Mayerthorpe Genealogy Resource Center

SEPTEMBER 28, 2004

On September 28, 2004 ____ members of the Mayerthorpe Genealogy Society congregated at a Sangudo restaurant for an early lunch prior to meeting at the South Park Cemetery at 1:00 p.m. We organized mostly working in pairs to do the identification work. Frank Wilkinson, a long-time farmer in the Sangudo district, joined us a little later and gave the following details during an informative talk to our group.

The South Park Cemetery is located southwest of Sangudo. The cemetery association was not formed until 1917; at that time Cooper Wright donated two acres of his farmland to the association. Mr. Wright operated the old ferry landing that was located one mile west and one and one half miles north of the cemetery. Robinson’s Crossing was located at the "end of the steel", which was the end of the railway line in those years. In 1939 the ferry landing was floated down river and secured; the land where the ferry docked on the west side of the river is now owned by George Suntjens.

Traveling in the early years was mighty treacherous for the settlers and pioneers; many loved ones became ill with some of them dying during trek to find land. Prior to 1917 travelers were instructed by the ferry operators to bury their loved ones in the area that later became this cemetery. The custom with the white people was to bury their loved ones west to east so they were facing the east. In reverence to the loved ones they would face the beginning of each new day with the sun rising in the east. There was no distinction as to race in the area and the natives buried their relatives in the same area. Their belief system in days gone by was to bury north to south with the loved ones facing the south. It became very evident that this was the custom when Frank walked us around in the cemetery. The present cemetery committee is proud that there has never been racism against the native people and they will always be buried side by side the white people in this cemetery.

Frank is President of the South Park Cemetery Association with Denny Lowry serving as the Secretary-Treasurer. The committee has drawn a detailed map of the cemetery. After much dedicated hard work this committee is able to boast they have ninety-seven percent of the graves identified and marked. This is a great feat when you consider people were buried in this location prior to 1917 with nothing but homemade wooden crosses.

Long time residents of the area have assisted Frank with much of the identification. Frank and his family were residents of the Anselmo district, which is southwest of the town of Mayerthorpe. Frank’s wife was born Hazel Howard and the couple reside on her family farm in the Sangudo district. She and many others had a wealth of information to offer the committee about those interned in the cemetery and their living relatives.

A recently departed farmer, Clifford Lowry who was a grandson of Cooper Wright, kindly bequeathed one acre of land to the cemetery association to increase the size of the cemetery. This acre is located on the west side of the cemetery and has already had trees planted and many improvements made.

Digging graves in the winter has always been a problem in Alberta due to the frozen earth. In years gone by the digging was done by hand, not with backhoes, and during the winter it became nearly impossible. Some cemeteries in Alberta had the bodies returned following the funeral services during exceptionally cold, hard winters, to the funeral homes until the graves could be dug in the spring.

This cemetery association has a dedicated member in Frank he built a rectangular metal frame that is five feet by three feet in diameter. In the winter the metal frame is placed on the frozen ground that will become the grave, it is filled with wood and the fire is tended for ten to twelve hours, the ground is usually thawed for the digging to begin.

During Frank’s talk it was apparent what dedication it takes by area residents to keep our cemeteries in the beautiful condition this cemetery reveals to the public. While I hesitate to say many of us take community dedication by individuals who are not in the limelight for granted until Frank’s talk many of us didn’t realize how much goes on that we are not aware of. It is amazing to think what we are all learning through our Genie group.

Frank then gave a fascinating insight regarding the skills of the old timers who could dowse for water among other things such as gold, etc. In 1974 an old timer taught Frank how to dowse for bones that are buried underground with an animal antler. The knowledge of his ability was soon known and talked about, and as a result he has been of assistance to others in their quest to find gravesites in other areas of our province. Frank has used his gift and skill in helping this cemetery committee identify the locations of many old graves during the period that a group of area residents worked to mark the burial sites and make the detailed map of their cemetery.

A stone cairn was erected in the cemetery in 1980 to celebrate Alberta’s seventy-fifth birthday. The inscription on the brass plaque reads, "In memory of the pioneers and early settlers of Sangudo and the surrounding area. Our lives are better today because they were here yesterday.

We only hope the time we spent transcribing the inscriptions and taking photos of the many grave stones and markers will assist others in the future. With genealogy on the increase many "genies" may be looking for long lost loved ones who lived in the Sangudo area.

submitted by Betty Thompson