An article in today's Nashville Tennessean tells about a cemetery restoration workshop to be held at Greenwood Cemetery in Columbia, TN. You can see the article at http://cgi.tennessean.com/cgi-bin/print/pr.pl --and I've also copied it (see below). Carolyn Whitaker Crowley = = = = = = = = = = Nashville Tennessean Monday, 08/09/04 Archaeologist to show 'right way' to restore cemeteries By SUE McCLURE Staff Writer COLUMBIA - It may be the most unusual series of free workshops to be offered this year: cemetery and gravesite restoration. But, hey, if you've got a family cemetery that needs repairs or tombs that have tumbled, here's your chance to get tips from an expert. Archaeologist and conservator Dan Sumner Allen IV, who travels the state fixing grave markers, headstones, monuments and more, is offering the workshops at Greenwood Cemetery in Columbia, which he has spent the past year restoring. The workshops, which will be 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Aug. 14, Aug. 28, Sept. 11 and Sept. 25, are intended to raise public awareness about the importance of properly preserving age-old monuments and markers. ''I try to stress that these cemeteries are very important cultural and historical resources, and we're supposed to be their guardians,'' Allen said. ''And there's a right way to do things and a wrong way.'' Just as you wouldn't take a bucket of bleach to refinish your grandmother's dresser or wardrobe, neither would you use bleach or Portland cement to clean and repair graves, Allen said. ''The golden rule of historic preservation is 'Don't do anything you can't undo,' '' he said. Allen will give workshop participants a hands-on lesson in restoring and conserving cemeteries, including information on how to conduct historical research on those buried in the cemetery. ''Most of the people who come to my workshops have little family cemeteries on their farms,'' he said. ''They want to learn what to do.'' In addition to crisscrossing the state repairing cemeteries, Allen is also trying to raise public awareness. ''I'm starting to look at myself as the Johnny Appleseed of cemeteries,'' Allen said with a chuckle. And indeed, everywhere that Allen goes, cemeteries seem to follow. Take a recent family camping trip. ''I was coming out of the bathroom and walking back to our campsite, when I noticed that there was a cemetery in the middle of the campgrounds,'' Allen said. ''Of course, there were no camping places right where the graves were. ''And the park ranger probably didn't want me making too much noise about it,'' he added. Getting there Archaeologist and conservator Dan Sumner Allen IV's series of free cemetery and gravesite restoration and conservation workshops will be 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Aug. 14, Aug. 28, Sept. 11 and Sept. 25 in Greenwood Cemetery on Garden Street in Columbia. Allen recommends that you bring a hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, gloves, water and work shoes. Sue McClure can be reached at 931-486-3611 or smcclure@tennessean.com.