Jon Appell of Atlas Preservation demonstrates a low-tech way of reassembling a heavy stone grave marker at the Odd Fellows Cemetery in South Bend.

SOUTH BEND — The Odd Fellows Cemetery on the Old Raymond-South Bend Road is getting a much-needed makeover thanks to a $31,400 grant from the Washington Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation. Work has already begun on the near centuries-old cemetery, and a work party is being held on Saturday, Jan. 28.

The Kiwanis of South Bend and determined residents located Jon Appell of Atlas Preservation, a company specializing in restoring gravestones and cemeteries, and secured his expertise to help.

Julie Overby applied for grant funds, Donald J. Richter and Joel Penoyar formulated a contract with Appell, and Sandy Moser helped set everything up. The Kiwanis Key Club at South Bend High School also played an integral part.

“I was asked to find out the best stuff for cleaning headstones and found Jon Appell’s site, and everything kind of evolved into this,” Richard Curtis said.

Appell treks throughout the country restoring gravestones and cemeteries and is based out of Southington, Connecticut. Part of his expertise is teaching others how to clean up cemeteries, a lesson he is happy to give during this weekend’s workshop.

The cemetery restoration project is expected to take some time, and the Kiwanis already paid a contractor earlier this year to cut and remove debris. They also hired a professional arborist to spruce up the cemetery.

“At one point, one person was mowing the place, and essentially the cemetery kept getting smaller and smaller because [it was] overgrown,” Curtis said about the arduous task being undertaken to restore the cemetery.

The woods and debris have swallowed up a portion of the cemetery, and the Kiwanis hope to cut it all back and free hidden graves.

With the help of Appell, the Kiwanis hope to secure interest from locals who would help keep up the cemetery so that it doesn’t deteriorate to its current state again. Appell plans to show how to care for gravestones and restore them properly.

On Monday, Jan. 23, Appell was hard at work fixing headstones with a handmade hoist system able to move headstones weighing upwards of 1,000 pounds. The one he spent most of the day working on was over 600 pounds.

Before he departs, Appell expects he will have nearly two-thirds of the cemetery’s headstones restored.

“I’m definitely not going to finish everything,” Appell said. “So the other part is if there are others who are willing to learn from me.”

The work party will kick off at 9 a.m. on Jan. 28 and is expected to last most of the day.