I Can't Believe A Child Did This To A Headstone - Part 1

[@lostcontrol1981]

In Northern England as a kid I used to love to go to cemeteries and see what the oldest grave u could find was. I remember in the newspaper a story of 2 children who were killed when a gravestone fell on them. The stones in England are sometimes massive - and those stones are hundreds of pounds and could easily kill a child.

[@stIllIll_1111]

I'm from the North of England and I remember a young boy was killed when he was climbing on one of the huge head stones. He was crushed instantly. You're right, some of the stones can be huge. This one was massive and had been at risk of toppling over for a long time.

[@MrSamisue27]

Thank you for caring for our ancestors❤

[@WhoDoctor-u2e]

Thank you for not blaming the kids in the area. Kids are kids. Thank you for your expertise in taking care of these gravestones. Been watching for a little while.

[@Lucinda_Jackson]

I'm glad you took the time to educate the children and their parents about the dangers in a cemetery. Now they can play safely. And, at the same time, you taught them that there's value in doing something that benefits the community and helps to maintain the past. I'm certain you had them eating from the palm of your hand and hanging on every word. Children are pretty darned good at reading the sincere kindness and compassion in people so I know they saw what all of us see - a truly good-hearted man. And I'm sure you planted a few seeds in those minds and hearts and someday some of those kids will blossom to be stone cleaners, too!

[@StonedtotheBones13]

And they're naturally curious! He's doing smthn strange and he's not exactly an authority figure, so they're prob curious and entranced 😊

[@caseyjacobs9219]

New to the channel! My Dad was the first person to show me a cemetery he made it a peaceful place for me, not scary. We used to look for the oldest stone in every Cemetery we would visit and would pay our respects, I can still smell my Dads cigar as we walked around.

[@SpunkyYogi]

You are such a lovely human being. God bless you ❤

[@kimfleury]

Well done! You shaped the future of our society by inviting the kids to learn how you take care of the memories of those who have gone before us. It looks like a wonderful neighborhood to grow up in. Thank you for teaching them to be safe around headstones. I'm sure many parents aren't aware of the dangers. After all, those little monuments look to be sturdy enough to support the weight of grown adults, let alone small children. Knowing that a headstone can come loose and be pulled on top of you is knowledge that has to be consciously taught. It's not something people would "just know." Hopefully those kids and their parents will be mindful of that. I wish the kids much fun as they grow up here! May they learn to value those who have gone before us, and to be respectful of what remains from the past. May they live long, joyful lives, enjoying good health and well-being.

[@StonedtotheBones13]

​@@cscott6629if there is no playground nearby, yes it is. They need somewhere safe to play and usually parents want them close to home. The needs of the living out weigh the small percentage of dead who would actually care. Besides, Wade welcoming them hopefully inspires them to do work like this or similar in the future. Censuring them would actually hurt the cemetery more in the long run.

[@PamelaSprowls]

If the kids are taught respect and taught to be safe they should be a welcomed sight. The people buryed there probably enjoy their laughter 😅

[@Squirreltasticqueen]

Remember when cemeteries were public green spaces for walks and picnics? Aint no one alive today does but it is a lovely idea we need to bring it back

[@StonedtotheBones13]

Yesss. It's basically just a big park. Just filled with buried ppl.

[@artcflowers]

I remember. Im still alive. I still enjoy a picnic in the garden of stones. Please stop making generalized statements lacking in facts. Yawn

[@sherryhumphreys6662]

A shame that parents haven't taught their children to respect those who have passed. Happy that someone is there to mend the damages that have taken place. Bless ya"ll. 😂

[@Joe___R]

I would love to see you check out the fairview cemetery in Council Bluffs, Iowa. It has some of the oldest headstones in the area. Since the transcontinental railroad started in Council Bluffs which was called Kainsvill at the time. We have a lot of important railroad people buried here. We also have a civil war memorial and the black angel which is a memorial for Ruth Anne Dodge the wife of Greenville Dodge who was a big deal in the civil war and then was Union Pacific's Chief Engineer during the building of the transcontinental railroad.

[@StonedtotheBones13]

I'm glad you welcomed kids instead of censuring them. As you said, it preserves the future of that cemetery. And gets ppl involved (parents and kids etc) that might ordinarily not really be invested in the cemetery. Also ty for keeping them off cam. Idk what their parents say, but I'm glad they're protected.

