Group returns crypt to former glory
Photo by Jessica Stewart / St. Joseph News-Press / Purchase this photo
Daniel Lopez and Dan Stewart, of Peerless Restoration in Independence, Mo., work on the Floyd mausoleum Friday afternoon at Mount Mora Cemetery.
Members of a Mount Mora association smiled Friday as their first restoration project neared completion.
The Floyd family mausoleum, a concrete and stone structure, underwent restoration this week. The mausoleum, built in 1890, has seen 118 years of freezing and thawing. Water has damaged the whole structure and put it in danger of collapse, said Suzanne Lehr, a member of the Mount Mora Preservation & Restoration Association.
The association has conducted a variety of money-raising projects for several years to help with restoration projects.
Last year, the group had enough funds to hire a contractor to assess the cemetery needs, Mrs. Lehr said.
The first major project is the Floyd family mausoleum, which will cost about $2,500. William Floyd, who died in 1888, started a store that specialized in steamboat supplies, and his son was a city engineer. Mr. Floyd’s body was moved into the mausoleum crypt in 1890. His wife, Minnie, son William Jr. and three daughters were all buried in the mausoleum crypt starting in 1913. The last burial took place in 1955.
Dan Stewart, owner of Peerless Restoration and Waterproofing Co., has been supervising the dismantling on part of one stone wall and rebuilding it as well as cutting and filling numerous major cracks. The firm also will re-coat the entire surface with a water repellent.
The association has recruited volunteers for special projects, including several Boy Scouts working on their Eagle badges.
A local blacksmith has been redoing or recreating metal work, such as gates attached to some of the mausoleums, Mrs. Lehr said.
The original gates to the Lemon mausoleum were recently discovered on the grounds at Mount Mora and have been reinstalled. Other improvements include new steel grates and concrete work along the cemetery road to replace the deteriorating storm water drains. Next spring, the association hopes to begin work on the restoration of the Collins mausoleum, including a mosaic dome in the crypt.
Marshall White can be reached
at marshall@npgco.com.
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the mora is looking so lovely. all the damage from the ice storms is gone and the grass is well manicured. the mount mora association should be very proud! my son is in town visiting, and it was a real pleasure to show him this priceless treasure of st joseph.
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