Newton company restoring tornado-ravaged cemetery

The task at hand was so daunting when Ed Van Zandt of Newton and Jared Aalbers of Monroe pulled up to the cemetery in New Hartford, they didn’t know where to begin. The pair, who work at McCall Monuments in Newton, were donating their time to help restore the community’s cemetery, which was ravaged by the EF5 tornado that ripped through the town during Memorial Day weekend. “You just didn’t know where to begin,” Van Zandt said. “I couldn’t believe how much work there was,” Aalbers said. “We decided to start at the bottom and go to the top and when we got there, we got there.” The men were just two of several employees of monument companies across the state who volunteered to restore the cemetery. Lee Barnett, owner of McCall Monuments, said he was contacted by Monument Builders of Iowa and asked to donate time and equipment to the project. Barnett said he did not hesitate to do what he could to help. “They called for help and of course you feel for these people. You gotta help,” Barnett said. Van Zandt and Aalbers spent Tuesday and Wednesday repairing, picking up and resetting headstones in the cemetery. Both men said the photos and news footage does not do the damage justice. “You can’t describe it,” Van Zandt said. “You’ve got to go up and look at it yourself to understand.” Van Zandt said not only was it tough to see the tornado damage but the flooding that occurred two weeks ago also has taken its toll on the community and its residents. “To find out that these people were hit by the tornado on the north side of town and then a flood on the south side of town is unbelievable,” Van Zandt said. Although the town was hit hard, Aalbers and Van Zandt said the community in good spirits and was grateful for the restoration work being completed on the town’s cemetery. “Some people came up there who had headstones or family there and everyone that came through said that this means a lot to the town and we got a lot of thank yous,” Aalbers said. “They said it meant a lot to them for us to be going up there. I could go up there and work every day just for the thank yous.” The men said although it will take some time to repair or replace all the damaged headstones, the group of volunteers had cleaned up the cemetery in just a matter of days. “It will be a while before everything is done,” Van Zandt said. “I couldn’t believe how much work we did get done in just a day,” Aalbers added. Although some may wonder why restoring the cemetery was at the top of the to-do list for a town nearly destroyed, the men at McCall Monuments all agreed the project is a sign to the community that progress is happening and they are not going to be forgotten. “It’s just one way to get’em up and going again. A lot of businesses aren’t coming back. The one gas station in town is not coming back. This is a way to help them get going again,” Van Zandt said. Barnett added restoring the cemetery is just another way to get things back to normal and return dignity to the community of New Hartford. “What is a town all about?” Barnett said. “It’s about families. We always think of the children and young people but we never forget about our ancestors and loved one’s who have gone on. ... “It feels good to help in some little way like this.”