HARLEYSVILLE PA – A pair of self-described “life-long history enthusiasts” will start work during early May to preserve more than 250 gravestones at the Harley Burying Ground cemetery.
Also known as Harley Family Cemetery and the Klein Meetinghouse Cemetery, the site is adjacent to the historic Klein Meetinghouse and near the Indian Valley YMCA on Maple Avenue.
Among those buried there is Peter Becker, a leader of the Church of the Brethren who helped establish that congregation in America. The cemetery also keeps the graves of the Harley family and other early settlers.
Tackling the work are Rick Detweiler and Paula Hogan, under the name “Lifelines Preservation Services,” and in cooperation with Indian Creek Church of the Brethren. The church maintains a cemetery about three miles from Harley Burying Ground. Hogan and Detweiler expect to preserve grave stones, and document stories of the area’s earliest families, through late autumn.
Both are highly familiar with cemetery restoration. During 2025, they cleaned more than 140 grave markers at the historic Salford Schwenkfelder Cemetery in Harleysville. In 2024, they worked at Herstine Chapel in Limerick Township.
The latest venture “is our most ambitious project yet,” Detweiler says. “Harley Burying Ground is a vital piece of local history, and we are honored to help preserve it for future generations.”
2021 Harley Burial Grounds Memorial photo by Google Guide Thelma Brinson
2021 Peter Becker Memorial photo by Google Guide Thelma Brinson
Follow Their Progress
The public can follow their progress, too. Lifelines Preservation Services posts weekly videos of its projects to Facebook and YouTube. Their efforts and videos also have been featured by the Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center in Pennsburg, the Limerick Township Historical Society, and other local history organizations.
Full reports of their previous projects also are available on Hogan’s local history blog, Keystone Wayfarer. Launched in February 2024, the blog recently surpassed its 100th story. It features a new weekly story about a local landmark, person, or event. Hogan is a Schwenksville area resident.
The pair’s partnership began with a mutual employer, the Sellersville Theater in Sellersville PA (Bucks County). Hogan recounts “a twist of fate” brought her there in 2017. Detweiler is its long-time bartender; today, Hogan works as its venue manager.
“We quickly discovered we shared a passion for history, which deepened our friendship and inspired our restorative work,” Hogan notes.
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