HomeMy Public PortalAboutHistorical Commission -- 2015-03-02 Minutes (5) To: Brewster Community Preservation Committee
From: Brewster Historical Commission
Re: Grant request from Brewster Cemetery Association
On Monday, March 2, 2015,the Brewster Historical Commission met in Room C at Town Hall
to consider the above referenced grant request.
Three of the five BHC members—Joan Carstanjen, Jeffrey Hayes and Ellen St. Sure—were
present. George Boyd joined the meeting by phone so, since we had the necessary physical
quorum, his comments and votes are included in this report.
It must be mentioned here that Joan Carstanjen was physically present throughout this meeting
but could neither participate nor vote because she is also a member of the Cemetery Association
Board. (This will also apply to her non-participatory presence at the CPC meeting which
considers this grant application.)
Tom Paulson,treasurer of the Cemetery Association Board and official presenter of the grant
request, was also present, at the invitation of the BHC. He had previously supplied us with
financial information concerning the assets and income of this non-profit privately-owned
cemetery.
After a lengthy discussion of the (confusing) Budget submitted on p. 8 of the Cemetery Board's
grant application, all voting members of the Historical Commission agreed to.approve the second
item:
"Repairing broken stones, resetting leaning stones and reattaching
tops to bases. 313 total stones (Gravestone Services) $78,500"
We agreed that the repair of all of the stones numbered here and identified individually in the
illustrated repair proposal submitted by Kai Nalenz of Gravestone Services is of urgent
importance.
Ellen also testified to her personal knowledge of the outstanding qualifications and reliability of
Kai Nalenz who has for several years been repairing stones in all of the town's ancient
cemeteries. It should be mentioned here that Joan Carstanjen, as long-time chair of the Town of
Brewster's Cemetery Committee, originally found Kai Nalenz (of New Hampshire)through a
New England-wide search some years ago and has been working closely with him ever since.
Now a member of the Lower Road cemetery board, Joan will also be the board-appointed
overseer of the Lower Road stone repairs.
The BHC also agreed that the Lower Road cemetery is of special and singular importance as an
irreplaceable historical site in Brewster. This cemetery, unlike any others in town, was laid out
(c. 1840) as a parklike graveyard with family plots aligned geometrically for easy identification