Baptist Society Church (1852) and adjacent cemeteries. Photo taken before 2021’s roof and steeple renovation and before the MOCA workshop in Alfred where I learned to clean stones.

Earlier this year, I attended a production of Our Town by Thornton Wilder. I’m sure many of you have heard of this play about the fictional town of Grover’s Corner set between 1901 and 1913. Written in 1938, it was first performed in New York City, and won the Pulitzer Prize that same year. The play is told in three acts: Daily Life, Love and Marriage, and Death and Eternity. The play itself was a huge success, and as evidenced by Portland Stage, is still performed to full houses today.

When I read through the program that day, I reminisced a bit about my family. I knew that the Limerick Historical Society had performed a reading of this play because I remember both of my parents participating. I had also heard of the author, Thornton Wilder, but really only knew his name. I read that Wilder served in WWI, then attended Oberlin, Yale and Princeton. Although my family has connections with Yale, what stood out was that Wilder had a house built in Hamden, Connecticut and lived there until he died in 1975. My aunt and uncle, and their four children lived in Hamden for many years, and my cousin still lives in their house today. All of this is to say, I felt very connected with the play and the author.

You may ask, why am I writing this piece for the MOCA newsletter? If you know the play well, you may remember the third act. But if you don’t, let me tell you that as the act enfolded, it transported me immediately to the Hillside/Baptist Cemetery. This is the place in Limerick where I spend most of my cemetery time, cleaning stones, and researching families and the old church that sits next to it. In Act 3, as the Grover’s Corner’s inhabitants pass away, they are buried in the town cemetery... but their spirits remain and talk to each other. In the Portland Stage production, the actors sat in chairs (gravestones) next to each other and chatted back and forth.

This idea of the townspeople together again in the cemetery rang so true to me. Whenever I walk through Hillside/Baptist, I read the names, and I touch the stones. The names are familiar to me. Growing up, my parents referred to them as “Limerick names.” Bradbury, Burnham, Felch, Gilpatrick, Hayes, Libby, Philpot, Swasey... these are the names mentioned in their stories, but also the names of roads, corners, and farms in Limerick. But what was most heartwarming to me was the idea of my people (all 675 of them more or less), buried next to each other, who continue to have conversations side by side on that hill on Route 5 in Limerick. What are they saying? Does the traffic bother them as it roars down the hill into the village? Do they enjoy the birdsong and the buzz of insects? Are they still whispering gossip to each other? When I told my mom about seeing Our Town and the connection I felt to “my” cemetery, she said, “You know, Fannie Flagg wrote a book about that same thing.” She was right and I just finished it. It’s called The Whole Town’s Talking if you’re interested.

Sarah (Kinsley) Choi
MOCA Newsletter
Summer 2026 | Volume VLIII, Issue 3

Civil War marker in Maple Grove Cemetery Image by G Roberts

This article was just going to be about Maple Grove Cemetery in Bangor, Maine, the smallest of the three active cemeteries the city maintains. The other two are the Pine Grove and Oak Grove cemeteries.

I chose Maple Grove because it is small (just four acres), only about four miles away from my home, and was created in the 1800s. I like to search old Maine cemeteries for veteran grave markers which I then photograph, make notes, etc.

My original plan of attack was to research the Bangor cemeteries starting with Maple Grove. To help with this I found the original Works Progress Administration (WPA) cemetery layout thanks to Digital Maine website.*

My plan changed when I found a Civil War veteran marker for a soldier who died at the battle of Gettysburg.

The inscription on the marker reads, “Sergt. William S. Jordan, a member of Company G 20th regiment ME. Vols., died of wounds received in the battle of Gettysburg July 3, 1863, at the age of 22 years, 6 months. Son of Joseph W. & Cordelia Jordan” The star-like emblem reads “GAR,” which stands for Grand Army of the Republic (Union forces).

Intrigued by this marker, I did some research on Maines’s 20th Regiment as well as Maine’s involvement in the Civil War, especially regarding the battle of Gettysburg, and realized how woefully ignorant I was about the topics.

Several pages could be written on Maine and the Civil War but that is beyond the scope of this article. I also found more Civil War veterans buried at Maple Grove cemetery, bringing the total to eight.

