The Cemetery Trustees of Hudson held their latest quarterly meeting on Aug. 20 to review their limited $5,050 budget and how that constraint would impact their strategy for maintaining Hudson’s six town-owned cemeteries, beginning with repair work at Blodgett Cemetery.
“There’s railing that’s been completely removed from its posts,” explained Trustee Daniel Barthelemy. “It’s not only ugly, but it’s a safety concern.”
The Trustees received a quote of $800 from RC Welding to replace several unusable posts while welding and painting the old rails. Repairing a separate section of bent railing at Blodgett was expected to cost an additional $200.
“Because this is safety-related, I think we should prioritize it,” said Barthelemy. “We should spend the $1,000 needed for this full quote.”
According to Trustee Christina Madden, the Board reached out to at least one other supplier but never received a response. The $1,000 was unanimously approved without much discussion.
While the railing was considered a top priority, it was not the only maintenance issue the Board addressed. With many graves dating back centuries, gravestone repair has remained a longstanding concern.
“We met with a company called Gravestone Services of New England, and they quoted $295 per stone,” said Barthelemy. “This is $10 higher than what their email originally stated.”
The higher price was likely due to the poor condition of several headstones at Ford Cemetery. Many gravestones there were in especially bad shape, with four deemed in “critical” condition. Six stones at Senter Cemetery, 10 at Blodgett, and three at Center Cemetery were also classified as critical.
“Some of these critical stones are what I call flat stones lying on the ground. Some are loose on the base – if you touch them, they wiggle, which is not good. Some are cracked, some are sinking into the ground,” Madden explained.
Barthelemy referenced a photo of one headstone completely broken in half to illustrate the severity of needed repairs. Madden added that Gravestone Services of New England was the least expensive restoration company the Board could find, and their $295 fee included cleaning and basic restoration work in addition to structural repairs.
“They’ll clean the headstones too after they’re done,” Madden said. “It was $300 per stone less expensive than the other vendor we approached.”
Ultimately, the Trustees approved $3,540 for headstone repairs.
“We could probably, at the most, repair only 12 stones per year,” Barthelemy said. “That should leave us $510 for emergencies or other needs, which isn’t a whole lot.”
Board members noted that despite the approved repairs, a significant backlog remains, which will likely continue into the near future as the 2025–2026 budget focuses on the most urgent issues.
“With all of these cemeteries, everybody should be aware that they are historic,” Madden said. “They do have issues, and not a whole lot has been done in them for quite some time. We’re kind of trying to catch up and bring things up to a good standard.”
