Using a natural-bristle brush and mild soap, David Donofrio carefully scrubbed the grime from a tombstone in the historic Deppen Cemetery.
He finished the wash with a rinse of clean water before moving to the next stone and repeating the procedure.
Donofrio, 17, a Life rank Boy Scout and senior patrol leader with Troop 2018, planned and organized the cleanup Saturday at the cemetery on the grounds of the Berks Heritage Center as his Eagle Scout project.
Eagle is the highest rank in the Boy Scouts of America’s Scouts BSA program. It’s a symbol of a scout’s leadership skills, dedication and commitment to their community.
A Wilson High School junior, Donofrio said his interest in genealogy motivated his choice of project.
“My grandmother has several ancestors buried here,” he said of the cemetery, which was moved to the park in Bern Township in 1978 from an area destined for inundation in the construction Blue Marsh Lake.
Matt Small, scout master of the troop associated with West Lawn United Methodist Church, Spring Township, said he was immediately interested when Donofrio pitched the idea.
“It’s something we haven’t done in this troop before,” he said, “so I thought it was going to be something very interesting for the scouts to participate in.”
An early step, Donofrio said, was meeting with Kathy Wegener, director of parks and recreation for Berks County, and getting approval for the project.
“David sent us a letter proposing this project, and it was very well done, very professional,” Wegener said. “He covered all of the details about what he wanted to do.”
The department lent some of the tools used Saturday on site.
For tips on the accepted practices for graveyard preservation, Donofrio reached out to Lara Thomas of the Berks County Association for Graveyard Preservation.
The all-volunteer organization maintains more than 100 private and family burial grounds in Berks County.
Knowing Donofrio would be working with guidance from the graveyard association assured Wegener that proper techniques would be used.
“It’s very important to know how to handle the stones and how to clean them up,” she said.
Many of the stones are carved from porous limestone or an inferior grade of marble, Thomas said, noting they and their inscriptions can be fragile and easily damaged if not handled properly.
Thomas shared conservation techniques and standards developed and used by Cemetery Conservators for United Standards, an organization of professionals and amateurs from around the country.
BCAGP also lent tools and donated the mild, biodegradable soap and soft, natural bristle brushes needed to clean the tombstones.
Donofrio also prepared by viewing tutorials and instructions on the cemetery conservators’ website, Thomas said.
Then about a month ago, they visited the cemetery for a test run of his newly acquired skills.
“We made sure that David understood how to clean the tombstones properly,” Thomas said.
Naturally his first pick for conservation was the gravestone of an ancestor, Daniel Greth.
About a dozen of Donofrio’s lineal and collateral ancestors were buried in the Deppen Cemetery, which began as a family burial ground, he said.
The first known burial took place in 1808, the last in 1915, Wegener noted.
About 36 of approximately 68 graves were identified before the move. Others were unmarked and could include the 20 to 30 Irish laborers who fell victim to malaria, also known as canal fever, while constructing the Union Canal during the 1820s.
“I just thought I could do some work to help this place out,” Donofrio said, noting the small size of the cemetery made it ideal for a single-day project.
The scope, as he envisioned it, also included replacing the deteriorated split-rail fence surrounding the graveyard. So he reached out to Cider Mill Fence Co., Mertztown, and Pro Max Fence Systems, Reading, both of which donated fence materials.
Although Donofrio sought the guidance and help of adults, he is the one in charge, Small stressed.
“We’re all being led by David,” the scout master said. “He gave us all of our jobs and told us how to do and what to do.”
To complete the project, the scout recruited and trained about 30 volunteers, including fellow scouts, friends and family members.
These included his parents, Lori Donofrio-Galley and Richard Galley of Spring Township, and his grandmother Kay Greth of Lower Heidelberg Township.
Greth first sparked Donofrio’s interest in genealogy several years ago.
Although he has not settled on a future career yet, Donofrio said he hopes to do something in the field of genealogy or history.
Source: Berkshire mont