I totally concur with Allan!
Before making Aliyah to Israel, I had many occasions to walk the two (long) blocks from my Queens College CUNY office to the rear Mt. Hebron gate on Main Street to take volunteer Find-a-Grave photos.
The cemetery is quite massive. Different sections have different gravesite arrangements, and not all of them are in the regular rank-and-file array as would be found in a military cemetery. Some of the older tall stones in some of the sections are difficult to access. {Whereby hangs a tale: The former rabbi of the congregation to which my wife and I belonged (and of which we remain associate members) preferred to have the attendees fill the grave by hand using shovels instead of having the cemetery personnel use their diesel front-end loaders. The mother of one of our members lived to be 104 years old, by which time her burial plot, purchased early in her marriage, was totally surrounded by other stones and the hand-shoveling option was impracticable. Pointing out the dates on some of the surrounding stones, I remarked, "If she had died when she was supposed to, then these other stones would not be obstructing us!"}.
Photographing some of the stones is a challenge, especially the older ones whose legibility has been reduced over the years by the elements; getting the proper lighting and camera angle is critical.
And, of course, statistical probability dictates that one may encounter the occasional toppled headstone or sunken foot marker.
I learned very early on to carry a pair of pocket pruning shears because the inscriptions on many of the stones have been obscured by vegetation, especially if both sides of the stone are being photographed.
[https://www.burgonandball.com/collections/secateurs] .
So do appreciate what Allan is taking upon himself, and with due regard to everyone's personal economic situation, a little financial assistance would not be inappropriate.
-- KHR
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Ken Ryesky, Petach Tikva, Israel kenneth.ryesky@...
Researching:
RAISKY/REISKY, ARONOV, SHKOLNIK(OV), AEROV; Gomel, Belarus
GERTZIG, BRODSKY; Yelizavetgrad, Ukraine
BRODSKY, VASILESKY; Odessa, Ukraine
IZRAELSON, ARSHENOV; Yevpatoriya, Ukraine (Crimea)
