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May 18, 2023

Cleanup efforts continue at veterans' gravestones

Daily News Staff Writer RIVERTON TWP. — High-schoolers from Mason County Central

Daily News Staff Writer

RIVERTON TWP. — High-schoolers from Mason County Central are continuing to work their way through the county's cemeteries to touch up veterans’ gravestones, and on Friday, about 35 students put in some hours at Central Riverton Cemetery.

It's been more than two years since MCC teacher Tom Richert first enlisted some of his students to help clean up the gravestones of veterans and their families. They started at Lakeview Cemetery in Ludington in May 2021. Since then, Richert has taken groups out to grave sites throughout the area in an effort to spruce up the markers for every veteran in Mason County.

Prior to Friday's outing, MCC students cleaned approximately 1,600 gravestones; that total continued to climb throughout the morning, as a cluster of freshmen, sophomores and juniors made their way through the plots in Riverton Township, spraying and brushing down stones marked with American flags, as well as those of veterans’ family members.

The student count was down a bit this time, but that's because there were some additional academic and behavioral criteria to meet in order to qualify for the day-long activity.

"I don't want it to be an excuse to get out of school," Richert said. "I want it to be a heartfelt thing they’re doing for a reason. And once they get into it, it's very rewarding."

Richert said he's emphasizing the notion of "giving back," and trying to turn the gravestone-cleaning trips into something students can take pride in.

It seems to be working.

"It's definitely fulfilling," high-schooler Holly Bowen said. "It's something that's enjoyable and you get a lot out of it."

Jaelyn Madsen, helping out for the first time on Friday, said she joined because she wanted to make a difference, and she thinks she's doing just that.

"I came because I think it would be good to give back to the community, and I can say I’m definitely proud of what we’ve done here," Madsen said.

Richert is also trying to help students understand that their help is symbolic, but it also could be helping out the families of the deceased in more ways than they know.

"A lot of people can't do their family gravestones," Richert said. "Maybe they’re too elderly and it's hard for them to do it, or they’ve passed away themselves."

Richert said he first got into the gravestone work with family in mind, cleaning the stones of his grandparents Arthur and Margaret Richert, who are buried at the Riverton cemetery.

At least one student — Bryce Thurow — also had family members at the cemetery.

Thurow said more family members than he can count have been laid to rest in Riverton.

Richert and his students use a cleaning product called D2, which is approved for use at Arlington National Cemetery and the White House.

The product keeps cleaning after it's applied, working at a "microscopic level," and producing noticeable and long-lasting results, according to Richert.

Stones that were unreadable prior to Friday were already in much better shape by mid-morning, and Richert said they’ll look brand new within a week.

MCC has set up a nonprofit organization to accept donations to fund the purchase of D2, Richert said, and a donation last year from West Shore Bank helped with purchasing some of the product.

Some students have been accompanying Richert for years, and the more experienced ones helped coach the newcomers Friday morning to make sure everyone was doing everything right, and taking appropriate care when cleaning the stones.

Richert said he's been working at cemeteries in Manistee on his own time, and if MCC students do in fact manage to clean all the veterans’ gravestones in the county, Manistee County would be a great place to branch out.

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Daily News Staff Writer

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