It started with just one stone - tombstone, that is. Ogden resident Francis "Fran" Maier, Sr., began by helping Ben Roach, caretaker of St. John the Evangelist cemetery in Spencerport, pick up overturned and fallen stones, so that it would be easier for Roach to mow the grass. Maier then branched out and started repairing the broken stones and cleaning them so they could be read. He also took the brass flag holders for veterans and sandblasted them to get the tarnish off, clear-coating them to prevent them tarnishing again. The results yielded straight rows of readable tombstones. The cemetery looked better, and it was easier to mow the grass. It seemed more respectable. What began as an effort to help someone, became a calling. After working in St. John's Cemetery, Maier moved on to Pleasant Hill Cemetery on Ogden Center Road. The stones there were also in bad shape. In some cases they had fallen and then sunk into the ground so that the lawn mower would mow right over them. With help from Roach and sometimes machinery to lift the stones, Maier put gravel under the tipped stones and in many cases built new concrete foundations. He feels that the gravel allows the water to run through it and is less likely to experience frost-heave as cement would do. To mend the cracked stones, he used a special epoxy putting a temporary brace on the stones until the epoxy hardened. He worked methodically, weather permitting, one stone, then the next stone ... until the work was finished. At Pleasant Hill Cemetery he discovered names of friends of his parents on some of the stones. It surprised him because he never knew where they were buried. Work on Pleasant Hill Cemetery was completed in fall of 2002. Maier then started working on Brower Road Cemetery and finished it this year. He is now working at Parma Corners and may go to Adams Basin after that. Maier grew up on Manitou Road one of 11 children. He retired from Eastman Kodak Company in 1998 and wanted to do some kind of volunteer work. He likes working in the cemeteries because the people there "don't complain," he jokes. He says he can work at his own pace and does so when weather permits. His grandchildren, Steve, Danny, Joey and Diana, have helped him by cleaning and bleaching the stones. Maier says that Don Lewis and the late Glenn Boetcher have also helped him. Maier lives in Ogden with his wife, JoAnne. Gay Lenhard, supervisor of the Town of Ogden, says, "I am thrilled to have a person of his caliber and talent repairing the stones and putting them back up. He has even found ways to repair stones that have broken in half." Maier also works part time for the Spencerport village electric department reading meters once a month. |
