By Elli Kohnert
On Sunday, June 9, Darfield Community Club members gathered for their annual cemetery cleanup.
It was a perfect day for it, no rain, and not too warm. A visitor to the area asked one of the senior residents present when the cemetery was established, and also when the Community Club had been organized?
There were puzzled looks on the faces of the bystanders and no one had an exact answer, but the question did bring forth a lively chat.
The conclusion was that it all began in the late 1940s, but it was too long ago for anyone present to remember, and it seemed the peaceful resting place in its forested area bordering on large hayfields had “always been there”. Which of course brought the conclusion that the Community Club must have always been there as well.
To the knowledge of those in attendance, the Community Club’s members had cared for the cemetery in every way needed over all of the years, just as they were doing on June 9, 2019.
Over 20 people attended that day, and they made short work of tidying up both the upper and lower halves of the cemetery. Once all the work was done it was time to head up to the Darfield Community Hall for a potluck lunch which had been organized by Darfield residents.
There was a delicious variety of food offering something for everyone’s liking, and the conversations among the gathering of participants, from young children to seniors, produced infinite memories to talk about – especially all the family events and changes that had taken place over the years.
Time seemed to pass too quickly before it was time to say goodbye, but not before an Annual General Meeting of the Community Club took place.
Out of some 50 people present, there were nine registered members, sufficient to review several bylaws and discuss possible changes to some of them.
It will be another year before the annual Darfield Cemetery Cleanup will take place, but when the time rolls around dedicated Darfield community residents will turn out once again to lend a hand – as they have for generations past.
