Fort Smith (July 31/06) - An effort is underway to help beautify the cemeteries of Fort Smith. The initiative was launched by Denise Yuhas and Ken Hudson.

Yuhas was passing by St. Isidore Cemetery - a large Roman Catholic graveyard -several weeks ago when she noticed some sections were overgrown with brush.

Ken Hudson and Denise Yuhas are leading an effort to beautify Fort Smith cemeteries. - Paul Bickford/NNSL photo

"That day it looked like it needed some TLC," she says.

So she and Hudson, the president of the Fort Smith Metis Council, formed the Cemetery Beautification Committee. Its plans include lining the cemetery's pathways with stone, erecting a sign over an entrance, and creating a "Garden of Hope," which would be an area with benches and flowers.

The committee also plans to raise money to replace the weather-worn wooden crosses marking many of the graves.

"We have to replace at least 50," Hudson says, noting each cedar cross and nameplate will cost about $35.

In the past, the Metis Council has replaced some of the older crosses, which are made of spruce and don't last as long as cedar.

Most of the cemetery's graves, especially the older ones, have wooden crosses instead of headstones.

The committee would also like to place crosses on unmarked graves.

The Fort Smith Metis Council once had a map showing who is buried in the graves of St. Isidore, but the map was lost in a fire.

"We have to start that again and do research," Hudson says, noting the Roman Catholic Church has some information.

"We don't think there's a complete map of where everyone is," Yuhas says.

Community members are being asked to help identify the unmarked graves, some dating back to the late 1800s.

The committee is seeking donations from the public and the Town of Fort Smith has already committed $2,000.

"We have to get a fund going for long-term care," Hudson explains.

The committee will first concentrate on St. Isidore Cemetery.

It hopes to expand its work to include a smaller Anglican cemetery.