OLD BROOKLYN, Ohio — It's a project that has been years in the making.
A once dilapidated, historic Cleveland area cemetery is finally getting back on the right track.
As News 5 continues to follow through on the stories impacting you—we returned to Brookmere Cemetery.
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The location captured the attention of a national restoration group.
The group just came to town to help upgrade and train others how to revitalize aging, historic graveyards similar to it.
The folks behind Atlas Preservation hand-selected Brookmere due to its deep historical roots and a clear need for assistance.
It's their only stop in the State of Ohio.
News 5 discovered many of the people buried at the cemetery actually have streets named after them in Cleveland, and the history is immensely rich.
The techniques and tools taught will help clean up this spot, as well as countless other cemeteries across the U.S.
They arrived at Brookmere Cemetery in Old Brooklyn by the carload.
"We packed the cemetery, we packed the side streets," Linda Cameron, Co-Founder of Brookmere Cemetery Preservation Coalition, said.
Folks traveled from near—like Brecksville.
"I take care of our city cemeteries, and we have three of them," Todd Paul, Brecksville Service Department employee, said.
And far—like West Virginia, South Carolina and Texas.
"We are part of a historic cemetery association in Houston that manages cemeteries," Marj Elhardt of Houston, Texas, said.
"We're retired so we have to have something to do," Chris Elhardt of Houston, Texas, said.
However, the crowd was not for a somber farewell to a loved one.
It was an immersive learning experience that Cameron and her sister Karen Parks fought to get.
News 5 started following their journey well over a year ago.
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"We're very excited. We've got all kinds of people that showed up," Cameron said.
Jonathan Appell, the owner of Atlas Preservation and creator of the 48StateTour! cross-country road trip selected their online submission.
The crowd followed.
Many found out about it through social media.
"This event is number 47 for me," Appell said.
As part of what he calls a goodwill mission, the monument preservation expert and his team travel to 48 states for 56 different events to train folks on how to restore cemeteries and headstones.
Brookmere is his latest passion project.
The history is rich and deep, those who served in the Spanish-American War, Civil War and Revolutionary War rest on these sacred grounds here.
"I saw a need, and I've been teaching people how to do this for a couple decades," Appell said.
As News 5 Followed-Through—we followed along with Appell as he surveyed the sacred site.
"Pretty cool site. A lot of biological growth. Lot of big monuments," Appell said.
He walked headstone to headstone.
Observing the history dating back to the 1800s—while seeing a clear need was apparent.
"This place has been neglected a long time," Appell said.
He worked to figure out the best ways to apply his skill set.
"This is not connected and this is just about to fall over. Why's that dangerous? That's the tipping point," Appell said.
He then used examples so those attending could apply it to their own cemeteries.
"I see huge potential because most of the stones here are fixable," Appell said.
What followed was a group walking tour, detailed discussion and a learning experience where attendees helped physically repair and properly clean the delicate stones—making sure they don't get damaged in the process.
"It's good to know the what the right techniques are and the products to use," Elhardt said.
"I think we should all take care of it and do our part," Paul said.
Cameron says it's become her life's mission to save this cemetery, as cities don't have the funding to maintain and restore aging properties.
"Nobody knows their ancestors are left in these old cemeteries, and they don't know they should be keeping up," Cameron said.
Appell says whatever folks walk away with is a gift that can continue to be passed along for generations to come.
"I provide practical solutions to common problems," Appell said.
The 48 State Tour wrapped up on August 16.
Appell and his team plan to head out again next year to revitalize more cemeteries.
His goal is to create a non-profit in the future that will help cover the cost, as he does this entirely for free.
To support his mission and find out more, click here.
As for cleaning techniques and dos and don'ts.
Cameron says these were the key takeaways from her lesson:
First, make sure that the headstone or monument that you intend to clean is stable.
Many times, you have to ensure that none of the pieces are on their last leg and ready to fall over.
Safety is first.
Once you know that the pieces are stable, you have to gauge the stone.
It is just as important to know HOW to clean as it is IF you should clean.
Many headstones and monuments become very fragile over time, and you can literally tell by looking at them.
Many times, marble will have ‘sugaring’ which is where you can literally see the stone deteriorating on the surface.
Those are not generally stones that you want to clean with a brush – you may determine that you can do a light cleaning and possibly spray some D2 Biologic, which will work over the next few months on its own.
Never aggressively scrub a stone.
Never use soaps, bleach, baking soda, wet and forget, power washers – no chemicals or acids as they damage the stone.
When you have moss/lichen growing on the stones, take a flexible plastic scraper and lightly remove the moss/lichen.
Then, spray the D2 and gently scrub the stones with Tampico brushes (natural and soft) – various sizes of brushes to get in the crevices, as well as bamboo skewers for between letters.
Keep the stone wet as you work.
Once done, rinse it off with some water and walk away.
The D2 will work on and within the stone over the coming months to clean the stains away.
Repeat over time with the D2 if the stains are stubborn.
