The Rootseekers speaker at their recent meeting was James Russell Brenner, otherwise known as “Rusty.” Rusty is an expert on cemetery restoration. His company Texas Cemetery Restoration LLC does everything pertaining to cemeteries and was born from a love of exploring historic cemeteries and his experiences working as a young man with his father in the monument industry.
They will do a detailed and thorough evaluation for each monument in the cemetery including levelness, soiling, orientation, overall stability, conservation strategy and priority, and a price to restore it, and consider using restoration services similar to the ones from a restoration company nearby. They use GPS equipment and GIS mapping software to record locations of graves and cemetery landscapes to create a digital and printed map of your cemetery.
They also create a digital working database for you to add information as your cemetery changes and they have ground penetrating radar survey services to identify and locate lost and unmarked graves. Monuments that need leveling to prevent them from sinking or falling over will be leveled with a suitable foundation and aligned with the other monuments.
Rusty says they have found products that can clean and restore broken tombstones like new and that are safe. Broken pieces are epoxied and mortared together and cleaned with D/2 Biological Solution that inhibits microbrial growth. The Kaufman County Historical Commission is having a cemetery workshop on May 2 at the Morrow Chapel Cemetery which is located six miles east of Kaufman on State Hwy. 243 on the south side of the road next to the Ola Church of Christ. Cost is $30, which includes lunch and refreshments. Contact Friends of KCHC at [email protected] for workshop application. Attendance is limited to 50 people. The workshop is hosted by the Kaufman County Historical Commission. It is presented by Texas Cemetery Restoration. You may contact Rusty at [email protected] or 214-686-0014. He is also on facebook and twitter.