Seven grave markers were knocked over last week in Surrey Centre Cemetery.
The graves stones were nearly all one metre or taller in height and were in the pioneer section of the cemetery, where most graves are more than 100 years old.
乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 absolutely horrible,乌鸦传媒� said Michael Gibbs, president of the Surrey Historical Society. 乌鸦传媒淚 don乌鸦传媒檛 understand why someone would do something like this.乌鸦传媒�
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Sue Bryant, a member of the Surrey Historical Society, said she first heard about the vandalism April 26 through the 乌鸦传媒淔riends of West Cloverdale乌鸦传媒� Facebook page.
乌鸦传媒淚 went up right away and took a bunch of photos,乌鸦传媒� said Bryant. 乌鸦传媒淪everal of the older headstones on the City side of the pioneer section of the cemetery were damaged.乌鸦传媒�
Deeply saddened to see the damage caused by vandals at the Surrey Centre cemetery in the pioneer乌鸦传媒檚 section. Some of these headstones were over a century old.
乌鸦传媒� Surrey Historical Society (@SocietySurrey)
The damaged grave markers include families such as: McCallum, Elliott, Acorn, Wood, and others.
Bryant gives cemetery tours and is very familiar with the stories of the families that are interred in the graveyard.
乌鸦传媒淭his is very sad, given some of the damaged headstones date back to the late 1800s, early 1900s, and at least two are of children less than a year old.乌鸦传媒�
Bryant said the pioneer grave sites occupy a part of the graveyard that is somewhat secluded.
乌鸦传媒淵ou can乌鸦传媒檛 see the area from any houses. I乌鸦传媒檝e been there late at night and I乌鸦传媒檝e seen a lot of people hanging out there.乌鸦传媒�
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Bryant said the only other vandalism at Surrey Centre Cemetery that she can remember happened about 25 years ago.
乌鸦传媒淚n the mid-90s, a big group of (gravestones) were vandalized.乌鸦传媒�
Gibbs wondered if, given the profile of the pioneers, the historical value of the pioneer section, and its century-old markers, it wasn乌鸦传媒檛 time for some more security.
乌鸦传媒淚 think we need some cameras in here,乌鸦传媒� noted Gibbs. 乌鸦传媒淭his cemetery is part of our heritage.乌鸦传媒�
乌鸦传媒淐emetery staff have started the process to repair the monuments which were vandalized last week,乌鸦传媒� wrote Laurie Cavan in an email to the Cloverdale Reporter. 乌鸦传媒�The contractor expects to have the repairs completed by the end of this week (May 1).乌鸦传媒�
Cavan, the general manager of the Parks, Recreation, and Culture department, said the repair work will restore the grave markers in such a way that they乌鸦传媒檒l retain their historic appearance.
乌鸦传媒淭o prevent future vandalism, the repaired monuments will be fastened with a metal rod through the monument into its base,乌鸦传媒� added Cavan. 乌鸦传媒淚t is rare for historic monuments in Surrey to be defaced or damaged by acts of vandalism.乌鸦传媒�
editor@cloverdalereporter.com
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