Heritage workshops scheduled

The Stephen F. Austin State University Center for Regional Heritage Research will present two heritage workshops featuring lectures and hands-on learning activities consecutive Fridays, May 1 and May 8.

The lectures will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. in the Baker Pattillo Student Center, Room 2.201, and hands-on learning activities will follow from 4:30 to 6 p.m. at Oak Grove Cemetery, located on North Lanana Street in Nacogdoches.

Jason Church and Debbie Smith of the National Center for Preservation Training and Technology will present the May 1 lecture on monument maintenance and vegetation in cemeteries. A demonstration of proper preservation and planting techniques will follow.

Gerron Hite of the Texas Historical Commission with present the May 8 lecture about the legal protection and documentation of cemeteries. Also, independent scholar Nancy Adgent will speak on marker and monument motifs and styles, explaining the meanings of the art and architecture found in cemeteries. The event is sponsored by Humanities Texas.

The Heritage Workshops are designed to provide valuable information on preserving family and community cemeteries, said Dr. Perky Beisel, public historian for the Center for Regional Heritage Research.

"These basic skills will ensure that cemetery monuments survive for the next generations to cherish their loved ones," she said.

For more information, email Kelley Downey at downeykelle@sfasu.edu.