r/CemeteryPreservation

I’ve been working on the stone of Claus Henry Ehlen for somewhere around a month and a half or two months now, and it still isn’t finished. This is a BIG marble monument. It’s tall, heavy, incredibly detailed, has an inscription along the bottom, and even has the stone maker’s mark on the back near the base. It is honestly one of those stones that gets more beautiful the longer you look at it, and part of what makes working on it so interesting is the man whose name is on it.

Claus Henry Ehlen was born in Germany in 1829, and his family eventually became part of a pretty fascinating piece of American history that most people outside of this area have probably never heard of. His father, John Diedrich Ehlen, brought the family to the Bethel Colony in Missouri, a German communal settlement established in the 1840s. In the 1850s, members of that community made their way west and established another communal settlement in Oregon, in what is now the small town of Aurora, about 25 miles south of Portland. It became known as the Aurora Colony. Claus was a tailor by trade, but the Ehlen family was also VERY musical, and music was a big part of life in the colony. Claus played in the Aurora Colony Band, which became well known throughout the region. There is actually a photograph of the band taken in Portland on July 4, 1876, and Claus is sitting right there in the front row playing bass. Just six years later, in 1882, he died. Knowing that history makes working on his stone pretty special.

Beside Claus is an almost matching monument belonging to his wife, Elizabeth. Hers needs quite a bit of work too, but I chose Claus first for a reason. At some point in the past, his stone broke and was repaired, and that old repair had become heavily covered with moss and biological growth. With a monument this large and heavy, a failed repair isn't just cosmetic. If that repair eventually gave way, that enormous upper section could come down and very easily break into multiple pieces. I try to choose the stones I work on based on need, not just which one I think will make the best before-and-after picture, and this one needed help.

Most of the work so far has actually been pretty simple. Lots and LOTS of water, D/2, bamboo picks, plastic scrapers, soft brushes, patience, and more patience. I went through quite a few little brushes on this one. The ones I like are technically gun-cleaning brushes, but they work beautifully for getting into all of the tiny carved details without being overly aggressive. When I'm dealing with a stone this old and this intricate, I don't try to make it look brand new. That's not the goal. Once I've removed the heavy biological growth and can actually see the surface clearly again, I back off. There is a point where continuing to chase every bit of discoloration does more to satisfy the person cleaning the stone than it does to help the stone itself, and knowing when to stop is part of the work.

That's pretty much where we are now. I'm mostly spot treating at this point, usually about every other week, working on some of the darker areas and staining that are still hanging on rather than repeatedly treating the entire monument. There is still work to do, but I think Claus will be finished before the end of this season. And then there's Elizabeth. Her stone is standing very securely and doesn't have the structural concerns that Claus's did, so she can wait. I'll most likely begin working on hers next season.

I really can't adequately explain how beautiful these two stones are in person. Even after weeks of working on this one, I still find myself stopping to look at the carving and all of the little details. Claus Henry Ehlen died more than 140 years ago, in a tiny Oregon community that most people have probably never heard of, but we still have his name, his stone, his family's history, the work he did, and the music he played. We even have a photograph taken nearly 150 years ago showing him sitting with his band and holding his instrument. For a man who died in 1882, that's an incredible amount of his story that is still here.

That's exactly why I love doing this.

In the band photo: The Aurora Band at Portland, July 4, 1876. Back row, left to right: John Giesy, flag; John Link, bass drum; Henry Meier, cymbal; Henry C . Ehlen, cornet ; William Schwader, cornet ; Carl Snyder, cornet ; Fred Keil, leader; Dr. A. J. Giesy, clarinet; Fred Giesy, clarinet; William "Cap" Miley, clarinet; Loren W. Ehlen, clarinet; Adoph Pflug, flag; Emanuel Keil, snare drum.

Front row: Claus Henry Ehlen, bass; Urban Will, bass; Henry Giesy, baritone; Samuel Giesy, bass; George Will, trumpet; Nick Giesy, alto ; George Beck, alto; William Beck, solo alto.

This is my sister’s headstone first picture was yesterday before i detail cleaned it today with water and a soft brush and microfiber rag. The chipped off paint still bugs me. This is the instructions chat gpt gave me to restore/repaint. What do you guys think of the instructions on last picture?

