I Restored This Forgotten Grave for Free (Emotional)

[00:01] grave, while eight months pregnant. It was covered in moss and years [music] of decay. So, I'm doing whatever it takes to make this resting place beautiful again. I covered the front of the gravestone in magic foam first, giving

[00:14] it time to soak into every little crack and loosen years of dirt, [music] while I worked on the rest of the grave. By the time I came back to it, I hoped it would be ready to reveal not just a cleaner stone, but the person who had

[00:28] been resting here all along. I wonder what kind of person is buried here. I wonder if they had a brother or a sister. I wonder if they had a pet you clean. So, let's go ahead and start cleaning the top of this grave.

[00:51] [music] I've started thinking a lot more about the people who came before us. Every gravestone belongs to someone who laughed, who had a family, who made memories, and who was loved. We might only see a name and a couple of dates,

[01:05] but behind those few words was an entire lifetime. That's why I wanted to do this before my baby arrives. One day, she'll grow up hearing stories about people who came before her. But before we can pass those stories on,

[01:19] ourselves. Wow. Okay, let's clean the back of this grave next. Woah, the back of this grave is so dirty. Moss and algae all over it.

[01:31] wonder, who were they? And before my baby is born, I wanted to do something that reminded me why people should never be forgotten. Because underneath all of this dirt is a story waiting to be

[01:43] revealed. Let's try my scrapey tool. But then, I swear I saw something in the grass. Woah, what is this? Oh, it's beautiful. How How has this been buried for? We're

[01:56] going to save this for later. Just put it in a safe spot for now. it in a safe spot for now. Be very, very gentle.

[02:17] far longer than I expected. Years of moss had worked its way into every [music] tiny crack. Every little section had to be cleaned patiently, one brush had to be cleaned patiently, one brush stroke at a time.

[02:32] seasons [music] this stone had stood through. How many winters? How many How many people had just walked [music] past this without stopping? Time had quietly covered almost every trace of the person beneath it.

[02:46] It's so easy to think that remembering someone has to be something extraordinary, but standing here, I realized that sometimes it's much [music] someone is just giving their resting place the care and attention

[03:01] By this point, it stopped feeling like I was cleaning a gravestone, and it felt like I was looking after it. Every brush I picked up, every little detail that I cleaned made me feel even more determined to leave this place better

[03:16] determined to leave this place better than I found it. >> Okay, so it's about 80% better, which is great, and the sparkle is back to it.

[03:32] enough and not strip away the stone, but it looks beautiful. But we need to do a little bit of landscaping. This grass is so overgrown, like it's been lost to gravestone that had been forgotten. Over time, the whole plot had slowly

[03:47] time, the whole plot had slowly disappeared beneath the grass. >> Is that what I think it is? Woah, I wonder who left these behind. And how

[04:00] >> Another necklace. >> I'm going to make sure they stay with >> And they're so pretty. >> It feels like that's exactly where they >> Say hello to my little friend. Okay, let's cut the rest of this grass.

[04:13] would notice these little details. >> Haha. >> I just wanted to know that I have done everything I could for this grave. >> Goodbye [music] weeds. Okay, there's too many rocks over here, so I have an idea.

[04:25] It's my medium scissors. This ought to do the trick. Okay, get down real low. >> Sometimes it's the smallest acts of much somebody matters. >> Okay, fun fact, these are actually my

[04:39] >> Okay, fun fact, these are actually my sewing scissors. It's my extra tiny scissors. This ought to get it >> Earlier today, this was just a stranger's grave. But after spending

[04:52] hours here, carefully working on [music] every tiny detail, it didn't feel that way anymore. With the last of the grass cleared away, it finally felt like the grave could breathe again. All that was left now was

[05:06] to finally uncover the name hidden beneath all of that grime. this very carefully so that [music] you don't scratch the stone.

[05:31] is revealing exactly what's on these stones. [music] It's so cool to see what the mystery is underneath all of this dirt and grime. Let's [music] go ahead and move on to cleaning and scrubbing this grave. And then the final reveal.

[05:45] >> This was the moment I'd been thinking about ever since I had arrived. Up until itself, but I still hadn't met the person whose name had been hidden beneath all those years of dirt. After everything I'd uncovered throughout the

[06:00] day, it finally felt like the last piece of the story was waiting [music] of the story was waiting [music] underneath the foam. >> [music] >> Let it eat away at all the dirt and the

[06:13] grime and the moss. And then we'll start scrubbing. As the dirt slowly [music] lifted away, the first few letters began to appear. It's so strange [music] how something so simple can completely change the way you

[06:27] see a place. Now, little by little, it was becoming someone again. Let's get a little bit more soap on this grave and then we'll do the final reveal. [music]

[06:48] Every brushstroke, every little detail that I cleaned had quietly been leading that I cleaned had quietly been leading [music] to this moment.

[07:01] single [music] word as it slowly came back to life.

[07:54] discover the name that had been hidden discover the name that had been hidden beneath it all. [music] of D.C. Crumley. She was born on the 1st of August, 1902.

[08:09] [music] And she passed away on the 28th of December, 1919. Nora was only 17 years old. Standing own baby, [music] I found myself thinking about how

[08:24] fragile life really is. We spend so [music] much time planning for tomorrow, precious today already is. >> [music] >> None of us know how much time we'll be given, but I think all of us hope that

[08:37] somebody will remember that we're here. Now her grave is as beautiful as she is.