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Local preservationist urges hands-on cemetery work, offers workshops
Summary
Bobby Cooper told the council that preservation begins with storytelling and outlined plans for workshops, plot cleanup and mapping to support Covington Cemetery Number 1 and other local sites.
Bobby Cooper, who the presiding officer introduced before public comment, told the council he returned to Covington after two decades away and described his work in cemetery preservation. He said preservation "begins with a story" and urged careful maintenance rather than damaging cleaning methods.
"Preservation begins with a story, so I have to say tell the story," Cooper said, describing past fundraising and thousands of dollars of repair work he oversaw in North Carolina. He warned well-intentioned volunteers sometimes do harm with paint, bleach or inappropriate materials, and said he will offer workshops and individualized plot work tied to the city's mapping and preservation programs. Cooper identified a business name, RWC Plus Partners LLC, as the vehicle for his work and provided brochures and QR codes for examples of previous projects.
Cooper's public comment was framed as an offer to volunteer and to collaborate with existing city preservation efforts, and he asked the council to consider cemetery care as a year-round responsibility rather than a seasonal historical event.
