupids this upcoming Friday, you might considering joining us for the HFNL's second annual Headstone Rubbing Workshop! This session will be in partnership with Cupids Legacy Centre.

This workshop is aimed at teaching best practices for documenting headstones in historic cemeteries. We will cover the art of making rubbings, reasons to use this method for headstone documentation, basics of discovering headstone symbology, and how to give attention and respect to our historic cemeteries without doing damage to the stone artifacts.

You will walk away with at least one headstone rubbing that you have made yourself, as well as some knowledge about the importance of cemetery conservation.

Note: Charcoal can be messy so please remember to dress in clothes you don't mind getting dirty.  All materials provided but you may wish to bring a pillow, knee pads, or a stool.

Date: Friday, July 18
Time: 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Admission: $15
Facilitator: Lisa Wilson, Heritage Outreach Officer, Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland Labrador
Pre-registration required, please contact Cupids Legacy Centre at (709) 528-1610


*All outdoor events are weather dependent. An alternate date will be set in the case of wet conditions. For updates call 528-1610, or check facebook or twitter.*

"Better to die a child than live in vain" - Winterton tombstone mystery

I posted a little while ago about a mystery headstone motif from Cupids, which generated some suggestions, and an article in The Telegram. Following that, I got this image (above) and note from Grant Tucker, about a headstone in the Anglican cemetery beside the church at Winterton. Grant writes:

"It has a six line epitaph which is only partially decipherable; perhaps you or one of your contacts can help us. Here is what we have deciphered: 

At last from worldly strife ------------------- (hand?) - Iambic Hexameter
And (valiant?) (souls?) -------------------------------- - Iambic (Pentameter?)
(Where?) mercies never fade - Iambic Trimeter
But if protracted guilt --------------------- the span - Iambic Hexameter
Better to die a child than live in vain - Iambic Pentameter
And sink into the shade - Iambic Trimeter 

Jasper, my fifth great-grandfather, or perhaps the generation before him, are thought to have been among the first of Winterton's permanent settlers who came from Trinity."

 Any thoughts? Does the epitaph ring any bells with poetry fans out there?

Drop me a line at ich@heritagefoundation.ca or post a comment!

Help identify this Victorian-era "open book and star" tombstone symbol

I love old cemeteries, and always enjoy poking around the older sections, reading the epitaphs and admiring the artistry of the old grave markers. I was exploring the United Church graveyard in Cupids, Newfoundland yesterday, and came across a tombstone symbol that I am unfamiliar with.

The tombstone features an open book with star motif, and dates from 1881. It marks the burial spot and final resting place of one Lorenzo Taylor, age 22. It is a paired tombstone, with two inscriptions, the partner inscription bearing the more familiar handshake motif.

Books are a common theme on gravestones from the period, and the symbolism of the book can represent many things. A book may represent a person's good deeds and accomplishments being recorded in the Book of Life, or perfect knowledge, or it may be a more literal representation of the Bible.

Often used on the gravestones of ministers or clergymen, a book is a fairly common symbol found on gravestones of very devoted religious people. In the Cupids UC Cemetery, there are numerous examples of book motifs, many of them featuring the same double page spread as the Taylor grave.

Stars, as well, have many possible meanings. A five-pointed star can represent, variously, the Star of Bethlehem, the Epiphany, the star of Jesse or Jacob, and/or heavenly wisdom. Stars can symbolize heaven, the spirit, or the spirit rising to heaven. One list of motifs states the stars can represent “piercing the darkness as an expression of their triumph against the overwhelming odds of oblivion.”

What is less clear is what a star on a book means. Was it simply a stone carver’s blending of two unrelated religious symbols, and then picked out of a pattern book by the purchaser? Or does it represent something specific?

Let me know your thoughts, ideas, and theories! You can comment below, or email me at ich@heritagefoundation.ca.

Fine Day for a Cemetery Clean-up!

The Make Midterm Matter cemetery crew.

On Tuesday, June 24th the HFNL teamed up with students from Memorial University’s Anthropology 1031 to help clean up the RC cemetery in Portugal Cove. This event was a partnership between the Heritage Foundation, Memorial University, the Town of Portugal Cove-St. Phillips and the Roman Catholic Church--it was the first collaboration of its kind. 

Jeremy, a heritage/folklore regular, clears brush on his last day of class.

The University’s “Make Midterm Matter” program inspired the collaboration, and the day-long session became part of the students’ curriculum. It was an interesting example of learning outside of the classroom.
 
