[MassHistPres] Cemetery Commission Rumble

[Bell, Ed @ SEC]

The Harvard Shaker Cemetery (MHC #HRV.801) is listed in the State and National Registers of Historic Places as a contributing element of the Harvard Shaker Village Historic District (a National Register district and a Local Historic District). 

A cemetery preservation plan ought to be developed first, with preservation issues (including cast iron markers preservation) outlined and prioritized for appropriate preservation treatment. 

See DCR's book on preservation management of historic cemeteries:

http://www.mass.gov/dcr/stewardship/histland/cemeteryprog.htm


Obviously, the cemetery commission's attention to this one problem demonstrates that there is a desire to maintain and not neglect the cemetery. The historic cast iron markers, per se, are very rare marker types in general and also distinctive aspects of this historic cemetery. Cast iron elements of the cemetery require professional evaluation; any conservation treatment should not cause inadvertant damage that would diminish the significance and integrity of the cemetery. 

The public tantrum and name-calling are highly regretable and have no place in a public meeting. A private meeting ought to be conducted to lower the temperture, and to insist on ground rules of behavior before your board. 

Insist on addressing the real issue at hand which is the appropriate conservation treatment of historic cast iron markers. The conservation principle is "do no harm". Any treatment should not causing an inadvertent "adverse effect" to these rare and irreplaceable markers, that could cost more to attempt to reverse and repair, even if possible. An outside expert in historic materials conservation will provide the information needed to make wise decisions about this public property.    

Ed Bell
Massachusetts Historical Commission
     

-----Original Message-----
From: masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu [mailto:masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu] On Behalf Of Harry LaCortiglia
Sent: Sunday, November 11, 2007 7:51 AM
To: Jonathan Feist
Cc: Massachusetts Historical Preservation interests
Subject: Re: [MassHistPres] Cemetery Commission Rumble

Hi Jonathan,

I don't know what the actual politics of this are, but it sure sounds somewhat like there's a bit more going on here (or perhaps a bit of a
history?) that has been left unsaid. As Chair of my local CPC, I know that these kinds of situations sometimes arise as a manifestation of previous personality disagreements more than from the substance of the issue itself.

There also might be a bit of pride and discomfort involved here, as well, since board members, (such as the Cemetery Comm's) that are usually the ones "behind" the decision making table, sometimes are very uncomfortable when they find themselves in "front" of another board's table.

Lastly, there is the issue of the ultimate recipient and controller of the funding itself. If the Cemetery Comm feels that the authority to award the contract is being taken away from them and being put into the hands of the Historical Comm, then this itself might be the major source of the discontent.

I suspect that some of all three of these factors are coming into play here...

Your Board of Selectmen need to call all of you into a room and encourage you all to play nicely. (At least the BOS will be on notice if damage does occur.)

If your Cem Comm is primarily dealing on a day to day basis with cemeteries that are not historical in nature, then the Historic Commission should be requesting CPC funding to have a Historic Preservation Management Plan prepared for this cemetery, in order to provide the Cemetery Comm with detailed, specific information as to the proper care for its more historically sensitive charges.
See:

http://www.georgetowncpc.com/Union_Cemetery_mgmt_plan.htm

This might not help you right now with your immediate problem at hand, but it might help someone in the future (on the Cem Comm) to avoid taking a well intentioned, but misguided or misinformed action that could possibly damage this cemetery. 

Good Luck  (you're going to need it...)
H. LaCortiglia
Georgetown CPC

     

Jonathan Feist wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> The Harvard Shaker Cemetery issue has taken an unsuspected turn. To 
> summarize the history, the Harvard Cemetery Commission proposed 
> sandblasting and powdercoating the cast iron markers in the Harvard 
> Shaker Cemetery, to be funded by the CPA. I¹m a member of the CPC as 
> well as chair of the Historical Commission.
>
> The applicants met with the CPC to discuss their project. I summarized 
> the concerns articulated here regarding silica sandblasting, and 
> others, and suggested that as a first step, they get the advice of a 
> conservator who specializes in antique cast iron. We offered to accept 
> an increase in the requested amount in their application to fund this.
>
> The applicants then flipped out, shouted at us that we were petty 
> bureaucrats, withdrew their application, swore an oath to fund their 
> project another way, and stormed out of the meeting, while members of 
> the CPC sat gaping.
>
> So, here¹s my question. The Shaker cemetery is within the borders of 
> the Harvard Shaker Village Historical District. Our town administrator 
> doesn¹t think that the HC¹s jurisdiction trumps that of the Cemetery 
> Commission. Is this how you understand it as well?
>
> I am trying to arrange a meeting of the two boards, facilitated by the 
> Town Administrator, hoping to create some sort of dialog and joint 
> approach to issues such as this. Honestly, though, I¹m not hopeful 
> that this meeting will bear fruit, as the Cemetery Commission seems to 
> have some real turf issues and not much sense about historical 
> preservation. Plus, they are bozos.
>
> Opinions? Strategies?
>
> --Jonathan
>
>
>
> ===============================================
>
> Jonathan Feist, Chair
> Harvard Historical Commission
> 978-772-4864 (home)
> 617-747-2148 (Berklee office)
>
> Preserve Historical Harvard, MA:
> http://www.jonathanfeist.com/Pages/HarvardPreservation.html
>
> Blog: Writing about Music
> http://jonathanfeist.berkleemusicblogs.com
>
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