Cemetery stone vase restored
By DAVID M. GRIMES (dgrimes@reviewonline.com)Article Photos
CALCUTTA The Longs Run Cemetery trustees found out they have a couple angels looking after them.
One of those angels, Todd Lynch of Longs Church Road, decided he and his men from the Wellsville-based Stevenson Manufacturing Company could help their neighbor restore, free of charge, the 100-year old stone vase that was toppled by vandals back in June.
Church officials found the large stone structure on its side, broken into four pieces with the dirt and flowers spilled out over the ground.
Now, the vase shines a brilliant white in the sunlight, with details around the rim and bottom of the bowl. The base stand that was once a cement block is now redone thanks to the ideas and skills of Lynch and his men.
"It worked out pretty good. It's more like the original piece," Jason Keyes, who helped rebuild the vase, said.
Lynch and his crew cut out designs from their CNC machine to add to the original tube-shaped support base.
Lynch spent about two weeks repairing the stone vase after asking the Longs Run Cemetery trustees if he could have a chance to work on it.
Lynch said he and his men would enjoy the work anyway.
"I always give the guys a challenge, they like a little bit of a challenge," Lynch said.
More importantly, the Longs Church Road resident said he knew how valuable the piece was to the cemetery.
"As old as it is, it has a lot of history, a lot of sentimental value to the church," Lynch said.
Over the years, the vase had gathered many layers of paint, so Lynch was a little surprised to see detail work, that wasn't visible before, around the top and midsection of the vase when the paint was blasted off.
The base stand had rotted in some parts and was covered by cement, forming a standard block. Lynch said that original piece was in too bad of shape to be fully restored, but they did design a piece just like it to still give the vase its true form.
They also joined several pieces together with polyurethane to make the vase more solid.
"You couldn't have done better," Carl Kirkbridge Jr. told the group. "I tell you, it's a great job."
The Longs Run Cemetery trustees also issued similar sentiments. They said they give their gratitude to Lynch, Keyes, Denny Wright and Bob Jones for their generosity and invite anyone to the cemetery who wishes to see their outstanding work.