The ability to walk through old Maine cemeteries, find markers like this, and share them with MOCA members makes all these trips worthwhile.

* The WPA maps are also included in MOCA Cemetery Records. For example, you can see the link to the Arundel Cemetery (Kennebunkport) WPA map at the top of the MOCA page.

Glenn Roberts
MOCA Newsletter
2026 Spring |LVIII No 2

The Thrasher Family lot at Eastern Cemetery, Portland,
before conservation work began.

Eastern Cemetery has existed for over 350 years and while its gravestones have been well-studied, there’s never been much attention paid to the fenced family lots. The cemetery’s 2011 Master Plan includes this recommendation: The cemetery’s iron plot fencing should be painted and, where necessary, repaired. So few remain that every effort should be made to ensure the protection of those still present.

I’ve been part of the friends group (Spirits Alive) for twelve years and have served in a variety of capacities, currently as Cemetery Historian. In January 2025 the board approved my proposal to document the number and condition of the fenced lots at the cemetery and identify those that could benefit from conservation. Using the original plot map from 1890 as a guide, I walked every row of the cemetery, photographed each lot, and developed recommendations for the board’s consideration.

I recorded 96 fenced lots in all, though surely there were once many more. Wooden fences from the old days have long since deteriorated. During the second half of the 1800s ten percent—over 700—of those buried at Eastern were disinterred and reburied elsewhere, leaving behind many empty lots. More than a third of the fenced lots documented on the 1890 map have since disappeared.

In my June 2025 report to the board, I assigned each lot to one of four categories ranging from “Code Red: no evidence of the fenced lot has survived” to “Code Green: posts and rails are found with varying degrees of condition.” Only eight were assigned Code Green and therefore considered for action.

The board selected to work on the Benjamin Thrasher lot. Last summer encroaching tree branches were pruned and a broken slate from 1860 was repaired and reset when Joe Ferrannini was onsite. The lot has four granite posts that are in good shape, but only one of the eight original metal rails is in good condition; two are bent and five are missing. For 2026, we plan to replace the bent and missing rails. Once all the rails are in place, mowing will be impossible so we may try replacing the grass with an appropriate low-growing ground cover. Our 2026 daily tours begin in May. Please join us and we’ll be happy to show you the ongoing work in the Thrasher lot!

Ron Romano, Author & Guide
MOCA Newsletter
Winter 2026 | Vol LVIII Issue 1

This autumn, I walked through cemeteries across my region, Washington County in Maine. I was drawn first by the light and color, then by the names beneath the leaves.

I began visiting cemeteries during the October #31DaysofGraves photo challenge on Bluesky, where I was fascinated by the visual details in old tombstone images shared by others. What started as an aesthetic practice soon became something more layered.

As I slowed down to read the names and epitaphs, I found myself drawn into the stories. Some legible, others softened by time and lichen. These photos are quiet offerings: each one a moment of presence, history, and a glimpse into lives once lived.

These walks have become a quiet (and sometimes very active) ritual of remembrance and curiosity. Through photography and genealogy, I’m learning to listen to what the stones still want to say.

Jessic Chua
MOCA Newsletter
Winter 2025 | LVII No5

Before

During three very productive days in June, members of the Owls Head Cemetery Committee worked in the Achorn Cemetery in Rockland to reset and clean the headstones in the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) lot. Thirty-seven stones that had been leaning and/or sunk were reset and all 45 stones were cleaned using D2. One traditional three-part headstone had to have an entirely new base crafted as the original mid-base and base were missing. A concrete base was poured using a form to create a mortise and tenon; the headstone was then mortared into the new base using a hydraulic lime mortar. The transformation of the GAR lot is truly remarkable.

Members of the Owls Head Cemetery Committee who donated their time, skills, and most of the materials were Walter Guptill (president of MOCA), Lea Carver (board member of the Maine State Cemetery Preservation Commission), Heather Almquist (chair of Cemetery Records for MOCA), Dick Carver (board member of the Rockland Historical Society), and Ted Brooks (volunteer extraordinaire). All members of the work party have been trained in specific restoration skills through MOCA.

