The Evergreen Cemetery outside of Mantorville received a new and updated sign on June 10th. The original sign had been damaged last year when an Aspen Waste Systems garbage truck entered the cemetery and struck the overhead sign at the entrance.
Ron Papenfus of R & M Steel in Dodge Center was commissioned to build the new sign closely to the same design as the original. The fabrication of the sign took approximately a week of work over the period of a month and was installed on June 10th. The original lettering was reused after being removed and sandblasted by Sanson Enterprises. It was then positioned over expanded metal grate and welded on the new sign. The uprights are 4” steel pipe with a flat steel plate base anchored to a ten inch concrete pad five feet underground. Ron drilled ¾” lag bolts into the foundation to secure the posts before the holes were backfilled. The new sign is 16’ high and should be safe from any future threat.
The footing was dug by Olive Excavating and the foundation poured by Dynamic Masonry. Minnesota Ag Group from Kasson, provided a boom truck to help install the structure on Wednesday afternoon. The sign was pained twice before installation and then touched up after the erection was completed.
Ron added a touch to the previous design by making two pine trees and a heart on the top of the arch. The cemetery board told him not to mount them permanently until the made a decision on them. After seeing the completed sign the board heartly approved them. Appreciation was expressed to all those who assisted in rebuilding and installing the new entrance to the cemetery.
