VCC Part-I      VCC Part-II      VCC Part-III   

On your left is a view of the old part of Van Camp Cemetery taken from the southeast corner of the fence. Notice again the lovely knoll. The earliest graves are in this area. Glenns and Martins are among the oldest monuments. The condition of the monuments is apparent in this picture. One can barely read the inscriptions on the sandstone markers. It is my ambition to restore one monument per trip to the cemetery to straighten and pour new foundations. What a spectacular challenge since there are many markers which need attention. Want to help? We are looking north in this picture.

This is the eastern part of the cemetery where the morning sun spreads a deep shade. This view is from the east or back of the cemetery with Fouch Hollow in the western background. The eastern sun casts its warm shadow over the old monuments. Many are fallen beyond view. Others are leaning mostly toward the northeast. All show the effects of many years of weather deterioration. Pause a moment to reflect on loved ones as they gathered near an open grave to lay to rest a dear person who passed away in their home since hospitals were far away in larger cities. Many of these dear people were laid to rest in a rough box without the benefits of an undertaker. These graves sank in time; they were filled as the grave settled. Coffins and vaults were unaffordable to these early Van Camp settlers.

The eastern morning shadow floods over the southwestern corner of the Van Camp Cemetery. One can see that the forest is taking over the fence area. Each marker has a special rehabilitation need. There are many verses chosen by relatives as appropriate for the departed. These should be revived along with the biographical information. Many seasons of leaf and grass accumulation cover many flattened markers. There is evidence of minor vandalism in the form of spray paint on some desecrated markers. The poignant sacred silence dictates that rehabilitation take place in this beautiful corner of earth.

When I return to Van Camp, I will take my boards for forms, nails, square, saw, hammer, nails, wheelbarrow etc. to restore one marker per trip. One large marker is beyond my strength; I can handle the others. This is a romantic gem of Wetzel County West Virginia. It could be a model for many restoration projects. This is the marker of Nannie Mae Martin, a little girl who passed away in the mid 1800’s. In the story section of my website there is a story of the day we restored her little marker. We removed and cleaned the marker which had broken out of its foundation stone. Both footstone and foundation stone were removed before clearing out a new footer area. A form was leveled in place before the marker foundation stone was leveled in the center of the footer form. Then we poured the ready mix around the foundation stone within the footer form finishing it off with a trowel. Placing the footstone in the carved groove in the top of the foundation stone was the next step. Some thin mortar was poured in the groove before setting the footstone. Upon our return a few weeks later we folded in the soil around the footer as it was before. We stood back admiring the project of restoration. It took such a minimum of time and effort on our part. Now Nannie Mae’s place of rest will have a proper designation for years to come.
Before leaving Nannie Mae’s place, I hope you will read the story of restoring her marker in the Van Camp stories section of the Van Camp website. The figure-etching needs some light blasting and cleaning to make the picture appear again. It appears to be a little girl holding something she loves. There is no doubt an appropriate verse below her name associated with the character of the departed child. Her parents no doubt chose this sandstone sculpture to honor their dear child. No other grave in the Van Camp Cemetery speaks so clearly of parental love and devotion with both a headstone and footstone so appropriately appointed. When you visit this little piece of earth, spend some time there trying to recall the scene of her death and burial in that remote day and time. That is what honoring someone departed is all about. Nannie Mae was a precious little girl whom the parents “loved and lost a while.”

 

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