Ralston Cemetery Restoration
Weakley County, Tennessee
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Welcome to the Ralston Cemetery Restoration home page.
This website is under development to provide information about the
Ralston Cemetery located in Ralston, Weakley County, Tennessee,
including current efforts to restore the cemetery from the past
effects of forest growth and vandalism.
The photo to the left shows the middle of cemetery as it looked in November
2004 after some cleanup. The Stones of Alexander and Sarah Ralston,
behind iron fencing, can be seen on the right. Photo by Larry Holder
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| The photo to the right includes most of the volunteers during the November 2004 cleanup.
As published with article in the
Weakley County Press, November 2004.
Thanks to WCMT radio for continued coverage of our
efforts. Special thanks to Paul Tinkle and Chris Brinkley (Chris is a resident of
the Ralston community, and presently serving as the head of publicity
and past president of the
Ralston Community Business Association).
The Ralston Community Business Association (a.k.a. Ralston Cemetery Association) has the
following officers: Joe Damron, president; Larry Holder, vice president;
Shirley Alexander, secretary/treasurer; Chris Brinkley, publicity.
The association was initially organized with the help of Bill McClain (who presently
lives in Martin at the Greenbrier assisted living center).
For membership information, see "Donations and Membership" near the
bottom of this page. |
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Recent activities
The most recent BBQ fundraiser at Damron's BBQ was held on September 13, 2007.
Like the BBQ fundraisers from the prior two years, the event was a big success,
with donations totalling over a thousand dollars. Many thanks to Chris Brinkley and Paul Tinkle and
all our friends at WCMT radio for providing timely announcements of the event.
The proceeds will help a lot in the ongoing restoration efforts,
which include further stone restorations, and further fencing of the perimeter, as well as the ongoing
expenses of spraying for weeds.
Current and future projects
- Cemetery Sign -- just completed! (June 2009). Welded with steel and cast iron by Mark's Welding
in South Fulton (recommended by Don Welch). Will stand about 6 feet high, 8 feet wide, and painted white,
and will be located a few feet in front of the chain link fence, and a little to the left of the gate.
Donations from the BBQ fundraisers provided the funds for this new sign.
- Removal of surrounding trees and brush -- tree removal was completed November 2005,
with the cutting of the remaining 11 tall trees that were amongst the stones near the front.
Special thanks goes to Ted Brock, master woodcutter.
- Re-leveling and re-orienting stones/bases.
- Reset stones in bases, using the "slot mix" shared by John Walters on rootsweb:
1 part white portland cement, 4 parts hydrated lime, 8 parts clean sand, water.
The re-mortaring effort will probably begin in latter December or early January.
- For stones broken into 2 or 3 parts, use the custom-built stainless steel frames,
excellently crafted by Gale Vincent of Waymatic in South Fulton. Several frames are
already in place; others are waiting on the re-mortaring of stones into bases.
- Reset obelisks fallen from their square bases, using the "stack mix" from the
before-mentioned source: 1 part white portland cement, 3 parts hydrated lime, water.
Lifting the obelisks will require the assembly of an on-site tripod,
as there is insufficient room to safely bring in vehicles and machinery.
- Additional chain-link fencing to protect the grounds from all-terrain vehicles (ATV's).
- Addition of a suitable cemetery sign.
- Regular upkeep, including spraying, mowing, clipping.
- Leveling and graveling between the street and the front fence, for suitable parking.
Larry Holder completed a "metes and bounds" survey (compass and tape measure) to map out
the entire cemetery, and has producing a simple map of headstones. Larry also plans to produce
a short video to provide an online "virtual tour" of the cemetery.
Rebecca and Larry Holder have photographed and re-transcribed nearly everything that is still
readable on the stones.
Click here for a list of stone photo and transcription pages.
Donations and Membership
Donations to help with the ongoing restoration and upkeep may be sent to (note the new box number as of June 26, 2009):
Ralston Community Business Association
c/o Larry Holder, vice president
151 Charles Drive
Martin, TN 38237
The Ralston Cemetery Association (a.k.a. Ralston Community Business Association) welcomes new members.
A donation of 10 dollars, which may be sent to the above address (please make checks payable to Ralston
Community Business Association), will make you member in good standing. Please note that providing a
donation of at least 10 dollars at the annual BBQ fundraiser at Damron's BBQ
will entitle you to both a membership and a great BBQ supper.
If you send by mail, please be sure to include your email address and phone number for our membership records.
Return to Ralston Cemetery Home Page
All material, including photographs, is subject to copyright,
and remains the property of the respective owners. Please obtain
permission before copying and using any material other than for
private, non-commercial purposes as allowed by law.
Links are welcome. For additional information, please email Larry Holder at
lholder@utm.edu