You can really see the difference in H. Horton Burpee’s stone.

After

by Leah Carver
MOCA Newsletter
Fall 2025 | Volume LVII Issue 4

There has been a recent change in VA regulations regarding memorials for veterans of wars prior to WWI. Up until October 2023, the VA would only issue markers for these veterans if the application came from a documented relative of the veteran. So, for example, if a veterans' organization in Canton or Jay wanted to install a VA memorial headstone for a soldier who had been killed in action in the Revolutionary War and whose remains were lost, it would have been necessary to locate a living relative to fill out the application form.

Ironically, if the soldier had died or been killed in action during WWI or later, anybody could apply for the headstone.

After working for some time through Senator Angus King's office to resolve this situation as it related to a U.S. Army captain from Portland who had been killed in action in the  War of 1812, Senator Angus King's office received an email on October 3, 2023, from Taniesha Kelly, Congressional Relations Officer, Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs saying that the Veterans Affairs National Cemetery Administration, Memorial Products Service (which produces the VA headstones), "has removed the familial relationship language from its letter template and had sent a written reminder to all case managers and supervisors reemphasizing that they are not to deny memorial headstone requests based on the invalid regulatory applicant definition."

In short, although the VA application form still says it must be "a member of the decedent's family" who applies for the stone, the VA's letter of October 3, 2023, clearly states that these instructions are in error, and anyone who was eligible to request a headstone for a WWI and later veteran can now also request a stone for a veteran of earlier wars. Those who are eligible to apply include relatives, local or state officials, veterans groups, civic organizations (such as historical societies), or a "personal representative", who can be just about anybody.

Larry Glatz

Eastern Cemetery in Portland, one of the earliest burying grounds in Maine (established 1668), is the only cemetery in the state that offers daily guided tours in season. Initially tours were offered only on weekends but in 2013, noted cemetery historian Ron Romano began improving and developing the tours and interest grew steadily. Today, tours are given every day from June through October.

Tour guide training and scripts improved every year, leading to being named one of the top five cemetery tours in New England by Yankee Magazine. By 2019, about 1,200 visitors were greeted each season and the team of trained guides increased to a dozen volunteers.

During the pandemic all historic sites in the city suspended guided tours and the gates of Eastern Cemetery were locked. But Spirits Alive offered to take on “gate duty” and designed a self-guided walk for those who wished to tour the cemetery on their own. In 2021, the tours returned and their popularity rose as the guided cemetery walks offered an outdoor, socially-distanced activity suitable for all ages.

Because the tours of Eastern Cemetery were so popular, Ron Romano has since designed tours of Oceanview Cemetery in Wells for the Historical Society of Wells and Ogunquit, as well as the landscaped garden-type Laurel Hill Cemetery in Saco for the Old Orchard Beach/Saco Adult & Community Education program. Tickets to both tours sold out quickly, proving that interest in cemetery tours is increasing.

This year Ron will be rerunning the Laurel Hill tours and in June he will lead a tour to discover the early slate gravestones and “billboard monuments” in the churchyard of the Old Baptist Cemetery for the Yarmouth History Center. He has also designed two new cemetery tours: Dunstan Cemetery in Scarborough and Greenwood Cemetery in Biddeford. All of these sites are local treasures with lots to offer those who would like to join a guided tour.     

Tours, each running 60 to 90 minutes, will run in May and June and are posted on the MOCA events calendar at https://moca-me.org/calendar. More information and tickets are available through the host organizations. Email Ron Romano at roroman@maine.rr.com with any questions.

Our member Ron Romano kicks off Buried in Time, a new podcast show certain to please the discriminating taphophile. In their very first episode, Ron delves into the story of stonecutter Bartlett Adams:

"The year is 1800 and at just 24 years of age, Bartlett Adams, a young stone cutter from Kingston Massachusetts, arrives in the bustling seaside town of Portland Maine. He’s single, talented and has a bit of money in his pocketbook when he sets foot on Maine soil. Many families had already settled in the well established area over the last 150 years, with access to much of everything they could need, everything except gravestones. On that September day, Adams probably had little inkling that he would become such an important fixture in the local funerary business but considering mortality rates during this era was nearly one death every three days, it is no surprise that his first stone-cutting shop would be in extremely high demand."

