Fort Simpson (Oct 01/04) - Where wood has deteriorated, Dennis Cholo expects steel to stand much longer.

Cholo, who was born and raised in Fort Simpson but now resides in Calgary, returned to the Deh Cho last week to install a five-foot-high metal cross at his grandfather's gravesite. It replaces a wooden cross that, like many others in the Fort Simpson cemetery, was weathered and rotting.

"I figured there's got to be something better than this," he said.

An ironworker by trade, Cholo crafted the steel cross himself. It has two steel eagle feathers dangling from the ends, an oval in the centre that resembles stretched beaver hide and it bears an inscription.

Accompanied by his son, Jesse, he set the marker in cement last week.

"It was a good feeling," he said.

He has started his own business called Across the Nation and said he's willing to make personalized grave markers for others.

It took him close to 20 hours to finish this first cross, but he expects to pare that time down substantially as he does more, he said.