A big part of Heather Faries’ role as vice president of the Union Cemetery Historical Society is to help preserve Kansas City’s oldest public cemetery. For this purpose, he has been organizing workshops for volunteers on how to clean gravestones without damaging them since last spring.

For the small crowd gathered for a workshop last fall morning, it was a chance to get a hands-on lesson in local history.

“We’re going to take a short walk,” Faries warned as he led them to an area of ​​the cemetery called Founders Row. “We have bigger pieces to work on today.”

As the volunteers made their way up a hillside trail, they passed the graves of pioneers in Kansas City. John Calvin McCoyFounder of Westport; Alexander Majora well-known Pony Express operator; And George Caleb BinghamHe is known for his paintings of frontier life along the Missouri and Mississippi rivers.

An $800 grant was awarded to the cemetery this spring. Freedom’s Frontier National Heritage AreaA nonprofit organization that preserves unique cultural and historical sites in Western Missouri and Eastern Kansas.

The money will help Faries clean and maintain the cemetery’s 5,000 marble and granite markers and was enough to purchase supplies for more than a dozen cleaning classes the cemetery is offering this year. The classes proved so popular that the cemetery announced another one. early november.

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So far, cemetery volunteers have cleaned more than 300 headstones. Faries estimates the project will take several years to complete.

“Not everyone likes to pick up a book and read about history,” Faries said, “so we create ways for people to access history and engage in a different way.”

‘If you want cleaning… be sure to ask’

The practice of cleaning gravestones has attracted a lot of attention online. In 2022, TikTok videos containing the hashtag #gravetok were watched more than 750 million times. Guard. The hashtag refers to or videos of people cleaning graves.

More recent viral videos of tombstone cleaners like Kaeli Mae McEwen Clean Girlhas garnered millions of views, partly because of the history they researched and partly because of the video’s ASMR qualities, the tingling sensation often evoked by scratching, squishing, or crunching sounds.

Influencers like McEwen, who developed his own brand of cleansing foam, It also created controversyBut he cleared the graves of strangers, often without permission, garnering millions of views.

“Most cemeteries are totally great if you’re cleaning your own family’s stone,” Faries cautioned, “but double-check the cemetery.”

At Union Cemetery, volunteers taking Faries’ class can sign up to work on designated stones on their own or on group volunteer days.

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Rules at other cemeteries vary, and Faries cautioned cleaners to always ask permission before reaching for soap and scrub brushes. The National Park Service also offers more Information about cleaning historical gravestones on their website.

“If you want to clear other people’s signs, be sure to ask,” Faries said.

We sweep away the dirt of the years

Faries demonstrated the cleaning method to volunteers on a five-foot-tall obelisk covered in lichens.

Checking the condition of a stone before starting is an important first step, he said.

“If you go to a stone, you rub it and the stone comes up on your fingers, that’s called fudge,” Faries said. “This means the stone has deteriorated enough to lose sugar on your fingers and you don’t want to scrub it.”

Markers can also become unstable after years of weathering, so personal safety can also be a concern.

“You have to make sure it’s structurally sound because you don’t want a rock to break in half and land on your toes,” he said. “This is not a good day for anyone.”

When it comes to cleaning, Faries recommends using soft-bristled brushes because historic headstones can be very fragile.

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“Do not use a wire brush because you will damage the stones,” he said.

Cleaning the tombstone while it is dry is also definitely not recommended. Without fluid, intense wear on the brush could cause irreparable damage, Faries said.

After the ground rules were explained, Faries released the volunteers to begin the initial cleanup.

“I chose this one because it’s really beautiful,” Kaelyn Whitt said as she headed toward the marble tombstone decorated with carved scrolls and flowers. The inscription was covered with a thick layer of lichen.

“This is a very young person who was 18 when he passed away,” he said. “I want to give him a little more special attention today.”

First, Whitt sprayed a biodegradable cleaning fluid throughout the marker. D/2 Biological Solution It loosens lichens without damaging the stone. After the liquid had absorbed for a few minutes, Whitt began gently removing years of dirt and grime with the bristles of a brush. Whitt finished the process by rinsing everything with water.

Over the next six months, naturally occurring water such as rain and dew will reactivate the cleaning solution so the chemicals will continue to clean the stone even after it has been treated.

“I’ve always been fascinated by keeping people’s memories alive in different ways,” Whitt said. “It’s a very human thing that we all do.”

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Under the stage name Midge MunsterWhitt hosts dark history podcast Night of the Ghouls explores the culture and traditions of all things spooky. A recent episode explored the history of cemeteries and the meaning of tombstone iconography.

“It’s funny: I grew up thinking I didn’t like history, and now I found stuff like that and realized I really like history,” Whitt said. “This really brings it to life for me.”

Whitt’s careful cleaning this time helped reveal the tombstone. Spencer C. McCoyHe is the only son of Westport founder John Calvin McCoy.

Spencer McCoy was born in 1844 and joined the Confederate army during the Civil War. He died at the Second Battle of Springfield in 1863, involving troops commanded by Brig. General John S. Marmaduke attacked Union forces in an attempt to disrupt western supply lines. The raid ended in defeat and Confederate soldiers retreated to Arkansas.

It wasn’t until months later that John Calvin McCoy was able to travel to Springfield to collect his son’s body for burial in the family’s Union Cemetery plot.

“It’s a great thing to have this great thing in the middle of our downtown,” Whitt said. “It’s really special that it’s open to the public and you can come and enjoy the history while you’re taking a walk or having lunch.”

More than a stone

Volunteer Savannah Jones Beachy said she sees her work at the cemetery as exploring a piece of local history.

“I first started coming here to walk my dog,” Jones Beachy said. “Then I took a tombstone cleaning class and was hooked and now I come here every weekend.”

When he’s not among graves cleaning headstones, Jones Beachy works on weekends to help digitize cemetery records. (A fire in 1889 destroyed the cemetery’s first 32 years of records, so making the headstones more legible will help the historical community learn about the people buried there.)

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“I really enjoy researching facts about people so they aren’t just stones,” he said. “Sometimes these people’s names haven’t been mentioned for hundreds of years.”

Volunteering at the cemetery is also a way for Jones Beachy to connect with people from his past.

“I like to talk to the person while I’m cleaning their rocks,” he said. “Some people might find it creepy or weird, but I think it’s adorable knowing that people are here to care about you, even though you’ve left the world.”

For more information on headstone cleaning classes next year, check out: Union Cemetery’s calendar of events.