ABOVE: Volunteers from CHS in Fairmont help trim around headstones on Friday morning at Lakeside Cemetery in Fairmont. Along with Paul Determan, William Thayer, Jon Bentz, Adam Schroeder and Ty Bovy were making sure the cemetery looks nice ahead of Memorial Day weekend.

FAIRMONT– Ahead of a busy Memorial Day weekend, and at a time when material and labor costs are rising, volunteers from CHS in Fairmont were able to spend some time trimming at Lakeside Cemetery in Fairmont on Friday.

The cemetery’s manager, Paula Bulfer, estimates that it takes about 65 hours to mow and about 110 hours to trim the entire 56-acre cemetery.

Bulfer said it can vary year to year on when the mowing season starts but that this year they started in late April.

“The grass was a little slower coming this year and it was so dry but we had patches that were real long. This was our fourth mow of the year this week,” she said.

The mowing season will go through the month of October. During those six months, Bulfer estimates they mow about 32 times.

Ever since they lost their only full time employee about two years ago, the mowing is done primarily by Bulfer and co-manager, Paul Determan, with the help of occasional volunteers.

They have five lawn mowers, though two are currently in the shop for repairs, including Bulfer’s.

“I have about 1,600 hours on my mower and they said about 900 hours is what they’re good for. It’s limping along but we’re keeping it in case we can take parts off of it and put it on the next one,” she said of her seven-year-old mower.

Last year, with some donations including $10,000 from the Fox Lake Conservation League, two new mowers were purchased.

Bulfer said multiple mowers are needed in case one breaks down or in case volunteers show up to help so that multiple can be going at once.

While mowing and trimming take a lot of time, it also costs a lot of money. Bulfer said they estimate that about $46,000 was spent last year on wages, gas, oil and parts.

“We have to keep the blades sharpened and the oil changed and we had to have new batteries already for three of them this year,” Bulfer said.

With the cost of gas rising, Bulfer said she is worried about the overall cost as it can be hard to plan for.

“We’re trying to stay up. If people can help donate a week’s worth of mowing… people like to donate for a specific thing. They like to know it’s not just going for wasted money, which out here it really doesn’t,” she said.

The only income the cemetery has coming in, aside from donations, are from burials and plot sales. Bulfer said she’s pleased that plot sales are up this year after having been down significantly.

“I think people got really scared when Jeff quit and people thought we were going to abandon the cemetery. They were afraid to buy plots,” Bulfer said.

In 2023, the Lakeside Cemetery Association went before the Martin County Board of Commissioners to ask if the county would be interested in taking over the cemetery due to the lack of staff, volunteers and funds. While the county opted not to take it over, it did grant a one-time allotment of $50,435 in 2024 which helped boost the cemetery.

“I think people are confident again. Last year I only had five plot sales all year and this year I’m at 27,” Bulfer said.

While the cemetery is in a better position than it was just a few years ago, it is still in need of volunteers to help keep it in good condition, especially around the busy season and occasions such as Memorial Day.

“On Thursday I was out there and the lot was full and trucks were parked all the way up to Hackberry Road. I counted 43 vehicles,” Bulfer said.

With people coming to visit their loved one’s grave, Bulfer said it’s important to make sure that it looks nice.

“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. I can’t always get there. She’s buried over there in Lakefield and it’s sad when you go there and it looks like you’re neglecting them,” Bulfer said.

On Friday, four people from CHS, William Thayer, Jon Bentz, Adam Schroeder and Ty Bovy, were out at Lakeside ensuring that it’s cleaned up and ready for Memorial Day weekend.

“When it rained, I thought, ‘oh no, they’re not going to come.’ I thought for sure they would cancel and I wanted to cry. But they came and CHS got them orange rain suits,” Bulfer said.

Tera Stoddard, a senior stewardship specialist with CHS said, “CHS full-time employees get 16 hours of paid time off to volunteer every year. Last year in 2025, CHS employees volunteered more than 29,000 hours. Every year around this time, we have CHS Spirt of Service days and during that timeframe we really encourage all of our employees to volunteer and get out in their communities together.”

This was the third year that CHS had a crew volunteer at Lakeside and Bulfer said they’re planning to come back in June, too.

To find out more about Lakeside Cemetery, or to contact about volunteering, visit lakeside cemetery.wixsite.com.