The following is a letter I wrote to the editor of our two local newspapers, but neither one has chosen to print it:
Thomas Isaac Spease, his wife Cora Bowles Spease, and their two sons moved to North Wilkesboro in the early 1900s. Cora was a homemaker, and Thomas worked for the railroad, which was just a short walk from their home on C Street. Tragedy struck the Spease family twice: first in 1911 and again in 1912 when the couple lost both of their infant daughters. The girls are laid to rest next to each other in the North Wilkesboro town cemetery. Birth certificates weren’t issued until 1913, so their epitaphs are the only record of their brief lives. When I came across their headstones, they were in poor condition and nearly illegible due to the presence of mold and other growth. I approached the town for permission to clean their headstones at no charge, using materials and methods approved by conservators. They accepted my offer and now the girls’ headstones are clean and legible. Other cemetery owners (including towns and churches) have not shown any interest in historic preservation, even when offered at no charge. Others have stipulated onerous restrictions which are impossible to comply with. Fuel and supplies are expensive, but I do occasionally reach out to folks and offer to clean some monuments at no cost. Historic preservation includes more than old buildings, and being a steward of our ancestors’ memories must involve more than just cutting grass.
