Thursday, October 1, 2026
Volunteers from the Sacajawea Chapter of Daughters of the American Revolution are cleaning unkept headstones for veterans to preserve cemetery heritage in Tumwater.
At a Dec. 2 meeting of the Tumwater City Council, Franida Maudsley, 1st Vice Regent of the Sacajawea Chapter, shared about the work being done to restore the headstones at Union Pioneer Calvary Cemetery.
Volunteers from the chapter and community have worked with historic preservationists to dig, clean, raise, level and straighten grave markers.
“We specialize in preservation and historic preservation in particular. I got started on the Masonic Memorial cemetery … we did about 1,232 cleanings of military markers there,” Maudsley said.
Maudsley noted that cemeteries reflect community legacy, and protecting them from deterioration helps cemeteries remain valuable educational and cultural resources for the future.
“Historic preservation can't be emphasized enough because it protects cemeteries from neglect and keeps that going into the future," Maudsley said.
Human remains detection dogs were also brought in to locate buried remains.
Before careful excavation, markers were identified using probes and historical records to ensure accurate discovery. Markers were then aligned to original positions, considering safety guidelines, to preserve historical accuracy.
The chapter held a 30-minute Talking Headstones Tour to educate the public on the history contained in the cemetery.
“One of the things we want to do is not just go in and clean but also preserve for the future, and the Talking Headstones was part of an educational outreach to the community,” Maudsley said.
As the public walked through the cemetery, the tour shared “graveside stories” reenacted by actors in costume, and the history of who is buried on the gravestone and their impact on Tumwater.
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griffithga
Thank you for this good news article and many thanks to the Sacajawea Chapter members of the DAR for their work to preseve historic cemeteries and to educate all of us about the history that these places evoke to ours and future generations.
Wednesday, December 3, 2025 Report this
JasonWettstein
Thank you, Daughters and Sons of the American Revolution! We so much appreciate you in Tumwater!
Thursday, December 4, 2025 Report this