How volunteers are preserving history, honoring veterans at Pa. cemetery

BELLEFONTE — In fall 2021, Bellefonte's Union Cemetery had just two board members and a few people dedicated to the upkeep of the 22-acre cemetery that serves as the resting place for hundreds of veterans, along with Centre County pioneers and Pennsylvania governors.

A push to recruit volunteers to help maintain the cemetery and preserve its history was initiated, and three years later, the 10-member Union Cemetery board is pleased with the progress and looking toward the future.

"We've been fortunate over the past couple of years to have gotten the help and support that we have from volunteers and local businesses," board president Kevin Corman said. "This is by no means a small cemetery and it takes a lot of time, money and effort to maintain it, but that hasn't stopped us from making improvements, and every single volunteer that's come out to help us with those improvements deserves a lot of recognition, because it's not easy work."

With many viewing the cemetery as one of Centre County's top historic treasures, events and fundraisers to grow awareness of that history have also increased. On Sunday, a Veterans Day service was held for the first time at Union Cemetery, where more than 600 veterans are laid to rest.

A monumental effort One of the main focuses for the cemetery's board continues to be the renovation and cleaning of headstones, many of which bear weathered, faded or eroded names.

Each headstone in need of attention presents a unique situation to the board, and the care that each needs can vary, board member Connie Cole said. The headstones that need the most attention are the oldest, with the very first burial at the cemetery taking place in 1808.

There are other headstone issues that the board and volunteers have been tackling too, such as the breaking and cracking of the stones over time and mold or bacteria growth inside the stones, eliciting a reaction called "sugaring," — the breaking down of the outside of the headstone into crystals resembling sugar.

Some of these issues, like the wearing-down of the letters and bacteria growth, can be treated without replacing the entire headstone. This is done by washing the stone with a biological solution called D/2. The solution is sprayed on the headstones, scrubbed into the stone and gently washed off. Then the stone is sprayed with a substance that's meant to define the characters etched into the stone, and the cleaning is complete.

The maintenance process differs though when a headstone cracks, breaks into pieces or falls over. Depending on the damage, the headstone may even need to be replaced.

"We have some headstones in the older sections of the cemetery near East Howard Street that have fallen over throughout the years, but that type of issue doesn't require a full replacement," Cole said. "For those, we just take the fallen headstone out, create a flat slab of cement under the headstone's original location and then set a new base down on top of it — then we add the headstone. The only time we would replace a headstone in its entirety would be if it was almost irreparable."

Volunteers make a difference Without the help of the volunteers — which have ranged from area students to community members — Cole said the amount of headstones that the board would be able to clean would be "significantly smaller."

The board holds a "clean-up day" one Saturday a month at the cemetery, where volunteers can learn how to clean and repair headstones, unearth and prepare lost or buried stones for cleaning, and help with lawn work in the cemetery.

"We love when the students come here to help because they can get work done quicker than anyone I know," Cole said. "For this year's ( Centre County United Way) Day of Caring, I had some students go around to put miniature lights on graves of military veterans so that their flags could be lit up at night, and they finished that job in about 15 minutes, tops. That would've taken me 2 hours to do, at least."

The board continues to search for more volunteers to help out with tasks around the cemetery, which don't always include cleaning headstones.

Volunteers are needed to help maintain the history of the cemetery by documenting and researching the history of graves. The board is also looking to recruit volunteers to help serve on a support committee that will help plan events, recruit volunteers for clean-up days, coordinate volunteer activities during events and help with finances and donations.

Service to be held at revamped fountain While much focus has been on headstone maintenance, it's not the only way there's been a renewed focus on the historic cemetery. Last month, Centre County Government installed a columbarium near High Street so the county's unclaimed cremains have a final resting place in Union Cemetery.

The cemetery board has also been working on improving the McCoy Fountain, located beside former Pennsylvania Governor James Beaver's grave site.

The once-defunct fountain is now back in use following the installation of a new circulating system. Three new benches surround the fountain, and in the spring, pavers may be added around the fountain as part of a fundraising effort.

"We're thinking that when spring arrives, we'd like to do a fundraiser where people can buy a paver, have their name or a message engraved into it and then after, we'll we set them up as a nice base around the fountain," Corman said.

The board also installed lights on the trees surrounding the fountain so that at night it can be lit up for holidays and special occasions. This month, it's illuminated green for Veterans Day.

The fountain will also be the site of Union Cemetery's first Veterans Day service, scheduled for 1 p.m. Sunday. Those attending the service can expect a taps performance from students from Bellefonte and Bald Eagle school districts, along with a prayer from the Rev. Dave Dimmick and other remarks.

Parking for the service will be available along East Howard and High streets.

Reichert hopes the service will be held in future years, along with more events at the cemetery, including another luminary event like the one held last month, historical tours and fundraisers.

More information about the Union Cemetery's Veterans Day service, and the cemetery in general, can be found on the cemetery's Facebook page and website, and at Bellefonte Borough's website. For information about how to volunteer, visit the Union Cemetery website's volunteer page.