Marching across time: Project honors ‘Pride’ forefather
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MORGANTOWN - As a drum major, Aidan Blankenship is suited to leading the Mountaineer Marching Band across Milan Puskar Stadium gridiron on fall Saturdays.
What he didn't envision heading into his senior year is that he'd also spend a couple Saturdays in a graveyard with gloves and a shovel.
But that's exactly the position Blankenship and a group of cohorts in the band and the Omicron chapter of the national honorary band fraternity Kappa Kappa Psi recently found themselves in.
All for The Pride of West Virginia.
You see, among the historically notable names gracing the markers and monuments in Morgantown's original Oak Grove Cemetery is Mestrezat - as in Walter Mestrezat, the Spanish-American War veteran who, in 1901, became the founding father and director of WVU's first band.
"So, basically folks were reaching out on Facebook, wondering if there was anybody available in the WVU band world or alumni network that would be available to help restore and reset and refurbish the headstones for Walter Mestrezat and his family," Blankenship said. "Kappa was looking for ways not just to serve the band, but to serve the Morgantown community. So we figured this was a great opportunity to honor his legacy while also working in the community."
The "folks" referenced were Margaret Roberts with the First Ward Neighborhood Association and Janet DeVault, who spearheads a dedicated group of monument cleaning and repair volunteers.
Between DeVault's crew and volunteers from the city's 1st Ward and beyond, more than 250 markers and monuments in the city's oldest cemetery have received some level of attention, be it a simple cleaning or full-on repair.
Blankenship said he envisioned showing up, pulling a few weeds, scrubbing down the markers and moving on.
"That actually was not the case whatsoever. We actually reset them completely. We dug around the perimeter, completely dug it up until it was loose. Then we would take a pry bar and actually break the seal of the headstone from the concrete below ground," he said.
From there, volunteers would pry up one side of the sunken lawn-level markers while material was shoveled underneath, raising them back to the proper height.
"They worked like crazy," DeVault said. "Normally with a bronze marker, there's a foundation that's four to six inches deep ... But when we got in there, we found that these are all on concrete bases that we down probably 16 inches. And half of them are up against a retaining wall that was built for that plot. So, digging was difficult to say the very least. We provided the tools, but they had to put a lot of muscle in it."
Over two Saturdays in late August, eight markers were restored to their proper height, and the surrounding soil was seeded and covered with straw.
"If you would have ever asked me before I started college if I would spend two Saturdays in a graveyard resetting headstones as a 21-year-old, I would have been like, yeah, that's insane," Blankenship said. "But it honestly was a very humbling and rewarding experience. It felt like giving back to the community, but even more than that because for so many people that pass away, once so much time passes, family can't visit your grave as much. They get older or they move away. It was just very rewarding for us to be able to do that for him and his family."
That's the same feeling DeVault takes away from each of the projects.
"Our history lies in that cemetery. Morgantown wouldn't be here if it weren't for the work, at the time, of men who are interred in that cemetery with their families. And in fact, the state likely would not have existed had some of those men not done what they did throughout history," she said. "There's just been so much influence on Morgantown and beyond from the people who are interred there."
The Mestrezat project was undertaken using a portion of the funds received through a $2,000 MOSAIC grant through the city of Morgantown.
DeVault said anyone interested in volunteering for future restoration projects should contact her at 304-276-1109.