Babyland project at Fairview Cemetery competed with addition of Marker
Started in 2015, an area designated as Babyland at Grant’s Fairview Cemetery has been completed with the final addition of an identifying marker.
“I am glad we have this project finally done,” said Connie Pofahl, president of the Fairview Cemetery Board. “It is an amazing project.”
Former Grant resident Gerty Wyatt initiated the development of Babyland. As a parent who had lost a child, Wyatt said she sought to designate a special area at the cemetery to commemorate young lives lost, and to give assistance to grieving parents.
Shortly after initiating the Babyland project, Wyatt was approached by Tawna Holmstedt who volunteered to assist with the project.
“We felt that it was important for families who had lost babies or any child unexpectedly to have a place for them to be honored and laid to rest separate from the main cemetery,” Holmstedt said. “This is something that a lot of other communities have, but we didn’t, and we felt it was an important addition to the cemetery.”
The two women worked diligently with the City of Grant for the plot designation, and also solicited donations that are now earmarked by the city to offset the cost of the plots and the opening and closing of the graves.
The Babyland area is located in Spaces 1-7 of Blocks 20, Lot 7, 8, and 9 in the far west central area of the cemetery. Parameters for the usage of the plot include any parent or grandparent with ties to the Perkins County area that has lost a preborn child or a child up to the age of 16 years old.
“Everyone in Perkins County should be proud and thankful that we have a place for those little ones who have passed, and we especially thank Gerty and Tawna who started this project,” Pofahl said.
Pofahl helped finalize the addition of a marker for the plot. The slate marker was donated by Marvin Stumpf of Grant, with the brick stand being completed by Jason Kirkpatrick. A reflection bench in the Babyland area was also donated by the Holmstedt family.
The names of the children that are buried in Babyland will be inscripted on the back of the slate marker and also on the sides of the bricks for a small fee. Parents or grandparents with Perkins County ties who have children who have passed, but are not buried in Babyland, may also inscript their child’s name for a fee. Anyone with questions should speak to Pofahl or call the City of Grant at 308-352-2100.
Pofahl said if anyone in the community has comments or concerns about the cemetery in general they should call her or any of the cemetery board members who are Toni Wyatt, Dawnya Dreiling, Judy Tickle and Kenny Hutsell.