DIRTY STONES:
I used to think that the moss and lichen on the old headstones looked authentic and helped protect them from the elements. The truth is that the lichen feeds off of the stone and needs to be removed every 18 months or so. We need workers who can come to our next 'Work Day' and help brush the lichen from the markers or carry water in buckets from the water tanks to the people brushing the markers. We need money to pay for the special cleaning solution that is safe to use on these headstones. Contrary to what you may have been told by people with good intentions, household chemicals are NEVER safe to use on old headstones. Our next work day is SATURDAY, JULY 21st, 7:00 am.
UNSTABLE STONES:
Many of the old monuments have settled into the ground unevenly and are leaning - some precariously. This is dangerous when you have small children (or anyone) moving around between these very heavy objects. We need workers who can help us take down the spire and top base. Then, we will pry up the lower base and pour a concrete foundation. The base and spire will then be glued back on the lower base. If you have a strong back and will be coming to our next 'work day', wear old clothes and bring a pair of gloves. We will have pry bars, cement, etc. to have two groups working at once.
UNMARKED GRAVES:
We will be trying to identify as many fieldstone marked graves is possible. We need local family genealogies/histories which may tell us
the names of more people who are buried at Fluty Cemetery and the dates of birth and death, etc. We need money to purchase inexpensive markers for the graves so identified. We need old photos of the cemetery which might show inscriptions for stones which no longer exist (such as Margaret Ward's whose stone disappeared between 1968 and 1981). We need an old cemetery inscription listing which is older than 1968. I am really hoping to find a listing from the 1920s - 1940s which would have given information from stones now gone. This would probably exist in someone's personal collection and would not be generally circulated. Please ask anyone that you think may have something in 'grandma's old box of papers'.
RECORDING THE CEMETERY:
We will be making a plat of the cemetery and identifying each stone or feature. We need someone with drafting experience who would be willing to map out the cemetery on some type of program.
RECORDING THE HISTORY:
The people interred at Fluty Cemetery were once the lifeblood of their community and family. We would like to create a collection of information pertaining to these people and their relationships to each other and the community. We need photos of the deceased or their families so that we can remember that they were once more than a headstone. We need family histories to learn where these people came from and where their families went. And, also to know how they might be connected to others buried in this cemetery.
Thank you to the following for their help or donations: Terry and Brenda Metcalf; Roxy Cotter; Forrest Cotter; Bill Shrable; Michael Shrable; Danny Shrable; Richard Pyeatt; Harold Cotter; Freda Bureman; Powell True Value; Marchant Lumber; Meeks Building Supply; Norton Arts Inc; Mary Green
