Between the wooded confines of Rudolphi Woods and the grassy sports fields at Russom Park, there are acres of natural beauty to behold in Dowagiac.

One source of pride for many in the city is Riverside Cemetery. For more than a century, Dowagiac’s largest cemetery is not only a destination for
families to pay their respects for loved ones who have passed, but also for visitors who wish to see many of the dogwood trees the city has become famed for.

This year, the city will make a number of improvements to the venerable landscape. Last month, the city council approved $25,000 worth of projects for the cemetery’s paving and fencing, which are expected to be completed over the next several months.

The projects were proposed to the council by the six-person cemetery board, based on the amount of interest earned from the perpetual care fund for this budget year, said City Councilmember and Chair Bob Schuur.

“We end up talking about and making suggestions, which the city council then votes on,” Schuur said. “Everything that we’ve asked for in the past has been approved.”

The first portion of the work calls for the installation of 326 feet of decorative fencing along the portion of the cemetery facing Riverside Drive. The new railing, which is expected to cost $10,270, will extend the existing fence.

While the city has already lined up a vendor to perform the work, they must first remove a series of tree stumps that are impeding the proposed line of fencing, Schuur said.

“A few headstones will have to be turned around,” he said. “Most of the people who are buried there have been there a long time.”

The city also plans on paving approximately 300 feet of road between cemetery blocks 95 and 96, for a price no more than $14,730. This project is expected to be carried out later in the year when the city begins its annual street paving projects, Shuur said.

The cemetery board and the city have made a number of renovations to the cemetery during the past year, including the installation of a new bench near the northeast side of the yard for meditation, Shuur said. Crews have also repaired the gravestones that were damaged by vandals in late 2012.

“We’re going to try and go through and remove some the branches that have been damaged,” Shuur said. “Winter was very hard on the trees up there.”

Shuur and the other members of the cemetery board will convene later this summer to discuss future vision for the site. Among the items that the committee chair would like to see further paving projects within the cemetery and a new program to help clean its monuments, he said.

“I think we have one of the prettiest cemeteries in the area,” Shuur said. “It’s a very beautiful place. Many people think of it as a place of sadness, but it’s a privilege to honor those who are buried there by helping to maintain it.”