Picture an eerie, centuries-old burying ground. The headstones are cracked and tilted, leaning at dangerous angles toward the grass. Lichen and mold inch up their sides. Names, dates and epitaphs carved into the stone, weathered by wind and rain, slowly fade back into time.
Many people assume graveyards are supposed to look like this — but the truth is, they’re not, explained historian Kurt Kahofer.
The retired Sag Harbor Elementary School teacher was guilty of that mindset, too, until he started working in burying grounds — restoring, cleaning, fixing and straightening headstones — and quickly realized he had it all wrong.
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