The Project Is Complete!
COVENTRY: Celebration To Mark Close Of Footstone Project
Hartford Courant follow up story about this project, 31 Oct 2008
The Connecticut Gravestone Network should be your first stop before exploring, cleaning up, or attempting to restore any cemetery in the country. It has very important information regarding proper methods for caring for any gravestone.
This was not a one day project by any means. It took eight years for the Town of Coventry and the Cemetery Restoration Committee to come to an agreement regarding placement of the footstones for maintenance reasons - mowing.
The stones, in a large donated storage locker, had to be sorted by cemetery rows. Those that could be repaired had to be identified, then all had to be prepared for transport to the cemetery on another day.
Once the stones were at the cemetery, they had to be matched to their corresponding headstones. Volunteers had to be trained in proper handling, cleaning, and placement of the stones. Volunteers working in the summer heat also had to have plenty of water and refreshments on hand, too, not to mention having the proper tools.
Kudos to all of you that donated your storage space, valuable time, vehicles, and muscles! You are all greatly appreciated. I wish I could've joined you just to see the project come to fruition. You see, I was the one who made the initial discovery with the help of Ruth Shapleigh-Brown of the Connecticut Gravestone Network in March 2000.
The slideshow links below give you a very good idea of what this particular project was like. One slideshow showcases colonial funereal art in New England, Eastern Connecticut to be more precise. It is extremely interesting.
To view the slide shows below, you must have a current copy of Adobe Flash Player available here, free of charge:
Please use the control buttons within each slide show to pause, go back or forward one picture at a time, stop, and/or play again. I prefer using the forward and backwards buttons, more of a manual mode, to get a better look at the photos. Use the BACK button on your browser to return to this page.
WARNING: Some of the slide shows take a little while to load even on a high speed internet connection because they are large Adobe Flash files. Patience, please, you won't be disappointed!
Sorting and preparing for the BIG task The Volunteers Orientation, training, and demonstrations Down to business Special handling for a large full headstone! Examples of Funereal Art and Carvers of Eastern Connecticut
found in South Street (aka Holy Grove) Cemetery and some of the stones used as pavers.
Return to:
Carpenter Cemetery Mystery and Discovery
Carpenter Cemetery Project Photographs
Carpenter Cemetery, North Coventry, CT
Coventry, Tolland Co., CT Cemeteries
Coventry, Tolland Co., CT GenWeb Project
Connecticut Gravestone Network
Coventry, CT GenWeb Project
Jan (Wilson) RamosLast updated 13 Dec 2011
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