The students worked hard to clear sections of brush and small trees to uncover overgrown graves. While taking breaks from this labour, they also had interesting discussions about the different things a cemetery can reveal about a community. Reading the symbols or “motifs” on the graves themselves can show a shift from religious, community symbols such as the hand of God to more personalized inscriptions such as a fishing pole or a truck. Another discussion lead by their professor Sebastien Despres touched on the issues surrounding the maintenance of graveyards and the shift of responsibility from the family when there are issues such as resettlement and population declines. What I found it particularly interesting, as an observer, was how Dr. Despres was able to connect classroom material in such a meaningful way to the students and to a tangible place in their community.

Both Dale and Lisa from the Heritage Foundation then offered their own knowledge and work experiences connected to Newfoundland cemeteries. Lisa discussed a restoration project she facilitated in Port Royal--a resettled community in Placentia Bay--and the challenges and rewards which went along with the project. Dale shared some ghost and fairy stories about graves, graveyards, and coffins and discussed how these tales relate to notions of respecting the dead. He also provided information about his research on Moravian dead houses and burial practices. 

Students hard at work in the RC cemetery.

More hard work, uncovering a hidden grave.

Visiting West Point burial site, which the town has protected from development.

It was a great day of experiential learning under a bright blue sky....and the cemetery is now in great shape, ready to accept summer visitors. Thank you to the Jeff Lawlor from the Town of PC-SP, Richard from the Parish Hall, the RC Church, Sebastien Despres, the “Make Midterm Matter” group, and all the students for helping make this project happen.

-Terra and Lisa

Looking for Newfoundland descendants of men lost in 1835 shipwreck

Does your family tree include the names Breddy, Kelson, Heytor, Miller, Sheppard, Stevenson or Swyers? Do you have roots in Trinity, Trinity Bay? Then the Willow Tree Heritage Society may be looking for you!

August 16, 2014 the Willow Tree Heritage Society of Hant's Harbour will be unveiling a plaque in memory of the seven crew members who were lost on the ship “Fanny” which was shipwrecked near Hant's Harbour in December 1835.

Read about the wreck here

The “Fanny” and crew were from Trinity, and included:

• Skipper Ben Breddy,
• William Kelson,Jr. (Owner)
• John Heyter
• Jonathan Miller
• John Sheppard
• John Stevenson
• James Swyers

It is the hope of the Willow Tree Heritage Society that there may be descendants of the crew living in the province, and they would love to invite them to the official unveiling of the plaque on August 16th. If you or someone you know might be related to the crew of the “Fanny” contact Gertie Pelley at (709) 586-2355.

Portugal Cove Cemetery Clean-Up Day

Just up the road from the Roman Catholic Church in Portugal Cove, on the side of a green hill, is the RC cemetery. It's a fairly large, sprawling cemetery, with headstones (many as old as the mid 19th century) standing in clusters through the trees. This is just one of the many interesting burial spaces that PCSP has, all of which are physical reminders of the community's long settlement history (which, no doubt, is closely connected to the fishery). Because of the historic significance of these spaces, cemeteries are worthy of attention so that they can be protected to the best of our abilities. This is a huge task in Newfoundland, as the climate is hard on the stone, and there are so many cemeteries that need attention, that it can feel overwhelming to try and protect them all. But even small measures can go a long way. The Roman Catholic Cemetery has been tended to some degree over the years, and this summer, it is schedule to have an intensive clean-up by a group of volunteer students from MUN.

 

The RC Church in Portugal Cove, close to the RC Cemetery.

Some of the organizers checking out the site. (I'm behind the camera!)

On June 24th, 2014, 30 to 40 students with the "Make Midterm Matter" program will be showing up to do their part. Not only will they work hard to clear brush, clean up garbage, and cut away growth from headstones, but it will also be a learning opportunity for them. They will be given a few tips for how to tend to headstones without doing any damage, as well as learn about what the symbols on the headstones mean. This day-long heritage volunteer excursion is a partnership between MUN, the HFNL, the Town of Portugal Cove and St. Phillips, and the RC Church. It's the first partnership of its kind, and we hope it continues into the future. It will be a great opportunity to raise awareness about heritage issues in our communities. Hope to see you there!

A small portion of the large cemetery space that the students will be working in. Endless growth and brush for them to tackle!

-Lisa

A Few Spots Left

It's not too late to register for our Headstone Rubbing Workshop! There are still a few spots left, and Wednesday is poised to be a lovely day to visit a local historic cemetery. 

Please email Lisa Wilson if you are interested: lisa@heritagefoundation.ca

Date: Wednesday, August 21, 2013 in St. John’s.    
Cost: $20.00 (includes materials)

Location: General Protestant Cemetery

We will be meeting at the Cemetery Gate on Topsail Rd. at 1:00 pm.

