'Graveyard groomer' helps restore stones at cemetery

Bedford, Ohio -- John Walters loves the feeling he gets from fixing up aging gravestones. "It's like you're saving history and artwork from more than 100 years ago," he said. "It seems like you are righting a wrong. "So many times, you look at the surnames on the graves and then look at the nearby roads - roads that were named after these people, They are the people who carved out this area." Walters, a gravestone restorer, was summoned to work at Bedford Cemetery during the last full week in June. "It can be slow, pains-taking work," Walters said.

Walters, who calls himself the "Graveyard groomer," came at the request of Janet Caldwell, director of the Bedford Historical Society. She encountered Walters, who was teaching at a workshop last year, and realized how he could upgrade the cemetery on Broadway Avenue."He is a national expert," she said.

Walters got interested in fixing gravestones while working for the cemetery department in Fayette County in Indiana. "I fell in love with graveyards," he said. "I discovered a passion. I convinced them that they needed to do more with graveyards than mow the grass." Walters, 52, started his own business a dozen years ago. Three years ago, he took on Kelly Luke, 36, as an assistant. They are old friends from Connorsville, Ind. They travel throughout Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, Indiana and Illinois during the non-winter months. When it rains, they erect a tent-like shelter and keep working.

"Each time, I am working on someone's family stone," Luke said. "It's a great feeling to fix them up. These were the pioneers of the area."

Evergreen Cemetery: Underrated Jewel in the Heart of Oakland, Ca.

When cemetery enthusiasts think of Oakland Cemeteries, rarely-if ever- does Evergreen come to mind. Explorers bustle to see Millionaire row at Mountain View Cemetery and the beauty of its neighboring St. Mary’s (literally across the street from one another). While not as old, Evergreen certainly has its fair share of prominent internments. Evergreen Cemetery first opened in 1903, likely because so many other Oakland resting places were lacking space as well as to serve as a closer alternative for families who had been living in this area for generations. The majority of pre 1910 burials are unmarked. There is also a two level mausoleum and a lovely chapel. Evergreen now holds upward 1,700 internments.

Aside from its many local neighborhood families, Evergreen holds important history makers. There is Jesse Fuller, who taught himself to play a homemade instrument at the age of 5, ran away to California at the age of 10 and went on tobe known as one of the great blues musicians. Other musicians here include Johnny Fuller and Earl “Fatha” Hines (who is credited with helping to put jazz on the musical map and well known for his work with Louis Armstrong). US Congressman and House of rep.(New York's 3rd District) Otto Godfrey Foelker and Jacob E. Swap, Civil War Congressional Medal of Honor recipient are both at Evergreen. Interestingly, Evergreen also is home to Clarence Leo Best, founder of the Caterpillar Tractor Company as well as inventor of the grain harvester, Daniel Best. Without a doubt, the most famous of burials would be that of child actor Allen Clayton Hoskins, better known as Farina in the Our Gang short films from 1922 to 1931. Evergreen is most noted as the final resting place to over 400 unknown and unclaimed victims of the 1978 Jonestown massacre.

While I am typically drawn to older cemeteries, I personally have a soft spot for this cemetery because there are incredibly valuable lessons to be had in regards to Allen Clayton Hoskins and the Jonestown Memorial. Hoskins was not the first black actor but he certainly was the highest paid making $250 a week, more than any other child star at that time, which certainly cleared the path for others. More importantly, his controversial typecasting, though historically a shameful negative, has lead into valuable learned lessons, thus making Hoskins an important figure in America’s growth and education. The Jonestown tragedy speaks for itself. To learn from such, be it stereotyping or tragedies of the past allows for it never to happen again.

Evergreen Cemetery is well taken care of, more so than most which are much more well known. Though it is located in dubious area of the city (where crime is concerned), the respect factor for Evergreen is high and theft and vandalism are non existant.