Lakeside Cemetery

Lakeside Cemetery
Cañon City, Colorado

This particular cemetery will haunt my soul forever. It is located on the south side of Cañon City and is rather peaceful and well kept. My Great-Grandparents are buried just within the gate, forever watching and protecting those who enter. I will be forever wondering who Kristina Holak Schmal is. I stumbled upon her grave in the dead of night... and stood there as chills paralyzed my body.

I have spent more time at her grave than I have of anybody else. Something there mesmerizes me, stops me, and grabs my very soul. Its enigma reaches deep into my soul, and I wonder what this person is trying to say to me. I feel her, I understand that she is trying to tell me something. I researched who she was, but to no avail. I could not find her listed on any census, could not find marriage records, birth records, or anything else stating that she ever existed. The Records Hall in Cañon City burned down in about 1905. All previous records were lost. She died in 1904. I even keep a file on her, attempting to find out who she is. Her name is spelled wrong on her epitaph. Her last name is actually Holak, not the other way around. The only thing I discovered was she was buried by Joe Schmall, who purchased the graves. Yes, I do mean graves. I cannot find that he ever existed either. The following is her epitaph:

At Rest
Kristina Holak-Schmal
Born in Kutty, CO.
Nitra, Hungary Aged 21 years

The only records I could find were from the cemetery itself. They simply stated that Joe Schmal had purchased the graves, and she was buried next to an unnamed infant. Graves #74 and #75. There isn't a headstone for the infant. I have spent countless hours researching Kristina. Nothing. No family, no descendants, nothing is being found. I have searched every data base that I can. The part that really gets me... somebody still maintains her grave, and the other Schmal grave next to hers. Connected? I would say yes, for they are the only two in that section that ever get looked after. To me, that means that someone knows something, but for reasons unknown to be, I am unallowed to find them. And yet, the visions of Kristina dance in my head, the same way the sun kisses the dead roses on her grave.

The grave next to hers, actually about twenty feet south, has to be related to her. Never before have I seen metal crosses like this, much less with the same last names. The above photograph is:

Anna Schmall
Born Kutej
Died 9 May 1902

Now is this her daughter, sister, or maybe mother? I do not know, nor do I feel that I am allowed to know. This, however, I do know, that somebody out there in this world has the answer to my enigma. I need to find that person, so that these visions and night-callings may cease, or that I may find the way to contact Kristina... and end her suffering.

A most excellent thing has happened. In January, 2000, I was contacted by a very nice person who had found something on Kristina. Someone had posted a message about her and the family from 4 years ago, I took my chances to see if their email was still the same, and it was!! My 6 year search was over. I am now in contact with her Grand-daughter... after all of these years of searching. I now have a picture of Kristina, and know all there is to know about her. I would like to sincerely thank Joanne Hollak, for taking the time to tell me all of the history and sharing the photo with me. We plan to get a headstone for her daughter, Mary, who is buried next to her and who actually died after she did. Good things come to those who wait...

The snow... so crisp and untrodden... so lonely in its own cold... like the souls of the lost ones.

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