Cemetery preservation workshop launches in Frederick

May 1—Christian Eckstein was a saloon keeper, father of six and a German immigrant.

He lived with his wife, Elizabeth, on North Market Street in Frederick.

No one in the group of preservation enthusiasts surrounding his grave Saturday afternoon knew his story until they lifted up Eckstein's headstone in Mount Olivet Cemetery. The effort marked the launch of nonprofit Preservation Maryland's statewide cemetery preservation program. Workshops will be held in numerous counties over the next year, funded by the Rural Maryland Council.

Experts in preservation invited community members to Mount Olivet on Saturday to learn how to properly clean and repair grave markers.

"These monuments represent a life lived," said Chris Haugh, community relations and historic preservation manager for the cemetery.

Haugh watched as two headstones lying facedown in the dirt were lifted and reset on their stone bases. A pair of names were revealed: Christian Eckstein, who died in 1874; and his wife, Elizabeth Eckstein, who died in 1892. Haugh did a quick search on his phone to learn more about them.

Repairing grave markers like the Ecksteins requires a monumental effort, according to Haugh, and one cemetery staff cannot manage alone. That's where volunteers come in.

Moss Rudley works at the National Park Service Historic Preservation Training Center, which is located in Frederick. On Saturday, he helped teach locals how to preserve cemeteries.

"At our organization, we do hands-on preservation," Rudley said.

He said the training center partnered with Preservation Maryland for the cemetery workshop with the goal of inspiring others to action.

The difference they make was visible Saturday. Rudley pointed to a group of grave markers volunteers had cleaned. They were noticeably whiter and brighter than those elsewhere in the cemetery. Grave markers can break and fall over due to time and weather, Rudley said. Vandalism can also be a factor.

Jonathan Appell, of Atlas Preservation, guided volunteers as they attached a monument-setting compound to the Ecksteins' grave stones. He's been working in preservation since the 1980s and travels the country to do it.

"It's my life, my passion," he said.

Preserving cemeteries saves the past, Appell said, and also provides context for the present.

Nicholas Redding, president and CEO of Preservation Maryland, said he has found that many people want to assist cemeteries but do not know how. He said you don't need to be a professional to clean grave markers, but it is important to learn to do so safely and with permission.

The goal for the workshops is to fill that gap in knowledge and create a constituency of people across Maryland who want to help with cemetery preservation, according to Redding.

"We need people in the community who care about them," Redding said.

Redding's 5-year-old daughter, Eliza June, donning a junior park ranger vest, watched the experts at work as she clung to her father.

"I love historic places," she said.

Follow Mary Grace Keller on Twitter: @MaryGraceKeller