 

Tuesday's Folklore Photo

IN MEMORY OF JOHN BUTT

WHO DIED HAPPY IN THE LORD

11th MAY 1842

AGED 58 YEARS

He was the first person buried in this cemetery on Sunday 15th

By Rev. J. Snowball

Who preached a sermon for the occasion the same evening.

"Be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cameth"

St. Matthew 24

This headstone is located in the old General Protestant Cemetery in St. John's. Later this month the HFNL will be holding a headstone rubbing workshop in this very cemetery, and discussing the different ways of preserving the information (genealogical details, epitaphs etc.) on historic headstones. Details about this workshop will be released in the next few days. Please stay tuned!!

-Lisa

Tuesday's Folklore Photo

Despite its fairly small size, Bell Island has at least 12 different cemeteries. Some of these are considered new, while others are historic, dating back to the 18th and 19th centuries. The cemetery pictured here is by far the smallest--it has a single headstone, carefully fenced off, on the side of a hill. It can be seen from the road when you are  driving onto the island from the ferry. One can't help but speculate as to why it is up there all alone. This single grave site surely has a story. Who is buried here? Why is this grave in this location? While I've heard a few stories about the person buried here, I'd be interested to hear your version. So, if you know anything about this little hillside graveyard, please email: lisa@heritagefoundation.ca. I look forward to hearing from you, and I'll be sure to write another post sharing people's answers to this query.

-Lisa

UPDATE: 
This information was provided by Ed Kirby who has roots on Bell Island. This is an interesting account, and it also points towards a mystery around the actual burial site connected to this headstone (pictured above).

"It’s that of Greg Normore, who supposedly was the first permanent resident of Bell Island, settling there around 1740. The headstone was moved to its current location in the late 1950s or early 1960s. I think it had previously been somewhere else on the hill, possibly in the old Anglican graveyard on the east hand side of the Beach Hill Road, or near the tram track to the west of the road. The tram, which was located between the road and the cemetery, moved people up and down the steep hill to the Beach ferry before Beach Hill Road was built. My mother’s family – both sides of it – were from Bell Island, and there was some skepticism that the site from where the headstone was moved was actually his burial site. The adults in the family said Normore’s actual burial site was unknown, and that the headstone was erected in an arbitrary spot overlooking the bay. The current site of the headstone is near the Catholic cemetery where the ground is about half rock and half clay, fit only for grazing and burying."

New Perlican Thinks About Cemetery Restoration

As we come up to next week's Cemetery Workshop (Dec. 4th, 1-5pm), I am going to post about a cemetery visit I recently had that really made me think about best practices for cemetery restoration work. Yesterday I traveled to New Perlican to have a visit with three members of the town's Heritage Society.  There is a cemetery in their community that has been neglected for a very long time. The residents have been keeping an eye on it, but they would like to do some conservation and restoration work in the near future. The cemetery is likely from the early-to-mid-1800s and as far as this group knows, there is no living resident who can remember a church once being up on that hill. All of the people who would have seen it in their youth have now passed away. The cemetery itself is very interesting. There are 8-10 headstones (some broken, others still standing) that clearly show where there are graves. It is thought that there are many more headstones that have fallen and been buried by layers of moss. On other parts of this large hill, there are clear examples of stone makers which suggest grave locations. These are scattered over a large area, but it is quite easy to pick them out. They look different than natural rocks-- they were buried in an intentional way with portions of the rock rising above the ground, much like headstones. Eileen, Max and Lorraine gave me a tour of this space and explained some of their restoration plans. They have some hurdles ahead, but with the dedication they have, there will surely be some successes.

Lorraine, Eileen, and Max showing me the St. Mark's Cemetery.

Buried and broken headstone in the cemetery. Date of stone unknown.

Two rocks thought to show the 'head' and 'foot' of a grave.

Some of the questions that came up included: how should headstones be fixed and protected without causing more damage? How can we tell if there is a grave if the headstone is now gone? How can we record what is still here? It is great that the New Perlican heritage group is asking such questions. They understand how important it is to document and protect what we have from the past, while we still have it. Overall, it was a fantastic visit and I hope to provide them support in the spring and summer as they embark on this restoration journey.

A final photo before signing off: here is a broken headstone that is now under the careful watch of the this New Perlican Heritage Society. This was pulled from the local garden of Percy Critch. It is thought to be a headstone from 1758 for a woman named Jane London-- a fascinating find to say the least!

-Lisa