Podcast hosts Anna Adams and Allison Dewitt invite you to join them as they unravel the mysterious past of New England residents and visit the vessels that keep them; untangled folklore of the famous and the unknown; and put names to faces & share stories lost to time.

This episode is available on every podcast platform, but you can also listen to it on the Buried in Time website.

Listen Today!

Legislative Update and Cemetery Laws
Helen A. Shaw
October 15, 2020 

With autumn comes the urge to clean up cemeteries and gravestones before winter sets in. It is great that so many people are willing and able to do the work, but before starting such projects, please make sure to obtain permission from the cemetery’s owner.

Who owns the cemetery and who can give permission can be difficult to determine and sometimes no one knows who owns a particular cemetery. In the case of Ancient Burying Grounds, it is often the municipality where it is located that can give permission, simply because descendants of the family(ies) that established the cemetery are no longer in the area or cannot be identified or located. Under Title 30‐A, Section 3104, these Ancient Burying Grounds are considered Abandoned Cemeteries: “a cemetery in which no burial has been made in the previous 40 years and the lots or grave sites of which have not been maintained within the previous 10 years, except for maintenance rendered by the municipality in which the cemetery is located.” Under this statute an abandoned cemetery may be formally acquired by a municipality, but many are reluctant to do this due to legal and financial obligations.

Regarding Ancient Burying Grounds, municipalities are only obligated by state law (Title 13, Section 1101) to care for veterans’ graves and that care only extends to mowing the grass and keeping the graves free of debris, weeds, vines, and fallen trees and branches. Flags must also be placed on veterans’ graves for Memorial Day. Under the same statute municipalities MAY also care for non‐veteran graves, again only mowing and trimming brush and weeds and only from May 1 to September 30.

Under Title 13, Section 1101, a municipality may appoint a caretaker to take care of both veterans’ and non‐veterans’ graves. The best way to make sure you can take care of an Ancient Burying Ground is to have a municipality appoint you the caretaker for one or more specified burying grounds. A person who owns land surrounding an Ancient Burying Ground may refuse the municipality or designated caretaker access to the burying ground to care for veterans’ graves. In that case, the property owner is obligated to care for any veterans’ graves in the burying ground, but must allow the municipality or designated caretaker access to the Burying Ground to determine if the veterans’ graves are being cared for properly (Title 13, Section 1101‐B, part 2). Access to Ancient Burying Grounds surrounded by private property continues to be a problem and is being worked on. 

A bill passed by the state legislature in January 2020 and signed in to law by the governor in February amended sections of Title 13, clarifying the definition of, and documentation for the existence of, Ancient Burying Grounds. It also requires a municipality to designate caretakers in writing. A very important part of the revised law addresses the issue of boundaries of an Ancient Burying Ground, which has come up when property owners claim there is no burying ground because there are no fences or gravestones.

Click to read the new law [PDF]

NOTE: The revised statute is not yet in the online published statutes so those who want to become a designated caretaker may need to take a copy of the pdf to the municipality when applying.

Gravestones belong to the family of the person(s) commemorated on them. Unless the stones are modern, it can be difficult to identify living family members to obtain permission to work on the gravestone(s). However, this may not be possible regarding stones in Ancient Burying Grounds. Title 13, Section 1371 outlines who may repair, maintain, or remove “...any tomb, monument, gravestone, marker, or other structure placed or designated as a memorial to the dead, or any portion or fragment of any such memorial or any fence, curb or other enclosure for the burial of the dead...” 

Click to read Title 13 Section 1371

When family members or descendants cannot be located, permission for repairs and maintenance is the responsibility of the municipality in which the burying ground is located.

While it does not explicitly address the issue, Title 13 Section 1371 also protects memorials to Confederate soldiers buried in Maine cemeteries. This would include any version of a Confederate flag placed on the grave of a Confederate soldier. Such flags would be protected just as the United States flag is protected when placed on the grave of a U.S. or Revolutionary War veteran.