HUDSON — Fresh from restoring the crumbling gravestones of several relatives, Bruce Coleman Sr. , his son Bruce Jr. and grandson Ian have set their sights on restoring the headstones of a beloved Hudson icon and his family. While taking a stroll through Hudson’s Maple Grove Cemetery recently, Coleman discovered the headstones of poet Will Carleton, his parents and at least two of his siblings were deteriorating through age and neglect.
“He found the five headstones in pretty sad shape, really deteriorated,” city manager Frank Goodroe said. “He would like to restore them as best as possible. Bruce believes he can make some improvement. ”
Coleman attended the Hudson City Council meeting Tuesday and asked for the council’s blessing to proceed.
“We have the equipment. Let me assure you, we will be very careful,” he said. “These people settled this area. ”
Councilman Ed Engle Jr. described Carleton as “the rock star of his day. ” The poet, best known for his poem “Over the Hill to the Poor House,” was born on a farm near Hudson in 1845 and graduated from Hillsdale College in 1869.
Written in 1872, “Over the Hill to the Poor House” depicted the plight of the aged and those with indifferent families. It captured national attention and catapulted Carleton into literary prominence. For the rest of his life, Carleton continued to write and to lecture from coast to coast. He died in 1912.
The Colemans traveled to Franklin County, Ind. , recently to restore the gravesites of four of Bruce Sr. ’s grandfathers dating back to the American Revolutionary War. That work was a one-day effort, while the Carleton headstone work is expected to take several months to complete, Coleman told the council.
The men plan to take one of the broken Carleton headstones back to their shop and work on it. They intend to start the work in early July.
“I’ve got kind of a weird hobby. When I’m traveling around and see an old cemetery, I like to get out and walk around looking at everything,” Coleman said. “Unfortunately, some of our cemeteries are in very bad shape. ”
Mayor Lee Daugherty asked Coleman to document the work so people in the future could follow his example should the need arise again. Coleman, who is starting an online blog to describe the process, told the council much of the work is done by hand and very gently, so as not to harm the stones.
“It will probably take over the summer to do it,” Coleman said. “These older stones are very sensitive to chemicals. ”
He and Goodroe noted the work will not completely restore the stones. Weather and time have worn down some of the lettering, but Coleman said he believes their work can add years of life to the headstones and help preserve information.
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