Hello, my name is Deborah P. Franklin and I am Dr. Graveyard! Welcome to my world of burial grounds!

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Chalk had been used on this tombstone. Notice the staining.
Dr Graveyard shows just a quick little example of using snow to read tombstones and explains why not to use flour, shaving cream and chalk
Description:
As “Dr. Graveyard”, I am available for helping those who need help with their historic cemeteries with the following:
  • tombstone  restoration and leveling, using Cathedral Stone/Jahn products as well as cleaning tombstones with D2 products. I am an Authorized JAHN installer.
  •  demonstration workshops to show proper cleaning and restoration of tombstones
  • public speaking concerning all subjects pertaining to historic cemeteries (My newest public speaking PowerPoint program is “Worthless Trash or Cultural Treasure: Burial Artifacts and Their Symbolism in 19th and early 20th century Christian and African American Cemeteries.”)
  • discussion of burial customs, symbolism and types of cemeteries
  • religious, orphan and fraternal cemeteries, their burial markers and their customs
  • documenting historic plants and trees
  • access to licensed arborist for proper tree trimming in cemeteries
  •  tombstone photography
  •  oral histories in cemeteries
  • cemetery laws to protect historic graveyards
  • book of the month cemetery book suggestions
  • historic cemeteries are in danger and what  we can do to protect them
  • proper way to keep historic cemeteries clean of grass and unwanted plants without hurting the stones, such as using goats.
  • showing history of cemeteries from disasters and epidemics
  • Dr. Graveyard Jr. sharing ideas with children on why not to be afraid of cemeteries from a child’s eye view as well as how cemeteries can be used as classrooms
  • cemetery walking tours
  • cemetery etiquette
  •  and many more subjects too numerous to discuss at this time.

 Mission:

As “Dr. Graveyard,” I want to provide a service whose main objective is to protect, preserve and restore our historic cemeteries for future generations as well as showing how cemeteries can be the educational, cultural, genealogical, political and historical points of historic cemeteries and why these “outdoor museums” should be saved. By showing proper cleaning and restoration methods of restoring and cleaning historic tombstones and monuments, we hope to eventually share these correct  restoration methods with future volunteers.  In the State of Texas alone, there are almost 50,000 historic cemeteries but not enough volunteers who are trained to help preserve, document and possibly save a historic cemetery. Hopefully, the “Dr. Graveyard” Facebook and Dr. Graveyard web site will give these volunteers the instructional guidance in an understandable way, to implement a plan towards saving historic cemeteries in their area of Texas. But most importantly, we have to stand together in order to protect these historic sites  from destruction made by some land owners, land developers, vandals and the environment. Please let me know if your cemetery is in trouble so we can post it on the Dr. Graveyard Facebook as well as on my  Dr. Graveyard web site. If we generate a united political voice by making our Texas Cemetery laws stronger, or just making sure the laws we have are enforced, our political actions may prevent the demise of these archeological landscapes which are our beloved historic burial grounds.
iris in coats cemetery 2013 IMG_1878
 Dr. Graveyard shares a quick little history tid-bit of why iris were used in cemeteries and why icons used on tombstones http://youtu.be/U8