Restoration of Adams Cemetery after storms continues

Date: 8/30/2011

Aug. 29, 2011

By Chris Maza

Reminder Assistant Editor

WILBRAHAM — The first phase of repairs to Adams Cemetery is now complete, but the work to restore the historic space has just begun.

The cemetery, located on Tinkham Road near the intersection with Main Street, sustained some heavy losses, both plant life and monuments, as a result of the June 1 tornado and July 26 microbursts that hit the town.

Phil Hamer, cemetery commissioner charged with the care of Adams, told Reminder Publications that approximately 30 trees were lost and 70 headstones damaged.

Tree crews have already completed the first stage in the process, removing the felled limbs and trunks.

“All the tree removal has been completed and now somewhere in the ballpark of approximately 30 original growth trees are gone,” Hamer said. “Now we’re looking into grinding the stumps.”

Hamer said once the stumps are ground down, the holes will be backfilled with loam and seeded in hopes that grass will fill in the bare spots.

There are no plans to remove the root systems for the trees as it is unlikely they will disrupt any of the graves.

“Generally the roots are near the surface and the grave sites in the vicinity of the trees are so old some of them have been there longer than the trees.” Hamer said. “The idea is that over time, without a tree to support them, the roots will just rot away.”

The Cemetery Commission is looking for help in replacing these trees and asks that anyone wishing to donate money for that purpose to do so by sending a check made out to the Wilbraham Cemetery Commission to Town Hall, 240 Springfield St.

In regards to the headstones, some of which are 300 years old, Hamer said that repairing damage is nothing new, however, the process used to repair them will be.

“Broken stones is not a new experience for us. Before the tornado, we have probably repaired 150 to 200 headstones,” he said. “The way we’ve done it in the past is to hold the pieces back together in a stainless steel frame, but that’s not what we’re going to do in this case.”

Hamer explained that there are now companies that specialize in headstone restoration by “essentially re-adhering the pieces together.”

“They go so far as to pigment the cracks, so unless you are an expert, you probably would not know the stone had been broken,” he said,

Hamer added the Cemetery Commission is currently reviewing bids to decide who will repair the headstones.