Belden Cemetery Improvements Planned

Recently, --a--meeting--of--the--Belden --Finnish--Cemetery--Corporation--was--held,--with--20--people in- attendance.---Election-of-the--Board--of--Directors--was-held.--Chairman,--John--Niemitalo,--chose not--to--run--for--reelection. -- Joyce-Evans--was-elected-as-new--Board--of--Directors'--Chairperson. Incumbents:-- Secretary, Dorothy Kannianen,--and--Treasurer, Dan Kannianen,--were reelected.--The newly elected members of the Board are Terry Lantto, Carl Kannianen, and Jim E. Aho.

All--of-the--families--in--attendance--shared--their--concerns--over-the--deteriorating--condition-of--the cemetery. Issues concerning the people are; the condition of the fence and gate for the cemetery, the condition of the road from--Highway 8--to the cemetery, --the badger and gopher problem,--as well as others.--Many--improvement--plans--were--discussed.--The--first--of--which--has--already begun--with solicitation and acceptance of bids-for a- new-gateway, --which will have the -cemetery's-name -on-it. The Board of Directors awarded the contract to Welding Services of Williston. -- This project will cost approximately--$820--for the gateway, --plus--the price of the concrete to mount it in. -- The road from Highway 8 to the cemetery will be rebuilt before next--Memorial Day.--The county will then maintain it on a regular basis. --The ND Game and Fish Dept.--Predator Control Officer--has been contacted and he will be working to control the damage done by the wildlife. --The Board--discussed the possibility of--leveling-off--all--of--the--graves--to--make--it--easier--for--mowing.--The Board has also discussed the possibility of installation of markers for the unmarked graves, which number at approximately 20. These would be the metal plates,--mounted in concrete.--The price for this project would be $15 -$20 per marker.

An--Internet--Homepage--for -- BFC Inc. -- has been created at -- www.bfcinc.cjb.net. -- There you will find information regarding all aspects of the cemetery. ---Updates on the progress of projects will be posted regularly. -- It will also contain a section for news of the-- Belden Apostolic Lutheran Church, which is also being refurbished and in regular use again.

A mailing list of people with family members interred in the cemetery has been created. ---- Periodical newsletters will be mailed to everyone on the list. --- If you do not receive a letter by Sept. 1, and have family interred in the Belden Finnish Cemetery, please send your name, address, e-mail address and name of family interred there,
to:
BFC Inc. Mailing List
% Joyce Evans
4949 Triple T Road
Stanley, ND 58784
or
E-mail it to: mailinglist@bfcinc.cjb.net

Memorial Funds have been established to defer the cost of the gateway, markers and other projects. Memorials may be sent to:
BFC Inc. Memorial Fund
% Dan Kannianen, Treasurer
8109 48th St. NE
New Town, ND 58763
Please designate the fund you want the memorial to go into;---the Gateway Fund,--Marker Fund, --or General Fund.-------All memorials will be listed on a plaque in the Belden Apostolic Lutheran Church. They will also be publish annually, in the Mountrail County Promoter, the last week in May.
Donations other than memorials are also greatly appreciated.

Sept. 8 has been designated as Fall Cemetery Work Day. ---- We encourage everyone who has family in the cemetery to come help.- Bring mowers, -gas weed eaters, -saws, -pruners, -shovels and wheel barrows. The work will begin at 11:00 AM. Plenty of help will be needed to get everything done.

*This article was submitted to The Mountrail County Promoter and New Town News. It was published the week of Aug. 15, 2001. However, as is often the case with submitted articles, the published version was edited and rewritten and in fact had errors added to it.