Because some grave stones are old and have moss and mold growing on them, you will need to clean them before you start the "rubbings." Even the letters can have mold and moss inside them. The toothbrush and wire brush work well to remove the growth. But be gentle on the stones if they are very old and fragile looking.

I will now give you some examples of what you might run into while recording a very old cemetery. I recently recorded a family cemetery in a little southern town in Georgia. The plot is now in the middle of a cow pasture and not owned by the family any longer. I first had to get permission to get on the property and was kindly granted this wish.

Also, at this time, I learned that the cemetery had been recorded before and the gentleman asked if I would like to have a copy of it. I never knew it had been recorded before and gladly took a copy. We used this as a guide during our recording. But I quickly learned that there were errors on this earlier recording. We also video taped and took still shots of each grave site in the family plot.

Because of the age and lack of care to the cemetery, it was in bad condition. There had also been a severe wind storm that had done some damage to the cemetery. Trees had fallen onto graves and broken some stones in half.

Other trees were growing around and "in" some of the grave sites. And moss and mold were growing on some of the stone markers. And there was also evidence that vandals had actually dug up one of the graves some years before.

This could have been a nightmare to record. But we had some very good techniques to use. First of all where the words and letters were very faint and difficult to read, this is where our talcum powder came in handy.

Put the talc in a squeeze bottle with a pointed nozzle (like cookout mustard or Ketchup dispensers). Squeeze the talc out at an angle across the letters on the stone. Don't try to fill in the letters; just apply enough to dust, not unlike the method used by police when dusting for fingerprints.

Believe me, this WORKS. I recommend you practice on a few to get the "feel" of it. You'll be surprised how easily the words and dates can be read. And we found that the photos showed up much more clearly too.

The next technique we learned that day was with dirt. We found four very old children's crypts. Let me note at this time, that they each had a rectangular cement box that covered the top of each 3-foot by 18-inch grave.

We noted that these children's crypts had not been listed on the previous recording. We looked and wondered who they were. Two were actually broken in half with the parts scattered about. While accidentally rubbing his hand over the top of one, my husband felt a depression.

But we really couldn't see any evidence of letters. The tops really looked like plain cement covers. We tried the talc and that made things worse. This is where the bottle of water came in handy to wash the talc away -- and to quench our thirst. What we needed was black talc. You're thinking, "She's nuts," right?

As I looked down at the ground, I spied dark brown, loose dirt. I put some in my hand and proceeded to throw it across the crypts. My husband thought I had lost my mind. But I said "help me!" I knew what I was doing. We were applying the dark "talc" that would soon be wiped off and would bring out the letters for us.

After the dirt dried for a few minutes, we wiped off the excess. And voila! There were the names and dates of these little children. It was really an awesome sight, as they initially looked like solid cement, and nothing else.

We even had to literally put two of the crypts back together, and spent a terrifying hour being chased by bumble bees before we could get the letters lifted. Apparently, one of the crypts was the nest for the bumble bees!! But we finally got it done after my husband was chased and stung four times by the bees. Ouch!!!

As we took photos, I literally had to stand behind a marker to hold the broken half up so we could take the shot. Yes, we hoisted cracked marble grave stones back into its place and held them intact for pictures. But they look great. It made me sad though, leaving them this way, knowing that the first big wind would immediately knock them down again.

I really became involved with writing all the inscriptions, quotes and messages that were carved into the stones. I have a list of beautiful messages left as a memorial to these loved ones who had passed on. One merely said of a 14-year-old daughter: "Another link is broken in our household band." I also copied some of the beautiful artwork that was engraved on these stones. The men of this profession were true masters of their trade. The carvings of lilies and other flowers were just splendid.

There were three baby markers that I could hardly take my eyes off of, as they were filled with such beauty. They had intricate gates at the top, with a hand coming out of them holding a lily and other flowers. There was with a half sunrise below it and above the sun and the gates were the clouds of heaven, adorned with a single star. These would have been good rubbings to do. We spent about six hours there that day. As we were leaving the cemetery and walking out into the pasture, I turned around and felt a lonely feeling of leaving them: my ancestors. I took one last glimpse at their graves and walked away.

Right then and there, I vowed they would not be forgotten. I would forever keep them in my heart's memory. After all, I have them to thank for my "heart."

Note: Surnames of the buried were: Holcombe, Lewis, Reid, Driver, Cash, Nelson, Beall, and Hutcheson. Old Holcombe Family Cemetery located in Bremen, Haralson County, Georgia (dates from 1853-1919).