Gravestone conservator Joe Ferrannini has been helping preserve the Har Hasetim, a historic Jewish cemetery in Gladwyne, for the past seven years, writes Josh Sanders for CBS News Philadelphia. 

The Har Hasetim was founded in the 1890s by several Jewish burial societies. It had its last burial in 1945. 

“I view Har Hasetim as a tangible representation of the sacrifices and the trials and tribulations that the first wave of eastern European Jews faced as they left their homes to escape persecution to start life anew in a far-off strange land,” said Neil Sukonik, president of the Friends of Gladwyne Jewish Memorial Cemetery. 

The cemetery was left with no care until the Beth David Reform Congregation took over ownership in 1999. Today, the site is a historic landmark. 

Ferrannini has started visiting the sacred ground which has around 900 graves twice a year in 2017. While at the cemetery, he uncovers the names on the gravestones. 

“We’re not restoring; we are conserving and trying to make them last forever,” said Ferrannini. “Some of these names, if they laid down on the ground much longer, would be totally gone.” 

Read more about Joe Ferrannini caring for the Har Hasetim cemetery in CBS News Philadelphia. 

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