As a result of our LATimes coverage, we received a very nice, personal letter from Charles Marchant, who also just happens to be secretary of the Vermont Old Cemetery Association:
[VOCA] is a non-profit organization founded in 1958 to "encourage the restoration and preservation of neglected and abandoned cemeteries in the State of Vermont" Membership is open to all. Dues are $5.00 per year, $20.00 for five years, $100 for lifetime membership, payable to VOCA and mailed to the treasurer, and are tax deductible. Meetings are held twice yearly on the first Saturday in May and October. The VOCA newsletter is published by the editor four times a year to coincide with the seasons.
I plan on joining (and will send in my dues as soon as I get around to sending in our 251 Club dues!). While I was poking around the web to learn more, I stumbled upon this article featuring Charlie:
Disclaimer: You never know what's going to happen until you put the first shovel in the ground.
This is what Charles Marchant, 60, tells people before he dives into restoring cemeteries and repairing gravestones across Vermont.
From trimming around gravestones with scissors at age eight for his great uncle, to falling asleep at town meeting only to be nominated as his town's cemetery commissioner as an adult, Marchant has committed over half of his life to cemeteries.
"Little did they know I'd take it seriously," said Marchant of becoming the cemetery commissioner.
On Sunday, the Shaftsbury Historical Society invited Marchant to share his extensive knowledge of cemeteries. Shaftsbury's cemeteries need some attention from the town, the society decided, and a first step in the process was inviting Marchant to give a talk and slide show.
Marchant, a retired high school history teacher of 36 years, now spends his time as a private contractor, giving cemetery presentations and performing restorations. He is the secretary for the Vermont Old Cemeteries Association, and a member of The Association for Gravestone Studies out of Greenfield, Mass. Marchant, who lives in Townshend, also maintains a couple private cemeteries near home.
Very cool.
ntodd
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