[@ashwolf3315]

Thank you for doing all of this. I used to follow a KZbinr who fixed graves, but now she has turned to a “needing views and sponsors” zombie, not mentioning the people and showing barely any work and saying to hit the subscribe button. It makes me feel sick. This is something I love, showing the work and saying the family’s name as well as being respectful. Keep doing the amazing work, and you have a new subscriber❤

[@labeef1953]

Instant subscriber sir. On behalf of these forgotten people, mega thanks! Just when I’ve lost hope for humanity, you’ve shown me that decent people, although in a distinct minority, sure still here. May God richly reward you.😊😊😊

[@barbarafecker]

Just found your videos. Thank you for your service. I also watch Virginia Tombstone Revival he uses something called D2 on the tombstones & at first they look kind of orange, but in a couple of weeks they are the most beautiful white again. Children should not be allowed to climb on tombstones. Not only can it do permanent damage to the stone, but it could also be deadly. Again Thank You for your loving respect for these people.

[@KWinters89]

I wish there was someone like you around my area. Some of the cemeteries where some of my distant relatives and close relatives are buried at are really old to the point that there are alot of headstones that are just either broken and laying on the ground or a crumbling mess and they have been like that all my life as far as I know. It's a shame how many graves are forgotten and left to ruins because there are no family left or are able to care for them

[@atonalitycollective]

Thank you doing this, I love how you got the kids and parents involved too :-)

[@RichardThorburn]

Thanks for all you are doing.!!❤

[@judygouchie9701]

Fantastic job!😊

[@jodiemyers1782]

Wade, What type of bonding agent did you use on the stones? Jodie

[@johnstiteler4088]

Curious to know what products you use to repair the broken stones, and what you'll use to bond the pieces once they're repaired.

[@Lucinda_Jackson]

If you go to the list of videos, he explains a lot of this in his earlier videos. 😊

[@JohnMcGlothlin-l7j]

He has a web site and there's a list and photos of the products he uses there.

[@mirandasheldahl6421]

I love watching your videos, my cousin and I drive through and visit our loved ones often in our hometown Iowa cemetery. I have really started paying attention to the amount of headstones that are at severe slants and ready to topple any day. Hoping the grounds crew will stop that from happening but seems they’ve been like that for some time.

[@kevlinville]

I'm looking forward to part 2.

[@garynichols8186]

I love the work you are doing. Thank you. I have to ask, what cleaning solution do you use on the stones? Also what are you bonding them back together with?

[@JazzMynxi]

Thanks!

[@bobducharme4809]

Having enough water is always a problem especially if the cemetery has no water source.

[@kathleendenison8925]

Looking forward to more of your videos

[@charmainepapworth9994]

Great channel. How do you not hurt your back moving those headstones!

[@pmac4779]

By teaching the kids about the cemeteries hopefully they will also think about the importance of family, including those that are no longer with us. Sadly, memorial day is now just a holiday for many and they don't know or care where grandma and grandpa are buried. It's all about "I" and now.

[@Lucinda_Jackson]

Memorial Day is meant to honor those who lost their lives in military service for their country.

[@Outnumberedbykidsandcats]

I don’t live in the US so I’m not sure, but isn’t Memorial Day about remembering your fallen soldiers? I thought it was the same as our Remembrance Day in the UK where we have army parades etc to war memorials. I didn’t think it was about remembering your own loved ones.

[@John-s6u7c]

You should go to the old cemetery in Penang Malaysia and consult with them about how to conserve and restore the old graves .. amazing iinscriptions on the grave stones

[@zippitydoodah5693]

Nicely done

[@GyurlTrini]

Hey! I'm new here and want to say thank you for what you do! I do have a question or two about what you do there, and, how you get your information about the graves. 1. What solution(s) do you use to clean the stones? 2. How do you identify whose graves are whose / get the historical data? I'm watching you work in your videos, and, I'm thinking ... I do my share of family history research within my family, and, something that's come up once or twice, in recent years has been the family graves. Now, the ones in particular that were discussed ... let me just say I do not live in the same countries or anywhere close to where these specific graves are, but, I know various family members have tried, in the past, to locate certain graves (and were unsuccessful - they assumed the gravestones were either degraded or buried under the grass), in Scotland. And, in another case that I know, we know where the graves are (in theory - saw photos, but, never been there), but, the gravestones are so degraded that the writing on them is difficult to make out that it's difficult to know whose grave is whose, from the photos. And, I can't help but think, if there was someone like yourself in the area, willing to do restorations, we might be able to find the graves that we'd been looking for, and, maybe even get some of the details of what was written on them.

[@katenickels617]

great project

[@JunkmanGarage]

Where do you get those plastic trays that you usually place the stones on top of while cleaning them? I’ve been trying to find something similar for a graveyard I’ve been repairing.

[@scottemery4737]

Were you using NHL for these repairs? I can understand that for the bases, but I thought you would use epoxy for the obelisk. And if you use some of your boards, with the clamps. it will be easier to keep it all aligned.

