Setting Asa Clark Brown's marker

As part of this years Memorial Day observance, the Minnesota chapter of the Daughters of 1812 will dedicate a new marker for Asa Clark Brown, War of 1812 veteran.  His old military marker was set in 1932.  Wind and weather have taken their toll, and the carving is no longer legible.  Like his old marker, the new one is a 42" tall white  marble tablet and weighs about 220 pounds.

Brian Orth digging out the original marker

One of the things that we've discovered in working with old markers is that nothing's ever easy.  This one was no exception.  We knew that the marker had a concrete apron around it (not typical for upright military markers) but had no idea how big that apron was. And, we certainly didn't know that there was a huge ball of concrete below that.  Our best guess is that the old marker and its setting weighs somewhere in the neighborhood of 1,000 pounds.  It all had to be dug out before the new marker could be set.  Brian Orth, a professional stone setter, did the heavy lifting on this one, with help from a winch on the back of his truck.  Without the right equipment, it would have been next to impossible to get the original stone out.

220 pounds of marble and about 800 pounds of concrete

It took 20 bags of sand to fill in the hole where the old marker base had been.  The original (some might say "historic") dirt was replaced.  With a little grass seed and some good weather,  we'll be all set for Memorial Day.

Brian and Mike Barth, cemetery caretaker, put clamps on the new marker and get ready to set it.

Please join us in honoring Private Asa Clark Brown at 9 a.m., Monday, May 30, 2011.