I applied D/2, waited, then used a soft plastic kitchen utensil to gently loosen the lichens and moss. I was very cognizant of not scraping or putting much pressure on the stone as I wasn’t too sure of its condition. One I saw the stone was in decent shape, I used a wet tampico brush to very lightly remove the remaining growth. To finish it off, I rinsed then applied a final coat of D/2. Looking forward to checking back in a few weeks.

ETA: My ancestor died in 1891, and I believe the stone dates from that time. His inscription is fully intact on the backside of the monument.

I started working on Howard and Catharine Ogle’s stone back in April, and I finally finished it. For me, restoring a stone has always been about more than the stone itself. The research is part of the process. I want to know whose name I’m uncovering, what their life looked like, and what story might otherwise be forgotten. I restore the stone, and I tell the story of the people it belongs to.

Howard Ogle was born around 1815 and Catharine Ann McGonigle in 1818. They married young, raised a large family, and eventually made the long journey west to Oregon in the 1850s. They settled in the Molalla area and appear together in Oregon’s Donation Land Claim records. An 1859 newspaper even mentions Howard’s property on Bear Creek, between Rock Creek and Molalla. They weren't simply people who eventually ended up buried here. They were among the families putting down roots here when this area looked very different than it does today.

And Howard left a mark on the area that is still visible on a map. In 1863, Howard, Bobby Ogle and A.J. Sawtell went prospecting in the mountains east of Molalla and discovered gold. The site became known as the Ogle Mine, named for Howard, and Ogle Creek still carries the family name today.

Catharine's story is harder to find in the historical record, which is unfortunately pretty common for women of her time. But she made the journey west too. She helped establish their home here and raised their family here while Oregon itself was still very young. Howard's adventures made the newspapers and eventually put his name on a mine, but Catharine was part of the life they built together.

Howard died October 3, 1901, at about 86 years old. Catharine followed him in 1904. After roughly 65 years of marriage, they were laid to rest together at Adams Cemetery. More than 120 years later, their stone is still here.

The preservation itself was done slowly over multiple visits using water, D/2 Biological Solution, soft brushes, bamboo skewers and plastic scrapers. The skewers and plastic tools allow me to carefully work biological growth out of lettering, carvings and other small areas without using metal against the stone. This isn't about making an old gravestone look brand new. It's about safely removing harmful biological growth and buildup while preserving the original stone and as much of its history as possible.

That's the part of this work I love. You start with names and dates carved into stone, and by the time you're finished, they're people again. Howard wasn't just a name covered by more than a century of Oregon weather. He was a husband, father, landholder and prospector who went into the mountains looking for gold and actually found it.

Catharine wasn't just the name beside his. She crossed a continent, raised a family and helped build a home in a place that was still becoming Oregon. Their story has been here all along, it just needed to be uncovered along with their names.

A quick note about my work:

I specialize in historic gravestone restoration and preservation, with a background in geology and conservation science as they relate to stone and monument care. I’ve restored over 3,000 stones across the region, earned local and national recognition for my work, and have been featured in media and awarded for preservation excellence. I've served on multiple cemetery boards, I teach proper restoration techniques, and continue to study and apply the highest standards in the field. All of my work is 100% volunteer.

**Please remember: while restoration can be rewarding, it also requires training, scientific knowledge, and the right materials. Well-meaning attempts without proper understanding can cause permanent damage. Contact your local and state cemetery boards for information on how to do this work in your area.**

I find this work to be so peaceful and emotionally rewarding. I make sure to have a little conversation with every person whose stone I clean, and I let them know they haven't been forgotten 🖤

Grampy Dannie worked hard and didn’t have a lot of money . Had 3 sons and lost 2 in 1925. Hand made his family head stones up in northern Maine.

At first I wondered whether someone had sprayed them but there’s so many and none seem to have a pattern (west coast Scotland if useful)

It’s 25 years old…
My husband called this our “death tour” today. I think it’s good to lighten up about a heavy duty subject.
We just checked it out today…ready to clean it up some. It has some lichens on it, as most know what they are here.

i understand gravestone paint exists but it doesnt have a great varitey of colours,

im thinking weathershield paint?

The headstone is located on the plains of Colorado, so we don't get a ton of moss or lichen on our headstones here. I tried to clean it last October using Wet & Forget and a natural fiber scrub brush. I didn't notice any difference 3 months later. Was it too cold for it to work? Please let me know what I can do to make it look better. It used to be bright and pretty.