DES MOINES, Iowa — Cemeteries and headstones may give you a spooky vibe, especially around Halloween. But one Des Moines man is trying to change the way we view a person's final resting place.
Wade Fowler goes by the name Millennial Stone Cleaner on various social media platforms. He has over a million followers who tune in to watch him unearth, clean and repair old headstones.
"The method for conservation is to essentially stop the deterioration of it, we aren't trying to bring it back to a new state," Fowler said. "So we aren't going to ever go back in and try and recreate the inscription or something like that, what we want to do is sort of reassemble in place and stop deterioration."
Fowler travels the country, working in cemeteries on a volunteer basis. His latest project is bringing him closer to home. After moving to Des Moines a year and a half ago, he found Sims Cemetery.
"I just happened to be coming through Sims one day just looking around being sort of a cemetery tourist," he said. "And I thought we needed to do some work on that . . . I was really interested in doing sort of top-to-bottom conservation work. So I went to the city. I said, 'Hey, I want to do some things. I want to do this want to take this on.'"
Established in 1855, Sims is a small cemetery near the Iowa State Fairgrounds. With roots running that deep, you see several headstones crumbling, sunken into the ground, and, in some cases, completely buried. Fowler used special imaging tools to see what was in the ground and then began the methodical work.
Many of the graves he's working on in Sims are over 150 years old. The headstones may never be brought back to their original glory, but Fowler sees this as a chance to honor the person buried below, preserving the story of their life.
In a place other people might find spooky, Fowler finds peace and the connection we as people all share.
"We're all going to pass away. And you know, life isn't permanent," he said. "So you know, we got to do the best of what we can while we're here. And if I can do that, at this moment in time for these folks, that's great."
Fowler's work on Sims Cemetery will continue through the fall and pick up again in the spring.
You can follow along with his work on his YouTube channel and other social media accounts, including Instagram and TikTok.
Fowler also shares tutorials on proper techniques and best practices for stone cleaning. He encourages anyone interested in this work to learn more and give it a try.