File:Berlin Cemetery Missing Headstones Returned from WDVM TV Report, October 12, 2020.jpg

Summary

A collection of headstones “mysteriously” appear at Brunswick cemetery From the WDVM TV Report, October 12, 2020

BRUNSWICK, Md. (WDVM) — The City of Brunswick has questions after a collection of headstones from a local cemetery “mysteriously” reappeared. “They were scattered in this area right here,” Wayne Allgaier explained while on site of the Old Berlin Cemetery, “And my mouth just dropped. I thought ‘Woah.” Allgaier is part of a commission to restore the cemetery after decades of neglect. Volunteers have poked and prodded throughout the grounds and unearthed several dozen headstones dating back to the late 1800s. 99 stones were discovered, and Allgaier has been able to identify the names of about 85 people buried there. He thought the project was coming to a close. That was until a group of young girls walked through the cemetery earlier this month and found something new. “[The girls] were interested in the cemetery too and they said ‘By the way, why are those stones laying down in the cemetery up here where we’re standing?’ and I said ‘What are you talking about?’ Allgaier explained. Four small headstones were scattered on the cemetery grounds. The city nor Allgaier know how they got there. “When I saw these, I thought ‘Wow, pull me down off the cloud,’ I was ecstatic, as you can imagine, to find these, which opens the possibility there may be others,” said Allgaier. In a post on Facebook, the city wrote: “In the last few days, the stones pictured here mysteriously appeared back at the cemetery. We have no idea where they came from, but we are very grateful to whomever returned them home.” Allgaier says two of the headstones are too worn to make out the names, but all appear to belong to children. He has been able to identify the two others, belonging to Cora Musgrove and Ader Cooper, and Allgaier’s certain the headstones one stood at the burial site because he’s been able to trace them to family members already accounted for at the cemetery. “They all came together so I’m assuming they were taken together and brought back together,” Allgaier said with a laugh. Now to help solve this mystery, the city is calling on whoever may have left the headstones to speak up. “We appreciate the committee’s hard work on the Berlin Cemetery Project. We are pleased with the progress and happy that the work has inspired someone to return headstones,” said Brunswick Mayor Nathan Brown in a statement. “If there are more out there we hope they are returned, and anybody with information should feel free to come forward without fear of trouble.” If someone does come forward, Allgaier has a lot of questions. “Where did you find them? Do you have any idea how they got there? Because if we got that story, that could lead us to other stories about others,” Allgaier said.