Volunteers Save Cemetery 110 Hours Before Memorial Day

When Paula Bulfer saw dark clouds rolling in Friday morning, she thought her heart would break. Four volunteers were scheduled to help trim around headstones at Lakeside Cemetery in Fairmont, Minnesota, and she desperately needed them. Then they showed up anyway, wearing bright orange rain suits.

Lakeside Cemetery spans 58 acres and serves as the final resting place for countless families in Martin County. But two years ago, the cemetery lost its only full-time employee, leaving manager Bulfer and co-manager Paul Determan to handle most of the work themselves. The math is daunting: 65 hours to mow everything, 110 hours to trim, and about 32 mowing cycles between April and October.

The situation got so dire that in 2023, the cemetery association asked the county to take over operations. The county declined but granted a one-time boost of $50,435 in 2024. That helped, but volunteers remain essential.

This year, four employees from CHS, a cooperative that gives workers 16 paid hours annually for volunteering, spent their Friday ensuring the cemetery looked beautiful for Memorial Day weekend. William Thayer, Jon Bentz, Adam Schroeder, and Ty Bovy trimmed around headstones while families prepared to visit their loved ones. It marked the third year CHS sent a crew, and they're planning to return in June.

The timing matters deeply to Bulfer, who lost her own daughter. "I get frustrated when it doesn't look good because I've lost a daughter and it's sad when you go out there and it looks bad," she said. She understands the comfort families need when visiting graves, especially during Memorial Day when the parking lot overflows and vehicles line the road.

Why This Inspires

Behind every maintained cemetery lies invisible labor that honors both the living and the dead. The volunteers who showed up in rain suits weren't just trimming grass. They were telling grieving families: your loved ones matter, and so does your peace of mind when you visit them.

In 2024, CHS employees volunteered more than 29,000 hours across their communities. That corporate commitment to service creates ripples far beyond spreadsheets, touching the most personal moments of human grief and remembrance.

The cemetery is stabilizing too. After plot sales plummeted to just five in 2023 when families feared the cemetery might close, sales have jumped to 27 this year. Confidence returns when communities show up.

Lakeside still needs volunteers and donations, particularly for the $46,000 annual cost of maintaining the grounds. But when storm clouds gather and volunteers arrive in rain suits anyway, hope has a funny way of breaking through.