News

A grave situation

Town plans repair of damaged burial ground

By Julie Huss
jhuss@derrynews.com
Published: August 6, 2009

DERRY — Many lie in pieces, their stone stories broken, cracked, and showing their age.

Some of the most historic stones at Forest Hill Cemetery in East Derry are in need of repair as the town prepares to take on a burial ground project to spring new life into some of the town's oldest graves.

This is good news to the volunteer force of cemetery supporters working hard these days to preserve Forest Hill and its many notable residents resting there.

With graves dating back to the area's earliest setters, the 35-acre Forest Hill has gravestones in dire need of repair: many are cracked, broken in pieces, or are covered with a shiny layer of lichen, a mossy growth that overcomes many a cemetery stone.

Earlier this week, town officials took a site walk at Forest Hill, led by cemetery supporter and advisor Dorothy Goldman, who has worked with the town to mark off some of Forest Hill's most damaged stones.

"I am thrilled," Goldman said about the stone repair project.

Goldman has worked diligently in the cemetery, chronicling graves and the histories of the people buried there, posting grave sites online to aid others in finding loved ones, and working with town officials to help keep Forest Hill in good shape. She is also documenting and photographing the tombstones as part of a history research book project.

Goldman also leads a strong volunteer effort, Friends of Forest Hill, to help the cemetery, and also organizes groups to come to Forest Hill to help clean headstones, clear out brush and tree limbs, and just offer support for this hallowed town spot. Groups representing local Girl Scout troops, and youth groups from the Upper Room regularly stop by the cemetery to help with cleaning and upkeep.

In June, the Friends hosted a cemetery workshop featuring gravestone conservator Jonathan Appell, of New England Cemetery Services in West Hartford, Conn. He led volunteers around the cemetery and showed how to clean gravestones with the proper biological solutions and tools as to keep history intact.

Right now, though, there are many stones needing the town's more extensive repair attention, Goldman said, adding the most damaged stones are currently marked with a small red flag.

Take, for example, the grave of Robert McFarland, a stately stone with a large crack down the center. The grave is definitely on the list to be fixed, Goldman said.

"I have watched it get worse and worse," she added. "I am thrilled that this was flagged."

The repair project will most likely include placing toppled stones back on their bases, and more extensive patching and repair of cracked stones.

And even though volunteers do a lot to keep stones clean and bright, Goldman said so many stones need an expert's care.

And many are not even on the list, she said.

Bids will be accepted by the town for the gravestone repair project throught Aug. 14. For information, contact the town's Public Works department at 432-6144.

Photos

Julie Huss/Staff Photographer

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