Forwarded with permission from Harriett Grace. I thought we all could benefit from this...Maybe some of us or someone we know would do the same thing. I have been really concerned about this as recently my child's gravestone was damaged in Laurel Hill Cemetery by the lawn mowers of the caretakers. This prompted me to check all the others. There is a great deal of damage that appear to be caused by the same thing. This made me wonder if in the future her gravestone was destroyed and none of my family was left, who would care enough to replace or repair it.....Winnette ----- Original Message ----- From: "Harriett Grace" <hgrace@sowega.net> To: <GA-CEMETERIES-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, September 09, 2000 9:09 AM Subject: [GA-CEMETERIES] Cemetery restoration All this talk about cemetery restoration prompted me to write this letter about my cousin, John D. Willcox, from Eastman, Georgia. After he retired from his construction company he adopted the hobby of restoring the family cemeteries and graves. Most of these were in Dodge, Telfair and Wilcox counties. His familiarity and expertise with construction equipment and machinery made it easy for him. He ordered stones in bulk to be engraved later and found lost graves with a metal detector. He placed memorial stones for those who had died in other states or countries. He had a memorial stone placed in Sand Grove Cemetery beside my great grandmother, Sally Willcox Ryals, for my great grandfather, John J. Ryals who died in Virginia while in Confederate service and is buried in Mt. Jackson, Virginia. I asked him once if this wasn't a terribly expensive hobby he had adopted. He said he didn't spend any more money on it than most people spent on boats, motors, fishing equipment and ot! her recreatrional pursuits. After his death he left a trust and appointed a board of trustees to see that the cemeteries were maintained as he wanted them to be kept for years to come. I realize everybody can't do this on the same scale that he did, nor would everybody want to. He was just one person so think what a dedicated group could do. I'm just proud it happened in my family. Harriett Grace ______________________________