Saultites line up two hours before sunrise for chance to buy a crypt

With no concerts or other live events to attend, what are Saultites lining up for during these locked-down times of COVID-19?

We are, it seems, lining up before 6 a.m. to buy mausoleum crypts.

City officials are looking at building a 16th mausoleum after our 15th mausoleum at the city-run, interdenominational Holy Sepulchre Cemetery recently paid off its million-dollar construction cost within two days after its 144 crypts were offered to the public.

"The demand is very high," says Ward 3 Coun. Matthew Shoemaker.

"I understand that there were folks lined up on the day that they went for sale before 6 a.m.," Shoemaker told last week's City Council meeting, adding: "A long day for our cemetery staff and people that were yearning to get one of these plots."

"The cemetery was sold out of mausoleum crypts in early 2020," Brent Lamming, city's director of community services, said in a report to Mayor Provenzano and ward councillors.

"Construction of the 15th mausoleum was recently completed in November 2020. Single and companion crypts went on sale on Nov. 30, 2020 and interest was very high, resulting in 100 of the 144 crypts being purchased," Lamming said.

What's a mausoleum?

Here's a description from the city's website:

"Mausoleums are large granite and concrete structures, intended for full-body, casket interment. They may be selected as single or companion crypts, with the companion being either double-depth (one casket in front of the other), or tandem (caskets are beside one another). Family units are also available, in a group of six or eight crypts. Engraving of the mausoleum crypt plates are entrusted to the city-approved monument dealers. With the selection of any of the above options, interment rights are purchased, rather than ownership of the land or above-ground structure itself. The City of Sault Ste. Marie remains the owner of the cemeteries, and will continue to manage and uphold the dignity of these very special grounds, in keeping with the Municipal By-law 2012-129, and the Funeral, Burial, and Cremation Services Act, 2002."

To safely select a crypt, prospective buyers were instructed to be lined up in their vehicles at the cemetery office at 27 Fourth Line East at 9 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 30.

From there, they were allowed to drive two at a time to the new mausoleum.

Having a mausoleum building pay for itself within two days is something that's never happened before in Sault Ste. Marie, Lamming said.

"This is unprecedented and will help replenish the cemetery reserve, which will form a good basis for a future mausoleum build should council choose."

"The sales within the first few days are the highest it has been for mausoleum sales since the service was first introduced in Sault Ste. Marie in 1983."

"This has aided with financial performance, which was lagging resulting from fewer traditional burials as more non-traditional interments are taking place."

"This is a result of more cremations burials occurring along with more families taking cremations offsite instead of interring at the cemetery."

Holy Sepulchre Cemetery's master plan shows room for as many as eight to nine more mausoleums, dependent on demand and building size,

"Current demand indicates the practical need for a new mausoleum," Lamming said.

Ward 4 Coun. Rick Niro reminded Lamming that he and Coun. Shoemaker had persuaded council two years ago to look into the possibility of adding an indoor mausoleum.

Lamming said city staff expect to submit a report on that issue next month, but only one enquiry about indoor crypts has been received in the past year.

"So unless something changes, we'll be focusing on probably expanding the footprint of another outdoor mausoleum build at this time, pending on what the reserve sits at after the year-end audit from the accountants," Lamming said.