Submitted Photo SRT’s District 3 Board members presented SRT and Rural Development Finance Corp. checks to some of Emmanuel Lutheran Cemetery’s volunteers. From left are Lois Schott, SRT board member Stuart Rothe, Dennis Schott, SRT board members John Marshall and Bruce Degenstein, Tom Volochenko, Lena Volochenko and Lyle Zinke.

BUTTE – Emmanuel Lutheran Cemetery, 10 miles south of Butte, recently replaced fencing along the north and west sides of the cemetery with the funding help of a Rural Development Finance Corp. (RDFC) grant matched by SRT Communications.

RDFC awarded a $750 grant to Emmanuel Lutheran Cemetery in 2023, which SRT matched with an additional $750. An old wooden fence has been replaced with PVC and fiberglass posts and chain link fencing.

The cemetery, established in 1906, is cared for by a group of volunteers. The sexton, Dennis Schott of Butte, maintains the grounds with help from his wife, Lois, Tom and Lena Volochenko, Lyle Zinke and his father, Harold, and Dewey Helm. According to Schott, anyone can be buried at the cemetery. Currently, plot reservations are not needed.

“My grandparents are buried here. It’s important to have a well-kept resting place for people in our area,” Schott said.