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Fence brings new life to St. Joseph cemetery

By Rosemary Bernth
Globe staff reporter
(Email Rosemary)

St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery in Salix has received a new fence to surround its grounds, all thanks to a family’s donation.

According to Joan Hopkins, a member of the cemetery committee, Doug and Fran Carlson donated and installed the new fence in honor of Doug’s mother, Dorothy Parsley Carlson, who is buried there.

Hopkins said the day after the Fourth of July Mass and celebrations that were held at the cemetery, she received a call from Fran.

“Her husband owns Cardis Manufacturing Company and does ornamental fencing,” said Hopkins. “He was so impressed by how the cemetery looked and all the upgrades we’ve done that he donated the fence.”

The cemetery has been transformed over the years from when it was first established in 1908 with the parish. It began with a donation of three acres. In the early 1990s, the committee began renovating the west side.

Hopkins’ father was one of the members.

“It was in pretty bad shape with the stones leaning, so they started an updating process,” said Hopkins. “They did everything by volunteer labor and all the money was donated.”

More land and trees were added and in 1997, the cemetery received the pieces needed to be able to hold Mass outdoors. In 2006, Hopkins’ father died and “everything came to a screeching halt.” Hopkins took her father’s place on the committee and by 2010, the fence was in critical shape.

“We’re assuming it was installed when the cemetery opened so it was old and in pretty bad shape,” said Hopkins.

The new fence installation took less than a week.

“He came in on a Friday, drilled all the holes, poured the support pieces and then came back in that next Monday and finished it,” said Hopkins. “It was unbelievably fast.”

The cemetery sits on a main road and sees a lot of traffic. Hopkins said a lot of people visit the cemetery and are pleased with the new fence.

“It’s an incredibly beautiful fence and really sets the tone,” she said. “It enhances it and makes it look so peaceful and serene. It’s an incredible gift and it just amazes me that he did that.”