IRON MOUNTAIN, Mich. (WZMQ) – In Dickinson County, the City of Iron Mountain gave the green light for a new cemetery arch in the City Cemetery. The new arch at the cemetery’s gateway entrance will incur no cost to the city, all thanks to a local trust fund known as the Lilja Fund, or formally – the August Lilja Memorial Trust Fund. This fund has been serving the community since the mid-’90s, dedicated exclusively to beautification projects within Iron Mountain. One committee member from North Elementary School, overseeing the fund, shared exciting project details, which have been under consideration for about a year.
“There will be sandstone pillars on each side of the entryway, with the arch going over the top, kind of framing the entrance to the cemetery. And right now, you know, it’s in excess of $100,000, so we have some money that we’re going to put toward it, and work on the goal of paying it off. And we already have one outside organization, some people that have generously donated,” Mendini informed.
Mendini informed that the fund is to be used specifically for beautification projects, only within the city of Iron Mountain, as per the wishes of a local who passed away many years ago.
“When the family passed away, the money was left behind to provide money for beautification projects for the city of Iron Mountain. So we use interest off of that money to help fund projects that are proposed or brought up to us. Some of the projects that were done, the Chapin Pit, the miner statue, the entrance to City Park, the landscaping there, we paid for the flowers, the mulch, the lighting and that. The library, the bronze statues of the children there. And the most recent one was the ranger’s cabin at City Park, where we provided some money to the Nordic Ski Club, and they used that money to help rehabilitate the cabin,” Mendini added.
Arco Engineering is designing the gateway, overseen by Gundlach Champion. The project will include the architectural design of the entrance gate, ornamental steel arch assembly, and refurbished pillars to include the sandstone finish.
The arch is set to grace the entrance by mid-summer of 2024. Stay tuned for more updates on this project, and hear from one of the recent donors to the fund, tonight at eleven/ten Central.
*Pictured in photo, from left to right, are current committee members: Jeff Porier, Heidi Reddinger, and Andy Mendini.
