Is That My Headstone You're Cleaning?

Today I had a real treat, one that I've been waiting almost two years for:  the Headstone Cleaning & Maintenance Workshop!  Sponsored by the Hayward Area Historical Society, this workshop was to teach us how to do basic cleaning and care of headstones in the San Lorenzo Pioneer Cemetery.  Needless to say, I jumped at the chance.  

The morning was taken up with a basic lecture on various types of stone and which kinds of cleaners, tools, etc. to use on each.  Then we went for a walk around the cemetery, with our instructor pointing out different problems, what might be the cause(s), and various possible solutions.  After lunch, we were directed to three headstones that became our "guinea pigs" for the hands-on portion of the workshop.  My partner and I had the privilege of working on the headstone of a two-year-old boy; it was probably taller than he had been.  Here is a picture of it before it was cleaned:

 

See all that yellow-brown gook running down just off center under the break?  That was old epoxy that ran down the stone after someone used it to glue the top back on.  I spent quite a bit of time flicking it off bit by bit with a scalpel; there's not much left of it now, and what is still there is much lighter and harder to see.  I'm very proud of that!  We also did a general washing and scrubbing of the stone to get as much dirt, mold and the other blackish spots and stains off.  (I didn't have a camera with me, so I don't have any pics, unfortunately.)  The last thing the instructor did was to fill in that hole in the bottom right corner of the stone, just under the poem.

To see a larger and clearer view of the stone, go here:  Walter Ludwig Shiman

Note to Self:  Never read the poetry on a child's headstone until after finishing the work on it, as it's really hard to see to work through the tears.

Moving Up with the Cemetery Friends

Earlier this month I attended the first 2014 meeting of the San Lorenzo Pioneer Cemetery Friends... and I leaped off the cliff and volunteered.  I am now the official Volunteer Coordinator.  Eeek!

Normally when I volunteer for things, I like to stay behind the scenes as much as possible.  I don't mind doing grunt work, but DO NOT put me on stage with lines to speak!  I do not want to be in charge or out in front.  However, I decided that I needed to do this so that I could include the experience on my museum resume, since most museums now depend on volunteers a LOT more than they should have to.

My duties will include knowing who will be attending each function (other than regular meetings), assigning people to the various tasks, and also recruiting more volunteers.  Speaking of which, I managed to snag my first (potential) new volunteer, too!  :-)  

 

No Rest for the Living: Cleanup Day at the San Lorenzo Pioneer Cemetery

Today was the last 2013 cleanup day at the San Lorenzo Pioneer Cemetery.  I missed the previous one, but wasn't going to miss this one, too!  It was scheduled for 9am-1pm, but I figured I'd only go from 9-11, as I had other things I needed to do today.  Not to mention I figured I'd be exhausted after two hours of "yard work". 

I arrived a little before 9am, wondering what kind of cleanup you do on a cemetery that has NO grass or bushes and very few trees except around the edges.  Well, the biggest problem with a place like this, located across the street from a shopping center and right next to a freeway on-ramp is... trash!!  You would not believe the amount of accumulated trash I picked up, much of it receipts, wrappers and sauce packets from the Taco Bell right across the street.  Because there are so few plants of any real size, the trash blows right in, but the grave stones and borders often prevent it from blowing out again.  There was also an incredible amount of broken glass, mostly from bottles.  I have a feeling people manage to climb the fence and go in there to drink beer, etc. at night. 

At around 10:40, I was talking to another volunteer while taking a quick break when it started to rain.  The weather ouija board had said there was an 80% chance of rain today, so I was prepared for that.  But it didn't just rain... it poured!  In less than ten minutes we were getting drenched.  I decided it was close enough to 11, so I left, and didn't feel guilty about not staying for the whole thing, because I don't think they were going to stay any longer, either.  Apparently the cemetery has very poor drainage, so when it rains hard, it frequently floods as well!

Back at home now, I'm tired and extremely sore, but very pleased that I was able to keep my committment on this one.  I think I pulled a few shoulder muscles, but I feel like it was worth it.  Next time I'll bring a camera, but in the meantime, here are a few more pics that someone else took on a sunnier day.