[@michelewood1168]

Maybe some little fences around the tall or fragile stones.

[@YOYODIET-lw1mh]

Great job

[@tammyhall1008]

THANK YOU KIND SIR FOR BEING SO THOUGHTFUL FOR THOSE CHILDREN IM SURE THEY HAVE A SPECIAL PLACE IN THEIR HEARTS FOR YOU💯🙏

[@JPaul-e7v]

Hello name's Jeremy just wanted to say love watching your videos have you ever worked on any celebrity tombstone's

[@michelewood1168]

I feel like you need a team here in this cemetery

[@krissyhall1644]

Curoius why he didnt use the putty stuff (sorry dont remeber what it is) on these stones? Time or maybe type of stone?

[@rameybutler-hm7nx]

We have a family cementary nestled deep in a national forest area, we constantly have to worry about vandals.

[@andreajanota6258]

My father accidentally bumped into my 4th great grandfather’s cross on the top of his gravestone and we had set it back on top and to this day 10 years later, it stayed but I wondered what I could do to make sure it stays up but so far it had

[@susantaylor4340]

As a child who had a headstone fall on me, I can tell you it is scary. I was lucky to only have some scrapes and bruises.

[@GirlHeartsGuitar]

Have you learned anything new about that plain slate marker you dug up?

[@irishheart4768]

Children should be taught by their parents that grave yards are not a play grounds. ❤

[@Lucinda_Jackson]

Cemeteries were traditionally a place where families gathered and even had picnics, etc. The adults chatted while the children played. So, actually, they were playgrounds of a sort. Cemeteries weren't really seen as solemn places, necessarily. You were expected to be respectful, of course, but not to be mournful and despondent. They were more of a social place. Today, kids need to be reminded of the dangers of the stones and not to climb or hang on them and to be respectful. Otherwise, there's no reason why they shouldn't enjoy the cemetery.

[@irishheart4768]

@@Lucinda_Jacksonyes, I agree.

[@jamiejordan7685]

Do you have to get family or cemetery permission to repair?

[@Ryu_Shotokan]

They probably aren't even around anymore.

[@walkerswild]

You see this question so often. In most historic cemeteries, all you need is management’s permission. After the children of the person have passed and at most the grandchildren, generally no one is going to even care much in the family.

[@jamiejordan7685]

@@walkerswild thanks. New to the channel was just a curious question

[@walkerswild]

@@jamiejordan7685 All good. It’s just a common and sometimes controversial topic.

[@kimfleury]

I've noticed in some earlier videos he has tracked down living descendants to ask permission to repair the grave markers. Other times family will contact him to request a repair. But sometimes he works with cemetery authorities to repair markers where no known surviving family is found. Like this one, where the city owns the cemetery and they're assigning workers to work alongside of him.

[@kennethsimmons5235]

any finished stones?

[@Lucinda_Jackson]

He has a whole list of videos where you can watch him clean, do huge repairs and then see the results at the end.

[@andersonsglenn]

There was a young child playing on tombstones in my old neighborhood and while his mother watched accidentally pulled a large stone over on himself and died as a result. A very preventable tragedy.

[@kimfleury]

That's heartbreaking 💔

[@XGRIMYONEX]

Kids don’t really belong in the cemetery playing but as long as they don’t vandalize anything I guess it’s ok. . I’m watching this entire video to see how this gets fixed. I’m curious how it will look. Also is that cemetery abandoned? Or do they let you come and do that.

[@mararabb1]

I’d be mortified if my kid broke a headstone. I’d drag them down to whoever is in charge and make them apologize both to management and to any family. We’d have to pay for repairs but my child would work it off in community service. Cemeteries are not playgrounds.

[@Paulie1232]

Lift with your legs and not your back. Don't want you to hurt yourself 😊

[@Chatty_crafter]

We were brought up to be mindful of where we walked, because a grave could be there. Once my little brother sat on a grave, and my parents explained to all of us that sitting on the grave was disrespectful. Don’t get me wrong we used to have fun running around, our parents pointed out where we could play, and that’s where we played.

[@georgegordonmeade5663]

In some of your videos, you use a putty of some kind to make a snake and join pieces of the headstones. What’s that putty?

[@PureEnragement]

I'm worried about how heavy those stones are when he's lifting them. He should really get help with that before he ruins his back or other joints. He's doing an amazing service, though!

[@TheApplesauce1992]

repzilla sent me here ❤🦖

[@oquirrhlight]

I’m not sure if this will help you or not, but instead of using steel or iron rods to support these obelisks, I wonder if you could use fiberglass rebar instead. Owens Corning makes a pink fiberglass rebar that is probably more stable and won’t oxidize over time .

