Eagle Scout Project Restoring Wyckoff Reformed Church Cemetary Vandalized

By EMMA THOR

An Eagle Scout project of restoring tombstones from Wyckoff Reformed Church Cemetery was destroyed when vandals knocked them down the night of Oct. 1.

Wyckoff Police press release says  Approximately 50 headstones were toppled over. Church staff estimate $10,000 in repairs.

Two years ago, Andrew Valenta, 20, decided to do his eagle scout project on restoring Wyckoff Reformed Church Cemetery. 

Valenta doesn’t understand why someone would destroy tombstones. 

“In truth it is not my hard work, nor the hard work of dozens of others that bothers me the most,” said Valenta.

“The disgusted feeling that this even has risen inside me comes from the blatant disrespect and desecration of so many graves in our local graveyard- and frankly speaks to an incredibly low character in those who carried out these acts of vandalism,” he added.

“The stones date back to late 1700s. and early 1800s,” said Valenta.

An eagle scout is the highest title in scouting. To become an eagle scout the  boy scout is supposed to fulfill leadership, service and outdoor skill. Restoring the cemetery was the service component.

“It was an interesting and fun learning experience and I am proud to have completed it. If only the respect I gained through this project could have been imparted to those who desecrated the graves so recently,”said Valenta.

Preserving Tombstones

That history starts with the name engraved into the tombstone.

“From stones that are artisanally crafted in marble to simple flat faced rocks engraved with only a name,” said Valenta.

“They each hold their own story and can be quite interesting to investigate and learn about. Its almost as if they connect you to a section of the past, sometimes just through a person’s name,” said Valenta.

Beside uncovering the person’s story, the tombstones needed maintenance.

“First, cleaning of dirty stones, Second, the standing of stones that had fallen over, Third, the restoration of two family plots and Fourth, the marking of damaged and cracked stones for the local Historical Society,”said Valenta.

Valenta worked with Dr .Richard Lynch ,who is the vice president of Wyckoff Church Cemetery Board of Trustees.

“Through working with Dr. Richard Lynch, we were able to identify the sections of the graveyard I was to focus my efforts on cleaning, and the extent of the repairs needed for the family plots,”said Valenta.

“After this it was a simple yet tedious process of putting that plan into action. For cleaning, the stones were sprayed with a lemon-juice solution and scrubbed with brushes before being washed,”said Valenta.

“This helped return many stones to a pristine white color, and remove layers of fungi and grime. Many stones that were discovered to have fallen through time or disrepair had small trenches dug over the graves, where the stone was placed, upright, and the soil returned and tamped down,”said Valenta.

“Several stones were actually discovered, overgrown in the grass, and returned to their original stance,”said Valenta.

“For restoring the family plots, the iron bars and chain around them were put into place or replaced, and were painted a Forest Green color in oil based paint. A nearby defunct water pump was also repainted,”said Valenta.

“And finally any stones found to be cracked were reported to the historical society such that they could be repaired using an epoxy-based polymer, and stood upright in their correct location,”said Valenta.

“On a whole the efforts were focused on the area closest to Wyckoff Reformed Church, as it is the location most often passed, seen nearby on Memorial Day, and also holding some of the older stones in the yard,said Valenta.

Restoring a Graveyard

The church holds a Memorial Day service on the property.

“While the section completed was certainly larger than what was estimated could be completed, it was still only a section of the graveyard, with more work estimated to be completed in the future, possibly by other projects or workers,”said Valenta.

“What possibly instilled in them that their actions were a good idea, I cannot fathom as these graves are the final representations of people’s lives who lived all the way back to the late 1700’s, a true piece of history,”said Valenta.

Andy Kadzban, 29 Wyckoff reformed church pastor said, “I have no idea why someone would destroy tombstones. They weren’t in their right right mind. Teenagers having fun and not having weight of what they were doing has consequences.

“I honestly I thought no one would have a care in the world about this,”said Kadzban

“Media coverage was incredible and outpouring of response of the community,”said Kadzban.

The media coverage was from CBS , ABC , News 12 and online news outlets such as Wyckoff Patch , Daily Voice and The Record.

Besides the media response there was an outpour of community response.

“People called the church to say sorry this happened and how would they help?

“Historical worker said if the church needs any help they will donate their time into restoring the cemetery,”said Kadzban.

Not just phone calls but also from social media

“Someone posted in a facebook page called Wyckoff Moms and there was huge response,”said Kadzban.

“Our cemetery is cherished part of the community,” said Kazban.

Beside the response there is the financial costs.

“There is a go fund me page where people can be donate to the cost of the repairs,”said Kazban.

People have been sharing it on facebook.

” The cost ranges from $40,000  to $50,000,”said Kazban.

“Insurance would cover it as vandalism and there would $5,000 deductible,”said Kazban.

The only thing that hasn’t been solved is who committed the crime.

“Some of those graves include those who barely lived even a quarter of their hopeful life, and to destroy the graves of children? I cannot think who would consider to do such a thing. It speaks to a great sorrow, and loss of character in our current times,” said Valenta