 

You can see where all the leaves pile up in gutter-like areas; I found much of the wrappers, butts and other trash in the same gutters.



 An energetic volunteer...








   


You can see how the earth has shifted over time, so that some of the stones are leaning, or have even fallen over:



 

Most of the weeds were dead long before today, so instead of the lovely green accents in the pics above, we found only dried, prickly yellow and brown plant corpses...





   

There are waayyy too many tombstones here that are broken; some are even missing entirely, with only a bit of the base still sticking up out of the ground to show where it used to be.  I'm SO looking forward to the workshops in tombstone cleaning and repair planned for next year!

"Block Party to DIE For! San Lorenzo Pioneer Cemetery Fundraiser

Today was the fundraiser for the San Lorenzo Pioneer Cemetery, put on by the cemetery's Friends.  It was my first opportunity to volunteer with this group, and I grabbed it.  

I decided to go all out, and dressed in a black lace skirt, black patterned leggings, my Anarchy boots, and a fairly new black top with Danse Macabre skeletal figures all around the front of the yoke and their 'victims' on the back.  I topped it off with my 'Death in the mirror' necklace that I use as an icon for this blog.  It turned out to be the perfect outfit, because my assignment was to sit at a table right outside the cemetery gates and sign people up for the cemetery tours!  

The fundraiser itself was very small, but pretty well attended.  There were some carnival games, face painting, a tarot reader, food and candy vendors, the cemetery tours, a raffle of some really good prizes, and some really excellent blues musicians that kept us swaying and almost dancing in our seats.  Normally blues is not my thing, but these guys were GOOD.  And even though we were almost next to them and had to shout at people signing up for the tours, the volume was reasonable.  I didn't get a headache until after I was home, and it wasn't from the music.

The cemetery is very small, but quite nice.  It had a nice, peaceful feeling to it as well.  I'm hoping that, after the graves are strengthened so they won't cave in when digging is done around them, some landscaping can be added.  I think it will be really lovely if we can do that.

I'm a Cemetery Friend!

Last night after work, I headed over to my first meeting of the San Lorenzo Pioneer Cemetery Friends Group, otherwise known as SLZPCFG.  (Try saying THAT five times fast.)  This is a very informal group formed in 2010, with no dues, no formal membership paperwork, and no required number of donated hours.  Their goal to restore the extremely dilapidated Pioneer Cemetery that was opened around 1864, and which is badly in need of restoration and preservation. Eventually they hope to open it to the public for tours, and are working on making it a state historic site.

By the time the meeting was over, I was almost drooling with anticipation.  They have a licensed archaeologist in the group, and they are also in touch with various conservation professionals.  Sometime in the near future (probably next year), they will be having workshops on how to clean, restore and preserve old headstones and other statuary found in the cemetery so that we can actually do it ourselves.  Sweet!!  This is the kind of thing I was hoping to encounter with this group, and it sounds like I won't be disappointed.

In the meantime, there's a cleanup day next weekend, and a fundraiser the following weekend.  I've already volunteered for the fundraiser, and although next Saturday's schedule is crowded, I'm going to see if I can get over there for at least an hour to check it out and maybe help a bit.  Since the cemetery is closed to the public right now (it's in such bad shape that it's actually dangerous in areas, and we are not allowed to use shovels or trowels, as we might accidentally cause a grave to collapse), I can't just go in and look around; I have to go when the gates are open and someone is there to supervise. So it will be worth taking the time to do that before the fundraiser.  It will be open then as well, but I don't know if I'll have much chance of looking around.

Here are a few pictures of the cemetery.  You can see why it needs friends!



Even the tombstones are leaning, right along with the weeds.  And broken headstones are always sad, especially when they've been vandalized...

 



I don't think this tree was QUITE this big when it was planted.  Maybe it wasn't even planted, maybe a bird brought the seed.  Either way, it's a problem now.

Apparently the cemetery was in MUCH worse condition when they started in 2010, but between their efforts and the county stepping in to help periodically, it has been greatly improved.  I'm looking forward to making my own impression here!  :-)