Chaz Elliott is no stranger to cemeteries.
After following in his family's footsteps and working for others in the funeral business for years, he decided to go solo three years ago by purchasing a local cemetery services business. Today, Elliott Cemetery Services is the only cemetery services provider he knows of in the Mid-Missouri area. He and his single assistant, Branden Ash, travel across the region cleaning and maintaining cemeteries, such as Old Salem Cemetery north of California.
The duo does more than mow cemeteries and clean headstones. They bring damaged headstones back from the brink of death by repairing and resetting them. Sunken headstones are pulled out of the ground and placed onto a new base surrounded by fresh dirt and topsoil; broken headstones are carefully reassembled.
It may be grueling work, but for Elliott, it is all about preserving history.
"I'm very passionate about it because that's the reason I'm in it," he said. "This (the cemetery) is your history. All of your history is right here, and if there ain't nobody to preserve it, then it's just going to deteriorate over time."
Elliott has fulfilled that goal by cleaning headstones of people who helped build and maintain the country. At Fish Creek Cemetery near Gilliam, he worked on a headstone belonging to a War of 1812 veteran. He said he even cleaned a headstone for one of the authors of the original Missouri State Constitution at Walnut Grove Cemetery in Boonville.
Old Salem Cemetery on Deer Run Road north of California, he noted, has a unique spot in Moniteau County history. Elliott said the original Moniteau County courthouse was formerly located in the cemetery, where he has worked since late July repairing 84 headstones and cleaning 155 others. It will take him about a month and a half from start to finish cleaning Old Salem Cemetery, which he said has likely never been professionally cleaned.
Elliott purchased the cemetery service business in 2019 from Wayne York, who started it in 2005. Because he had worked in cemeteries before as a vault-setter, where he would dig vaults for graves, Elliott said the transition "wasn't too hard." And while he said York had four assistants, he is able to do just as much with one.
"I just like running one crew so I can see over things a little bit myself, and (it's) a little easier to manage," he said. "Really, two people is a pretty good little team. ... (O)ne person on the machine (the compact utility loader) and one person down there hooking up the stones so you can lift them out of the way."
As the only cemetery services provider in Mid-Missouri, things get busy. Elliott said he is typically booked up five to six months in advance. After completing the Old Salem job, he said he will be traveling just down the road to start work on Rohrbach Cemetery.
Democrat photo/Garrett Fuller — Old Salem Cemetery is seen Thursday (Aug. 25, 2022,) on Deer Run Road north of California in rural Moniteau County.
Democrat photo/Garrett Fuller — Untouched headstones are seen Thursday (Aug. 25, 2022,) in Old Salem Cemetery on Deer Run Road north of California. Chaz Elliott and Branden Ash travel across Mid-Missouri to maintain cemeteries.
Democrat photo/Garrett Fuller — Chaz Elliott, left, operates a compact utility loader while assistant Branden Ash inspects a headstone and its base Thursday (Aug. 25, 2022,) at Old Salem Cemetery near California. The duo travel across Mid-Missouri to maintain cemeteries, including making repairs to damaged headstones and cleaning others.
Democrat photo/Garrett Fuller — Branden Ash, left, assists Chaz Elliott with filling a hole with screenings Thursday (Aug. 25, 2022,) at Old Salem Cemetery near California. The screenings provide a base for the headstone's concrete base (seen to the right of the hole) to sit on in the ground. Elliott and Ash travel around Mid-Missouri to maintain and clean cemeteries.
Democrat photo/Garrett Fuller — Chaz Elliott, right, owner of Elliott Cemetery Services, makes sure the base for a headstone is level Thursday (Aug. 25, 2022,) at Old Salem Cemetery near California as assistant Branden Ash watches. Elliott and Ash make a two-part team that travels across Mid-Missouri maintaining cemeteries, including repairing damaged headstones and cleaning dirty ones.
Democrat photo/Garrett Fuller — Chaz Elliott, right, packs gravel screenings around the base of a headstone Thursday (Aug. 25, 2022,) at Old Salem Cemetery near California while assistant Branden Ash helps.
Democrat photo/Garrett Fuller — Chaz Elliott drops pennies into the base of a headstone Thursday (Aug. 25, 2022,) at Old Salem Cemetery near California before applying silicone caulk and resetting the toppled headstone. The pennies are for more than luck: They offer a gap for expansion caused by the elements, such as ice in winter, to prevent the headstone from toppling over again.
Democrat photo/Garrett Fuller — Branden Ash, left, sets a headstone Thursday (Aug. 25, 2022,) as Chaz Elliott watches at Old Salem Cemetery near California. The two-man crew based in California make repairs to and clean headstones at cemeteries across Mid-Missouri, along with offering other maintenance services to cemeteries.
Democrat photo/Garrett Fuller — Chaz Elliott applies clear silicone caulk around the base of a headstone Thursday (Aug. 25, 2022,) to protect it from water intrusion and the elements at Old Salem Cemetery near California. Elliott, of California, is one half of a two-man crew that maintains cemeteries across Mid-Missouri. In addition to cleaning, Elliott's crew also make repairs to headstones, such as the one pictured.