BY MATT HERSH
Thomas Spitalere comes to work in Salem every week armed with two hatchets, a shovel and a passion for the past.
On Monday, May 7, his suspicions about a flat stone lying partially covered by grass and dirt at a North Salem graveyard yielded an extraordinary find.
“See how flat this is?” he said as he used a shovel to pry the stone from the ground and flip it over. “Look! 1767! Check this stone out. This is incredible!”
Spitalere had discovered a 250-year-old gravestone which read “Capt. O-E,” adorned by some basic line designs and a star in the center.
“Seems like he was someone important,” he said. “In all my years of doing this, I’ve never seen a design like this.”
Spitalere, 30, is working in conjunction with the Salem Historical Society to clean up the North Salem Graveyard, unearth buried gravestones, and add names to the town register.
The clean-up project began after Elliot Duston, whose family has lived in Salem for many generations, mentioned to the Historical Society that he couldn’t find the grave of a relative that should be buried in the North Salem Graveyard. After getting the nod from selectmen, the volunteer group dispatched to spruce up the graveyard and find Duston’s relative.
The group of about half a dozen volunteers spend their Monday afternoons trying to fix damage that years of weather and neglect have done to the markers of Salem’s past.
According to the town’s register of names, there should be 31 people buried at the small graveyard, but digging has revealed multiple headstones of people not already listed, most of which are from the mid-1700s.
Spitalere, who works at a Haverhill museum and has had a lifelong passion for all things old, worked the graveyard frantically, making discoveries within minutes of starting.
Using his shovel, and his knowledge about cemetery layouts, he quickly determined where a grave could be. A quick jolt to the ground from the shovel often revealed the sound he was looking for – the scraping of metal against rock.
“We’ve got another one!” he shouted as he uncovered the base where a headstone had once stood in between two others.
Scraping up dirt with his bare hands and cutting roots away, he considered his discovery.
Only 10 feet away, a lone gravestone sat flat on the ground bearing the name “Isaac Hale.” It was a match for the recently discovered base. With the help of other volunteers, Spitalere moved the solid marble headstone to its original location, between the graves of two relatives.
“This was one heavy resurrection project,” he said with a laugh as he wiped the sweat running down his face. “You’re back home where you belong, Mr. Hale.”
This type of discovery is what Spitalere lives for. He said he’s passionate about preserving a piece of the town’s heritage.
“Each stone has to be treated with the utmost respect,” he said. “They tell the story of people’s lives and of Salem itself.”
The project has turned out to be much more involved than expected, since there have been so many discoveries, Spitalere said. It will likely continue until the end of the year unless more people volunteer.
Spitalere said he encourages anyone to help with a variety of tasks including digging, unearthing and raking the grounds. Because the degree of labor involved also varies, almost anyone can take part.
“It can be hard work but it’s also rewarding,” he said. “We could really use at least 15 to 20 more volunteers.”
For more information on how to volunteer, contact Spitalere at (978) 376-2807.
While Spitalere did most of the digging, other volunteers who were raking said they enjoyed doing something that will help residents research their families.
Alfred and Anne M. LeClair helped break apart tree limbs and gather other debris to clear the way for Spitalere’s search.
Plans to record each grave’s location with GPS devices are also in the works, said Historical Society member Beverly Glynn.
“I’m hoping someone will see what we’re doing and say ‘Hey, that’s my great-grandfather,’” she said.