Club hoping to form "Friends of the Cemetery"

The Lions Club, which owns Spring Canyon Cemetery, is hoping to form a group to keep the operation going.

“Like many other organizations, the Spring Canyon Cemetery board are few and aging, and are unable to do several of tasks needed to keep up the cemetery,” a statement from the club said this week. “The Lions do not want to see the Cemetery become a ward of the state like many other cemeteries in the State are.”

The 4.5-acre cemetery was dedicated March 30, 1959, a year when 24 more people were buried there, after seven were the year before. Now, over 2,100 graves rest there on a hillside overlooking Lake Roosevelt and Grand Coulee Dam.

“The cemetery is a business and hires a manager,” wrote club member Birdie Hensley, explaining how it all works. “The manager is responsible for grave site measurements, meets with families and sells spaces and markers, borders and final dates and answers many, many questions.”

The equipment is maintained by the manager who, keeps the grounds in good condition — mowed, trimmed, fertilized and all debris and branches picked up and removed.

The Grand Coulee Dam Area Lions cemetery committee helps with large projects. The club’s board is also bonded, along with the treasurer, who is responsible for the bookkeeping, banking, paying of bills, and all reports required by the state.

The club’s Cemetery Board would like to form a “Friends of the Cemetery” group to help with the upkeep of the grounds. An example of people and time needed: Snow removal - Repair of Electrical and pump- Trim Headstones - Raise and align headstones Keep up the index book and up to date on the “Findagrave” website, which lists over 2,100 graves.

The cemetery is not just used for cemetery business as the Lions use part of the buildings for storage of items. The Isle of Flags organization that puts on annual Memorial Day ceremonies also uses the building to store some of their equipment.

The club approached the local Board of Mayors last year to explore the possibility of the four local cities jointly taking over the cemetery, but they didn’t find any legal options.

Electric City Mayor Diane Kohout has been in touch with a cemetery district in Lincoln County to see if they might have an interest in taking it over, she said at the last RBOM meeting.