Ryan Tyson levels a fence post in a freshly dug hole as Jarod Bottoms sets concrete Monday in the historic Bilbo Cemetery in downtown Lake Charles. (Crystal Stevenson / American Press)

Ryan Tyson and Jarod Bottoms spent their Monday completing the final steps of enclosing historic Bilbo Cemetery — nearly 10 months after the initial volunteer campaign began to spruce up the final resting places of the city’s namesake and earliest settlers.

The private cemetery, located on the northeast corner on the lakefront, holds the remains of John Jacob Ryan, considered the “Father of Lake Charles,” as well as war veterans dating back to the early 19th century.

Tyson — owner of Blackhawk Fencing and a veteran of the U.S. Marines — said it was important to him to be able to complete this gesture in honor of the veterans who came before him.

“It was brought to my attention that the fencing needed to be replaced and I own a fence company so I wanted to be part of it,” he said. “It’s important that we honor our veterans and give them a nice place to rest and for visitors to come see something that’s in remembrance of them and not see something that’s all shabby and torn down and ugly.”

His colleague agrees.

“We just want to give them a better resting place,” Bottoms said as he used a shovel to scoop cement from a wheel barrel and transport it into a freshly dug post hole. “We’re getting it fixed up for them, and making it look good.”

The process, they said, is simple.

“We space them out, we did the holes, we set our cement and we come back and stretch the fencing together and piece it in,” he said. “It’s not an overly complicated process.”

It was the pair’s third time to volunteer at the cemetery.

“We did one day for the cleanup deal, one day to set the poles and then today to finish it up,” Tyson said. “This is the important mission right now, to get the parameter fence closed off and then I’m sure a nice gate will be put in later.”

Cleanup at the cemetery began last August with several dozen volunteers organized by the SWLA Veterans Association pulling weeds, trimming limbs, uprooting compromised trees, installing solar lighting, redoing the pathway that runs the length of the site and scrubbing the iconic 23-foot tall Millennium Statue of Jesus Christ that towers over burial plots.

What could be salvaged from the original iron fencing was re-welded together and Tyson and Booms teamed up to enclose the rest.

“I just want to serve my country and do something I could be proud of,” Tyson said of his military service. “And I’m honored to do this project for these veterans.”