Gravestone Restoration lauded in Marblehead

MARBLEHEAD – Thirty-four gravestones on Old Burial hill that had been knocked over, broken, buried, or sunk into the ground have been restored during Phase One of the Gravestone Restoration Project and, with $60,000, a few more will receive the same treatment.At the Board of Selectmen?s meeting Wednesday at Abbott Hall, Town Planner Becky Curran presented a slideshow to the selectmen to gain approval to move forward with the three-phase plan that will restore much of the historic burial ground. The before-and-after photos from Phase One, which restored the “priority” gravestones, showed the erosion of the gravestones and the how they had been restored.?Often they are so far in the ground you can?t read the inscription,” said Curran. Others needed “fragment reattachment” after having split in two, and still others were partially buried in the ground. Six of the gravestones were so damaged they were deemed “seriously hazardous.”?It really is fabulous,” said Selectman Judith Jacobi of the restored gravestones, to which Curran responded, “It really is.”The restoration started in April and ended in May using a contractor. The next two phases will deal with gravestones that were deemed a lesser priority according to the master plan, which Curran says was set down “years ago.” Plans are also set in motion to reconstruct some of the burial site?s landscape, including a set of stairs committee member Bettie Hunt said she was surprised has been ignored for so long.Though grants are in place for the project, the committee is looking to raise $60,000 by February 2013 to match one of their grants. Curran said there is a donation fund set up through the selectmen?s office, and the committee will be soliciting generous individuals for the fund. The first part of the project took $22,500 to put into place.?We?re not looking for thousands of dollars,” said Hunt. “But we?d like to make it a town thing.” She added, jokingly, “I?m not a townie, but I was born here – there?s a difference, and you know what I mean,” to which the room responded with laughter.Hunt said that Curran is “modest” about how much the committee had accomplished. “Mass Historic was absolutely ecstatic about the work that?s been done,” she said. “It?s amazing to go up there and see what?s been done. It?s very encouraging. It?s a great project, it really is, and I love working on it.”Judy Anderson of the Open Space Committee also stood up to make a statement. “I just want to say how grateful our town is to work with Becky Curran,” she said. “She is a real benefit and a blessing to this town.”?Thank you so much,” said Chair Selectman Jackie Belf-Becker. “We totally agree.”The selectmen voted unanimously to approve the committee to continue with Phase Two and Three with the gravestone restoration.Kait Taylor can be reached at [email protected].