R.M. of Blaine Lake No. 434. Formerly, the Great Deer District.
Legal Land Location: SW 6-42-7, W3d. Located 19 km south west of Petrofka
bridge on Hwy 12, about 80 km from Saskatoon.
Record of Marked Burials Made on August 11, 1995.
Summary - 34 marked graves, plus 50 unmarked, plus many more not clearly
visible.
Cemetery Restoration Project - May 1995:
The cemetery lies at the west end of the churchyard, which is 0.50 acres
in area. Cemetery itself measures 185 by 115 feet. There is a row of tall
evergreens just outside the north border of the yard, planted by Paul
Burima, former owner of the quarter section on which the cemetery is located.
Paul passed away in 1977; his grave lies near a tall spruce tree he planted.
This cemetery is owned by the General Conference of Mennonites, and was
established in 1915. It is about 80 km (50 miles) from Saskatoon on the
Borden-Blaine Lake grid road. The church remained active for 65 years.
In 1977, due to a declining farm population, it had to close. In 1993
the church building was taken over by a small congregation and moved to
Rosthern, but the cemetery is still very much in use.
In May 1995, discussions were held with Mr. Abe k. Reimer, long time church
board chairman, about restoring the cemetery. He made a generous donation,
and work commenced right away. A work party was held on June 12th, and
was a big success. A new mesh wire fence was put up around two sides of
the cemetery, and a wire gate installed. Old pieces of fence and posts
were removed. The grass was cut, and lilac bushes trimmed. Since then,
the entire cemetery has been mowed again, and nearly all the hard-to-cut
badger brush removed. One huge lilac bush has been partly cut down, revealing
two or three graves beneath it; hence it will be removed altogether. A
new sign will be erected soon, and a toilet put up near the cemetery.
So far, new fencing and posts, a lawn mower and a sign have been purchased
for a total of almost $1,100.00. Would you kindly consider making a donation
for the upkeep of this cemetery? Thanks very much. Please fill in the
portion below and send it in as soon as possible. Plan are underway to
make this a non-profit, charitable organization, which will issue tax-deductible
receipts.
