KANSAS CITY, Mo — While time may have weathered some of the headstones at Elmwood Cemetery, one local man has taken it upon himself to ensure that the memories of those laid to rest, particularly veterans, remain honored.
Brad Finch has always had a profound passion for cemeteries. The peacefulness and beauty of the sites have been an inspiration during his time as a photographer.
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“I like cemeteries, they're calm, peaceful, and they have Memorial heart." said Finch.
Finch has now dedicated his time to preserving the legacy of those who have been laid to rest.
“Cemeteries don't own the monuments, family owns the monument, if they want them fixed, they'll come fix them. Well, in a lot of cases, in older cemeteries like this, there's no family and even if there is, there's no desire to come out here," said Finch
He took it upon himself to continue their memory in a respectful way. Rain or shine, Finch can be found meticulously cleaning headstones at Elmwood Cemetery.
“The military headstones should never be dirty," said Finch. "Like some of them are in private cemeteries. You go to Arlington or any other national cemeteries, you'll never find any headstones that have lichen and mold and stuff on them because they do a good job of keeping them up. So we try to do that here too.”
To properly preserve many of the headstones that have been at the cemetery for over a century, Brad had to learn how a headstone is cleaned and cared for. He uses his time now to teach others the importance of it.
“We had the boy scouts out here last Veterans Day and we did over 130 headstones between probably 40 kids," said Finch.
Although the veterans are no longer with us, for Brad it's a way for him to show his gratitude and respect.
“It's a big sense of reward and actually, like, gives me the impetus to look them up and find out what they did and where they served and, and all of the, you know, whatever battles they were in, I mean, some of them were cooks and some of them were infantry," said Finch.
Elmwood Cemetery is a nonprofit that operates on the donations of the community. As a member of the board, Brad often times has used his own money to purchase the cleaning supplies to continue his work. For him, it's beyond the money.
“It's fun, and it does make a lasting difference. And I think that's why people are attracted to it," said Finch.
Check out their website to learn more.
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