Thor Cemeteries

In 1997 I was hired to do restoration work at 4 rural cemeteries near Thor, Iowa.   This involved powerwashing,  resetting toppled stones,  resealing loose pieces,  and epoxying broken pieces back together.    I worked on 37 items at East Ullensvang Cemetery,  44 at Norway Lake Cemetery, 38 items at West Ullensvang Cemetery, and 36 items at Norway Cemetery....for a total of 155 tombstones

Thor_1997__1.jpg (820140 bytes)

7B   Found this monument completely askew,  lying in pieces.   After removing all the loose pieces from the base I levelled the bottom piece with crushed rock and lined it up with the row.   Then I started stacking the pieces,  sealing them with adhesive and setting compound.  7A  When it was all reassembled I powerwashed the whole thing.

8B  I found this monument loose on it's base and the pieces unsealed.   After leveling the base I resealed with adhesive and setting compound and powerwashed.  8A

Thor_1997__2.jpg (546703 bytes)

This series of three pictures shows an upright marble stone broken in half.   First I used my clamps and epoxied the pieces back together.   The base and bottom stub was still standing straight so I didn't have to do anything to it.   16A   After powerwashing.

Thor_1997__3.jpg (750901 bytes)

17B  Another 3 piece upright knocked over.   First I removed the top piece ( leaning against base ),  removed the middle piece,   levelled the bottom piece with crushed rock,  and then reassembled the pieces, using adhesive and setting compound.  17A  Finished by powerwashing.

18B  Shows a small upright 2 pc monument completely sunk into the ground....the base has disappeared!   First I removed the top and then dug up the base and leveled it with crushed rock,  back at full height.   Then I resealed the top piece and  18A  powerwashed.

Thor__1997__4.jpg (267328 bytes)

These two pictures show a couple of tombstones in progress.   The bottom photo shows the technique I used repeatedly to dissasemble large heavy upright obelisks by myself.   First I would tip the top piece carefully over onto the stacked 4 X 4s on my wagon....the top piece of an obelisk this large might weigh 300 lbs,  but I never lifted it all....after removing it I would separate the bottom pieces,  level the base if necessary,  and begin restacking the pieces....sealing with adhesive and setting compound.