Memorial Tradition Turns Biz Venture For Blackfoot Man

What started as a Memorial Day tradition for one Blackfoot man is now a new local business.

Rande Carson takes calls from customers as far away as Los Angeles asking to have a family members’ headstone cleaned.

Scrubbing stone with vigor screams Memorial Day to Carson, the way barbeques do for most of us.

?Memorial Day as a kid, for me, was a lot of going around, cleaning headstones, putting flowers out,? Carson said.

Because behind the beautiful flowers and flags, lie dirty, dis-colored stones.

?I didn’t like it as a kid, but as I get older, I see value in it,? Carson said. ?It shows a form of respect for ancestors and people here in the cemetery.?

Two months ago, the Idaho National Lab employee turned his tradition into a business: Carson Creed Headstone Cleaning.

Over the years, Carson’s used trial and error on his family members’ headstones in order to develop what he calls the perfect chemical wash.

You get a whole new color out of them,? Carson said. ?Sometimes people haven’t seen it for 20 to 30 years.?

Many of the spots may look like the finish is chipping, but Carson said it’s actually coated with hard water. He said that’s the biggest obstacle to keeping headstones clean in Bingham County.

?Hard water comes from irrigation in sprinkling and just lands on it and after a while, builds up on it,? he said.

Carson said cleaning is a nice side business. But, it’s not all business. He says there are a few stones in the Blackfoot Cemetery he’d like permission to clean for free, just to see if he can.

?I enjoy cleaning ’em up and making ’em look good, so I don’t mind.?

Carson said most stones could use a touch up every year or a cleaning every 2 or 3 years.

After all his work this Memorial Day weekend, he was planning to head home for a little BBQ.