[@scottemery4737]

Fiberglass rebar is also lighter and so cheaper, because the shipping and total costs are reduced.

[@kimbellabella348]

Parents should teach their children that a cemetery is definitely not a playground and to have respect for the dead …. Wishful thinking on my part

[@enduringhope6859]

I have to say this...those children must be taught, by their parents, that a cemetery is NOT a playground. Climbing around in the monuments and headstones is not acceptable.

[@BlueCanaryTX]

Agreed! Beyond the destruction of the monument, imagine if one of those fell on a child…

[@gregdiamond6023]

You see that neighborhood with all the busy streets. That cemetery is probably the only place free from traffic they have țo play. I agree they should be taught respect but they’re going to play there.

[@Squirreltasticqueen]

Look up how the Victorians used cemeteries and calm down

[@yukino4636]

Cemeteries are not only for mourning, obviously rough play and touching the graves aren't great, shouldn't be done. But if a child wishes to frolic and well, be a child. Then that's perfectly fine! This was never an issue when I was young and we went to our yearly visit of the tombs of several generations of my family. It made everyone happy. There was no sorrow, I hope to have a child play and be happy when I am in the ground.

[@JazzMynxi]

I grew up playing in a cemetery.. and historically families went to cemeteries and spent hours there caring for grave spots. Nothing wrong with being there.

[@shadow_flux2304]

this dude could go to a place with a 100% possesion rate and not get possesed cuz of his 100 ghost personal army

[@lindastevens6861]

Thank you It’s a safe place In some places it’s the only green space😮😊

[@wayneakins7850]

Not when they desecrate a public place

[@mayflowerkid4422]

I know you're doing a good thing...But, do you notify families that you are doing stuff to their loved ones graves?

[@OZARKMEL]

Why are children being allowed to use a cemetery as a playground in the first place? I would think that the management would be concerned about injury and getting sued by someone in this day and age. Plus, they should be taught respect for the deceased....

[@JohnMcGlothlin-l7j]

It' an abandoned cemetery.

[@kimfleury]

A public park is designated as a play space for children, but to be fair, there's no less risk of a lawsuit following an injury, and kids break bones every year in playgrounds. At some point kids have to learn where to put their feet and hands. We parents and grandparents aren't going to be around forever to keep them wrapped in bubble wrap. But we do have to teach them that there are dangers in this world, and how to safely navigate them. It's a balance of releasing the apron strings as they mature, while watching over them to be at the ready when they inevitably get hurt. Respect for the dead looks different in different cultures. It may be that your culture shows respect for the dead by only visiting cemeteries to care for the graves of loved ones, and otherwise doesn't go near any graves. Where I live, it's a mix of cultures, with some who see it as offensive to walk through a graveyard "for no reason" (i.e. not visiting a specific grave), and those who walk, jog, run, or bike through the cemetery, and those (like me) who regularly have lunch in the cemetery, and even those who fish in the river that borders the cemetery. In Buffalo, NY, there's a famous cemetery that's always been used for public gatherings and games, even sledding in winter. It was a common tradition in the 19th century, especially in the East and Northeast US. Some of those locations retained the traditions. It wasn't seen as disrespect for the dead as long as no graves or markers were disturbed. For people of the 18th and 19th century, it was seen as gathering with loved ones who had gone before. They would even have celebration picnics in the cemetery, and in both the US Northeast and Southeast, Sunday picnics in the cemetery in nice weather was a big family and church gathering that included loved ones who had gone on to their eternal rewards. And that's where I got into the habit of eating my lunch in the cemetery on workdays, when I work in any neighborhood with a cemetery. In Europe, my training to avoid walking on graves was confronted by the necessity of walking across graves in churchyards, where the grave markers are the walkways around the yard. I thought they were simply flagstones paving the churchyards, and by the time I realized I was standing on a grave marker in the first churchyard I visited, I was already in the middle of the cemetery, with no way out other than to walk on graves. It gave me a moment of panic and guilt, but I was reassured that the local culture didn't find it disrespectful. However, vandalizing the markers with graffiti or violence was seen as disrespectful. So I taught my children the view of our local culture, and I let them know that it's different in other cultures, and to defer to the local culture, insofar as no graves or markers are defiled.

[@ruadhscottygirl2480]

Cemeteries USED to be family areas where they came to picnic, (yes, with children), take walks, and just generally enjoy the place. People WANTED to keep them clean and nice. What is sad nowadays is that we’ve moved to this idea that cemeteries are untouchable. The result? Vandalism, drugs, and disrespect. Make them green spaces where people can enjoy and I believe we would have a lot less problems.

[@CatCmdr]

I think it’s cool how ppl not only appreciate all you do, but they even try to help you with suggestions. 😊. 💙🪦💙