Natalie's Everyday Heroes: Retired nurse bringing Town of Eagle cemetery back to life

TOWN OF EAGLE, Wis. (CBS 58) -- The history of the Town of Eagle, Wisconsin goes back to the early 1800's, and some of that history can still be discovered today at the Oak Grove Cemetery. 

It sits right on Wisconsin 67. For years, cars drove by as the headstones and monuments fell into disrepair. 

The cemetery is having a renaissance, though, thanks to the hard work of this week's everyday hero. 

Removing decades of dirt and debris is painstaking work. 

"Whatever time it takes, it takes," said Sandy Shorr, sitting in front of a headstone turned black with time.  

And Shorr is in no rush.

"This is my happy place," she said.

For the last five years, she's been scrubbing.

"So, this is a denture brush I'm using," she said, demonstrating. 

"This is George Link," she said of the stone she was cleaning.  

Cleaning and repairing headstones here at the Oak Grove Cemetery. 

"He was toppled over," Shorr explained.  

Shorr spends a lot of time here.

"If I could have someone do my laundry, take care of my lawn, I'd be out here all the time," she said.

This passion project started five years ago when she came to the cemetery to research a local family.

"Which is the Draper family," she explained.  

She also found a lot of neglect, damage and disrepair. 

So Shorr founded the Eagle Cemetery Preservation Association.

"And it is a 180-degree turn from what it used to look like," said longtime friend Amy Kinosian.

Kinosian has been here from the beginning. 

"She didn't know anything about any of this. She's a retired nurse. And everything she did here, she had to learn," Kinosian said.

And learn, Shorr did. She's researched different cleaning solutions and figured out how to lift and repair broken headstones and monuments. 

"Some of it's heavy work. I don't consider it hard work. I love what I'm doing," Shorr said.

That love can be seen in the before and after restoration of the Mead monument. 

"That is the biggest monument here," she said.

Shorr also raised funds for a new entryway at the front of the cemetery. 

"Everything that this looks like, that's beautiful, is because of Sandy," Kinosian said.

Shorr's work has inspired the community to pitch in.

"A lot of the people who are here, still have relatives in the area, too," she said.

Little by little. 

"You can see some of it's coming off here," she said, pointing to white areas of stone showing through.  

Each stone reveals more of its history. 

Shorr, happy to bring that past into the present. 

"It's an honor, it's a pleasure. I feel like I'm giving back to the community," Shorr said.

There's more work to be done at Oak Grove. Shorr plans on lifting and repairing the remaining headstones.

She'd also like to find a way to honor the veterans buried there, some going all the way back to the Civil War. 

For more information on the Eagle Cemetery Preservation Association and how you can help, click here. 

If you'd like to nominate an Everyday Hero, send Natalie a message at [email protected].