24-05-2025
Small town cemetery prepares for Memorial Day weekend
EGAN, SD (KELO) — Cemeteries across KELOLAND have been sprucing up as they get ready to welcome visitors over the Memorial Day weekend.
That includes cemeteries in small, rural communities where upkeep can be a challenge.
The cemetery in Egan, in Moody County, is a source of community pride for all eternity.
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Egan Hillside Cemetery is the final resting place for 11-hundred people who are buried here, including four generations of John Hay's family.
'My great-great-great-grandfather was a Civil War veteran and he's buried just over here and so my great-grandparents, my grandparents and my parents are all here,' Hay said.
The cemetery dates back to 1881. The all-volunteer staff relies on donations to keep it operating.
'The donors are generally relatives, family members of the deceased. So they've been very good at supporting the cemetery,' Hay said.
Maintenance of the cemetery involves a division of labor between the men and the women.
'The women make sure that there's enough money to pay for the mowing and to help chip-in with the men with the big projects, sometimes that are very expensive. The men take care of the heavy work,' Ladies Cemetery Association member Joy Chamley said.
But Hillside is confronted with the same dilemma as many other small-town cemeteries: who takes over when the current group of volunteers ages out?
'That is a concern. Someone's going to have to step forward and I think part of our group of our association is just to recruit young people,' Men's Cemetery Association President Perry Johnson said.
Johnson says that the recruitment effort is finding some success. It will eventually take a new generation of leaders to ensure the cemetery remains a peaceful hillside destination for reflection and remembrance.
'You never stop loving these people that we've lost and that shows in the community,' Johnson said.
Cemetery expenses include $75-hundred a year just for mowing, alone.
If you're interested in donating to the cemetery, we have a link to the South Dakota Community Foundation's website.
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