Whitpain Eagle Scout 'Re-Rights' History in North Wales

A weight has finally been lifted off the shoulders of Silas and Barbara Land.

All it took was a literal troop of about 30 volunteer Scouts, friends, family, business owners and community members, some elbow grease, and determined leadership from Eagle Scout candidate Matt Pelligrino, 16.

The tripod and block and tackle helped a bit too.

"It allows one man to do the work of 10," said one volunteer. "We've done six or seven so far. Even some doubles."

Perhaps more impressive is the refurbishment of part of the crypt of the first American-born pastor to enter the Lutheran ministry: Rev. Jacob Van Buskirk. 

Pellegrino, of Troop 98 in Whitpain Township, was re-righting history in The Old Yellow Church Yard and The Old Cemetery-West at Prospect Avenue and Main Street in North Wales Borough last Saturday. It was all organized, carried out and preserved for his Eagle Scout project.

The cemeteries belong to St. Peter's Lutheran Church in North Wales. When the church began in 1776, in the town of Gwynedd, it was known as the Old Yellow Church and it stood at the site of the larger cemetery until 1866.

It was at the Old Yellow Church where Van Buskirk preached his final Sunday sermon before his death on horseback in 1800.

The weight earlier in this story is the very heavy twin tombstone that had fallen over through history and weathering. 

Methacton High Schooler Pellegrino and his team made sure many weights were lifted that day at the cemeteries.

While one crew raised the stones from the heads of the dead across S. Main Street at The Old Cemetery-West, another crew helped volunteer Charles Shaw, of Charles Shaw Masonry and Construction in Towamencin, construct a new foundation for the 900-pound limestone tablet over the crypt of Van Buskirk. 

"We've been very fortunate with the weather and turnout here," said Shaw, who was asked to donate his labor by Pellegrino. "We are getting things moved along here."

Shaw used a Cambridge-brand matrix wallstone system for the base of the tablet.

"Its a hardscaping product that forms a very sturdy wall that should last a lifetime," Shaw said.

The wallstone system was donated by Eagle Scout Jarrod Nyce, of Landis Block and Concrete in Souderton.

"He jumped at the chance to help Matthew out with me and this community and get this going," Shaw said of Nyce.

Throughout the process, Scouts and Shaw set and leveled all blocks, and then reset the tablet onto the new base. Scouts also washed and sealed the tablet prior to its resetting.

Yet, it did not stop there. Even the cracked and broken epitaphs were repurposed and secured with stone and dirt by Scouts and adults working together. All of the tombstone faces also received a good scrubbing.

Hello, Jacob Zepp, Ephraim Neavel and John Boileau.

The paramount thing behind the success of the refurbishment is Pellegrino's leadership and organization.

Last Saturday was the final time Pellegrino would direct progress at the cemetery. Days prior, Pellegrino oversaw teams of Scouts and adult volunteers clear out rubble from the old base and move the limestone off the top of the crypt. He said good chunks of rock were placed aside to be used to rebuild the cemetery wall in the future. Bad rubble was carted from the cemetery for disposal.

"We had about 15 adults and Scouts brainstorming a way to move the tablet. We had manpower like they had in the 1800s," Shaw said. "Matt and (another Scout) Andrew came up with a system of bars, straps and iron to lift the limestone." 

Organizing his peers into manageable and reliable groups was the hardest part of the process, Pellegrino said. It was up there with waking up early on a Saturday morning.

"It was definitely difficult in getting the kids to come out by advertising it to the troop, then organizing the ones that show up into their own labor groups. I was telling them what to do with cleaning up around the outside and fixing the outside of the base, removing rubble, and helping Shaw. The main thing was getting them into their own little groups to help," he said.

"I think the aspect of food beckoned a bunch of kids," he said.

Being a leader on the project, Pellegrino discovered there is a lot of foresight that goes into such a project.

"There's a lot of pre-work that you don't see behind the scenes," he said. 

This included getting Cradle of Liberty Council and Baden Powell District officials to sign off on the project. Pellegrino said that took the longest time.

"They thought it was a bit ambitious," he said, "but we will get it done."

Pellegrino, of East Norriton, explained why he chose to fix the cemetery as his requirement to attain the highest and most prestigious rank in Scouting.

"I've always been connected with St. Peter's Church for as long as I can remember," he said. "Renovating the cemetery came up, and I took it over. The church was very happy I stepped forward. They were looking for some way to clean it up and fix it up for a while. It's perfect for an Eagle Scout project."

There's talk of Pellegrino having the German epitaph transcribed to English, and eventually etched into stainless steel and mounted at the site. That all remains to be seen.

For now, The Old Yellow Church Yard renovations mark the end of Pellegrino's tenure in Scouting.

"It's another chapter closing. It feels great to get something done," he said. "It makes me feel proud. One day, I'll be coming back and saying, 'I did that when i was younger.'"

Cool Facts

Land just didn’t own land; he also died without a will in 1863. Of spotted fever. With his wife. At age 46.

The land Land owned—the Zebley tract in Upper Gwynedd—was purchased for $4,000 in 1858.  (At least he got a brick house out of it).

Now, for eternity, the Lands’ land is The Old Cemetery-West in North Wales.

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