Pleasant Valley Cemetery boundary markers in place

ROYAL - Thanks to Bob Fakler and John Murphy, the boundaries of the square, one acre Pleasant Valley Cemetery will forever be known.

Pleasant Valley is used by few families. It was never known to some Royal Slope residents and has been forgotten by others. Its Pioneer nature is maintained by weeds and brush.

It got to the point that even the old-timers were not sure of the boundaries. So they had an official survey done of the cemetery about a year ago. It was decided to make and install permanent markers at the corners of the cemetery, exactly where the surveyors had placed their markers.

Last month, Bob Fakler made the markers, using a traffic cone as a mold. They are about 30 inches tall and weigh about 115 pounds each.

“These new posts are solid and should last a long time,” he said.

Last Friday, May 2, Murphy and Fakler took advantage of a warm, sunny day to install the new markers. Murphy, a member of the Royal City Cemetery Board, headed up the project.

The corner locations surveyed last year were marked with light wooden temporary posts. The concrete markers were placed precisely in the exact place of the surveyor's markers.

This project is not complete, however. When Fakler and Murphy finish, there will be 16 markers altogether.

“When they laid out the cemetery, they divided it into four quarter acre squares,” Fakler said. “All four corners of each distinct section will be identified.”