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Grand Larson-e
by Susan Larson
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Grave situation rubs off on Gwinnett
It
was really embarrassing, being kicked out of a cemetery in
broad daylight. At the suggestion of a mother who was an
artist, I had taken my kindergartners to Oakland Cemetery
in Atlanta to do grave rubbings. It was a good way for the
kids to identify numbers and letters through a recognized
art form-and a good way to use up their broken crayons.
Then came the real rub. Just as we were
getting into it, a grumpy old man stomped over and said we
could do rubbings only under the supervision of the
cemetery artist and with written permission of the family
of the deceased.
Cemetery artist? I never saw that listed in
any career guide. As for the written permission, can some
old guy who pulls weeds for a living recognize the
handwriting of every relative of every corpse in his
graveyard?
Here in Gwinnett, we don't worry about stuff
like that, but I did learn from Phyllis Davis of the
Gwinnett Historical Society that even though you wouldn't
get kicked out of a cemetery for rubbing graves, you do
need to take certain precautions.
In cemeteries where famous people are buried,
they've had to restrict people from rubbing because it was
wearing away the inscriptions. Older markers sometimes
cracked or fell over.
It's best to use a special rubbing paper that
you stroke with a rag and better yet to use your camera.
The GHS has brochures from the Association of Graveyard
Studies that tell you how. Like rubbing, gravestone
photography is an art form in itself.
In this millennium, rubbing seems to be a
dying art, but other graveyard activities keep the past
alive. For example, through the efforts of State
Representatives Rene Unterman, Brooks Coleman and former
State Senator Billy Ray, GHS received a grant for
restoring the Old Town Lawrenceville Cemetery on Pike
Street. Volunteers under the direction of Ed Williams have
cleared weeds, numbered all the graves and restored 39 box
tombs. GHS is working on a walking tour of notable
Gwinnettians' graves and aspires to gain membership in the
National Registry of Historic Places.
Marcello Gomez, a 2003 Brookwood graduate,
earned his Eagle Scout badge by participating in the
graveyard project. The county and many developers are also
getting serious about cemetery preservation.
"There are little family cemeteries all
over the county. Gwinnett checks with us every month for
cemeteries in their upcoming rezoning," said Davis,
"and our 2001 Preservation Award went to the
community and developers of Rivermoore Park in Suwanee for
preserving a cemetery in their neighborhood."
GHS welcomes volunteers who'd like to
preserve the past. And if cemeteries rub you the wrong
way, you can call 770-822-5174 or go to www.gwinnetths.org/
to find other ways to ways to dig in-including writing a
column for their newsletter.
Hmmm. I think I prefer the idea of getting in touch
with something carved in stone.
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