June 2020 Update

As of today, 02 June 2020, work is progressing nicely at the Evangelical Protestant Cemetery. In March, 81 gravestones were marked for attention. Today there are 44 left to complete. Most of this work was accomplished over the last three weeks and will continue until complete!

Although the cemetery lawn presently looks fantastic, the lawn maintenance continues to be a challenge. So far, a lone volunteer from last year, Mike S. has mowed the lawn five times. This was done with his self-propelled walk-behind mower. Yes that number is correct; Five times! I helped mow the lawn twice; but, Mike S. is the dominent force behind this task. Please note: the cemetery is four acres in size with many gravestones. Mike S. estimates that it takes approximately 11 hours to accomplish this by himself.

Either before or after the lawn is mowed, the area around the gravestones need to be weed whacked to keep the cemetery groomed and looking great. Brian D., Mike W., and myself have all chipped-in on this adventure. Below are a couple of pics near the cemetery entrance.

A prominent lot, the Griesmann lot, had four small crescent shaped marble gravestones that had severely sunk into the earth. Only two inches of the gravestones were visible. Also the stones were scalped numerous times over the years with lawn mowers. Please note: this lot is a work in progress. Each grave present is known as a "Cradle Grave." This was a surprise. Rarely do you see this type of Victorian grave because either the "rails" get removed or sink so far into the earth that they are no longer visible. Next month's update will document the final product.

A small project that came out excellent was that of the gravestone for Johann Meyer, an eleven year-old child who passed away in 1868. His small gravestone tipped over and sunk into the earth. Using D2 Biological Solution, his gravestone should clean-up nicely.

 

On Memorial Day, a couple from the Sheehy-Palmer VFW Post stopped by the cemetery and removed all of the old and tattered flags for the veterans whom are buried in the cemetery. Each veteran received a new flag for his grave.