On a sunny Sunday afternoon in a Shenandoah cemetery, a group of high schoolers hover over gravestones, uncovering heroes.
It's a simple act of honor, says Page County High School teacher Bobbi Comer, but each stone that's cleaned uncovers another hero, and with it, a piece of Page County history.
”The kids have really gravitated toward it, and I think it really makes them start thinking about history and their freedoms,” says the local Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) advisor. “They are learning about history that's right here in their hometown, because these are cemeteries that they pass every day on their way to school.”
In an effort to preserve the past and honor deceased veterans, Page County High School FCCLA members in September launched an “Uncovering Heroes” service project. Inspired by the nonprofit Good Cemeterian Historical Project, local high schoolers through their Heroes project clean the headstones of local veterans.
Each one is cleaned using non-hazardous, biodegradable cleaner designed to preserve historic structures and monuments. The costly cleaner paid for thanks to a donation from a PCHS parent is used by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in national cemeteries including Arlington.
In Shenandoah on Sunday at a cemetery adjacent to the St. Peter Lutheran Church, students point out headstones they've previously cleaned, stopping to snap photos of results that are transformative. The cleaner used on the headstones continues working three weeks to three months following its application.
”I didn't realize how bad of shape a lot of these were in,” says 11th-grade student Molly Louderback, 16, as she works to clean the headstone of a Civil War soldier who died 85 years before she was born. “It's been cool to see the changes.”
While many high school service projects focus on food banks and animal shelters, Molly continues, “Uncovering Heroes” is an equally important way of giving back.
”Veterans have given a lot for our lives,” says 14-year-old ninth-grader Emma Sellers. “This is our little way of giving back.”
”It's the least we can do for what they gave to us,” adds 11th-grader Hunter Jenkins, 16.
Farther in the Shenandoah cemetery 11th-graders Kennedy Strickler and Connor McCoy, both 16, work to clean the marker of a Confederate soldier who served in the 10th Virginia Volunteer Infantry Regiment. A few rows over Hunter works to clean a Union soldier's grave.
”We need to remember veterans,” says Connor. “No one really thinks about them as much as they did back in the olden days, and we need to be thankful for them.”
As Veterans Day approaches, says Connor, the Heroes project for him and other students has deepened their sense of gratitude for living heroes and their service that will be celebrated on Sunday.
”It's helped me see that it's not just remembering lost soldiers, it's honoring [living veterans] and thanking them whenever we can,” he says.
Hunched over a Civil War soldier's gravestone, Kennedy works to scrub away layers of lichen, fungus and mold. Like most of the headstones the students have cleaned, it was put in place long before she was born €” a realization that in many ways, she says, makes it more meaningful.
”We're 16 year olds, and we're out here on a Sunday trying to make a difference in our community,” says Kennedy. “We hope that's something other people see, especially other young people like us, for them to be inspired to go out in their own communities and make a difference.”
The afternoon continues in the Shenandoah cemetery as the group of young high schoolers hover over gravestones, uncovering heroes a week before Veterans Day.
Each stone cleaned, the students say, is their way of making a small difference in honor of those who have and continue to make the biggest differences.
This article & picture appeared in the November 8th edition of the Page News and Courier and was written by Rebecca Armstrong. The attached photo was also by Rebecca Armstrong.
Page County High School FCCLA members Kennedy Strickler and Connor McCoy and FCCLA advisor Bobbi Comer work to clean the grave of a Civil War veteran in a cemetery adjacent to Shenandoah's St. Peter Lutheran Church as part of the group's Uncovering Heroes service project. Rebecca Armstrong.
