55-year-old monument being restored
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The Pioneer Mormon Cemetery at the Winter Quarters Historical Site is being refurbished and the bronze, heroic-sized monument depicting sorrowing parents who had buried an infant child is being restored.
Some 600 pioneers lost their lives during the winter of 1846 and 1847, and were buried at the cemetery, which is in the Florence area of Omaha. Sculpted by Avard Fairbanks, the monument, "Tragedy at Winter Quarters," was dedicated on Sept. 20, 1936, by President Heber J. Grant.The monument and surrounding area is being restored under the direction of Marioari (Mia) Struteanu, art conservator for the Musem of Church History and Art in Salt Lake City.
In a painstaking process that involves the four steps of cleaning, stripping corrosion, applying and sealing cold patina, and waxing the entire monument, the sculpture has emerged from the darkness and corrosion of age.
All bronze work at the cemetery is being restored along with the monument. This includes bronze plaques at the entrance way and three of four large plaques that tell the story of the pioneers at Winter Quarters. The fourth plaque was cracked and is being recast in Salt Lake City.
The finishing touches of renewing the surrounding marble patio, the large plate in the patio listing names of people buried at the cemetery and landscaping, as well as remounting the fourth plaque, will be completed by September.
Located across the street from the cemetery is a full-time, missionary-staffed visitors center. The center is in a garden setting featuring an authentic handcart, a covered wagon and a sod-roofed cabin. Complete with picnic tables under a canopy of trees hung with baskets of flowers, the site is a mixture of spiritual serenity and peacefulness.
Highly recommended by tourist information centers, the site has been the object of intense curiosity by local people and tourists alike. According to Eleanore Kennington, who directs the visitors center with her husband, Lester, "People are coming to see what is behind the orange construction fence, and leaving with a desire to come and see the finished product."
