Making the cemetery a place of reflection and remembrance

The Fairview Cemetery will be receiving a bit of attention in the near future. That is if fund raising plans launched recently bear fruit over the next little while. A campaign is underway to beautify the cemetery which has occasionally gone neglected to a degree as the city’s cash flow woes grew.

A volunteer group has taken on the task of raising sunken gravestones, cleaned up and provided some gardening to the site and placed benches around the cemetery for the use of those that pass by to remember.

The next plan on the agenda is Memorial Garden, a spot for Rupertites and visitors to pause and reflect. A recent donation from All West Glass has highlighted the need and the response for the project, the Daily News provided further details on the plans in their Monday edition.

GARDEN AT CEMETERY IS TO BE PLACE OF REFLECTION
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Monday, February 5, 2007
Pages one and three

The Fairview Cemetery Advisory Committee is currently collecting donations to install a memorial garden, a place to sit and reflect, at the local cemetery.

Their most recent donation came from All-West Glass, which contributed $500 toward the project on Thursday.

“We are trying to beautify the cemetery so people have more positive memories,” said Rev. Jim Whaley, the committee chair.

“We couldn’t do it without the support of businesses like All-West Glass.”

Committee member Bob Gruber originally came up with the idea of installing a seating area at the cemetery.

The new memorial garden will be located just down from the column barium and will include a gravel pathway, benches and gardens.

Whaley said the city has already started working on drainage.

“Anywhere you put a garden in Prince Rupert, you have to have drainage,” he said.

All the costs of the materials for the project are being donated and the city is helping with labour and with fill.

“This will be a place to reflect remember and meditate. It will be a place to find peace and comfort,” Whaley said.

“We believe that having a memorial garden will improve our cemetery and provide for the needs of many people.”

The cemetery advisory committee has been working on improving the local cemetery despite the fact the city has little cash available.

In the past the committee has held volunteer clean-up events, raised stones that had sunken into the muskeg, spearheaded the placement of benches and encouraged the city to provide public access to a computer database to help visitors locate grave sites.

Anyone, who would like to make a financial or in-kind donation, can contact Rev. Whaley at 624-4164 or any member of the advisory committee members, including Mary Arneson, Gordon Cox, Bob Gruber, Kim Lindseth, Dawn Quast, Jack Rudolph or Barb Gruber can be contacted.