Crews Making Progress Restoring Damaged Headstones In Wissinoming
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The restoration continues today at Mount Carmel Cemetery in Philadelphia where vandals struck last month.
Crews and volunteers are joining forces to reset the more than 100 gravestones that were toppled and damaged at the Jewish cemetery.
In the days after the tombstones were toppled at Mount Carmel, volunteers came out to get the stones back up. But Dennis Montanga with the National Park Service says that wasn't enough.
"People came out and were setting them into place, but all you had then was an unstable monument."
A 6-year-old Florida girl painted these rocks to be placed on headstones damaged at Jewish cemeteries in the country. @KYWNewsradio pic.twitter.com/cZ4mUeAJZM
— Tim Jimenez (@TimJRadio) March 29, 2017
The Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia has since raised hundreds of thousands of dollars. And a cemetery restoration company from upstate New York is on the case.
Montanga says they know how to handle these tombstones. Many date back to the late 19th century.
Volunteers are still helping. Montanga says the vandalism has sparked an interest in helping and learning.
"People now have gained greater awareness, especially about the Jewish presence in Philadelphia. So there's a lot of interest now in who are these people who are buried here. What stories did they have."
The work is expected to last at least a few weeks.