MEDINA, N.Y. A section of the Medina Sandstone wall at historic Boxwood Cemetery is getting a new lease on life after the Boxwood Cemetery Commission partnered with the Iroquois Job Corps for restoration work.
Beginning June 1, pre-apprentice students in the International Masonry Institute’s brick masonry program started work on the wall, focusing on areas where time and weather had taken a toll. The project received support through the Preservation League of New York State and program partners at the New York State Council on the Arts, according to information shared by Job Corps Operations Director John Thomas.
The scope centered on hands-on repointing and surface work. Over about a week, the students ground the Medina sandstone, then pointed and refinished sections that had worn down over roughly 175 years, with some portions crumbling. IMI brick masonry instructor David Gonzalez worked with local partners, including Todd Bensley of Friends of Boxwood Cemetery and the village of Medina historian, after Jacob Hebdon, chairman of the Boxwood Cemetery Commission, reached out for help.
For mason contractors, it’s a solid example of how preservation groups, local owners, and workforce programs can line up on a focused scope that protects a historic masonry asset while stretching limited restoration dollars. The work also puts training into motion, with students donating their labor while building real jobsite experience on grinding, pointing, and finish techniques that matter on stone restoration.
Read the full, original article from Orleans Hub here.