Classic Memorials and Symbolism

Every time I stand in a cemetery I can't help but think about the history and stories that surround me. Histories of how our community was built and how our country was protected, lessons learned, good times, bad times and sad times. Many have untold stories that will never be known, while others have stories that have been told time and time again; and to stand amongst them is always amazing.

Perhaps it doesn't come as a surprise when I tell you that I enjoy genealogy. The key word is *enjoy*, because I am certainly not good at it, nor do I have much time for it! However, I do enjoy tracing my relatives and subsequently visiting their graves. 

Visiting the graves of relatives is like a treasure hunt for me. I track down where the person is located, use a map to find their place and then never know what I will find when I get there! Sure, you can see photos of the monuments on websites such as findagrave.com, but there is something so exciting about finding it in person. 

I recently planned a trip to check out the cemetery where some of my relatives are buried and was so excited to discover this beautiful memorial!

It is a marble memorial that stands approximately 7' tall- all hand carved. Marble was a popular material that was commonly used for monument-making during this time period because it was a softer stone that could be easily carved by the memorialist. It is not used as commonly today, as granite is a more durable and preferred material. 

Upon first glance in the cemetery, all you see is this tall monument. However, once you get closer and really examine it, you discover a history just waiting to be told!

This memorial is for M.L. Hall, born July 12, 1867 and died Jan. 9, 1915. Notice how the letters in his name are raised? We call this "raised letters". Raised letters were especially popular during this time period and may also be seen on his base. They lend boldness to one's name and really look nice. 

< < See the raised lettering in his name?

You can see the raised lettering on his last name as well. So classic and pretty!                           >>

You can learn a lot about a person by simply reading his or her epitaph. Now, the thing is, if you don't pre-plan your own memorial, then chances are that you will not have any control over what your survivors choose to write. So, epitaphs may or may not be an accurate reflection of the person and his or her values. 

In this case, the epitaph serves as a message of faith and hope. It reads, "Another link is broken in our family band. But a chain is forming in a better land". 

It is difficult to tell one's entire life story on a material so limited in size. So, throughout history we have utilized symbols to help tell the story. There is significant symbolism on this memorial that I want to point out. 

The first symbol is that of the Woodmen of the World. For more on the Woodmen of the World, please refer to my blog post from October 2012 and also check out this blog post. The Woodmen of the World had a memorial template that they would send to a local stone carver, thus why many Woodmen of the Wold monuments have unique elements about them. However, this is not believed to be one of the Woodmen of the World patterns. 

Down below the Woodmen of the World emblem you will notice another emblem- the Masonic square and compass.  The interesting thing about this Masonic square and compass is that it appears to be sitting upon a mantel with a sunlight carved into the keystone area. This immediately caught my eye, as I had not seen it before. 

I had to do a lot of research on this, as I knew that the sun was a Masonic symbol, but I had typically seen a face carved into the suns I had seen in the past. You will notice this sun is a simple sun and does not have a face carved into it. 

From the best I can tell, the sun is representing fire (the sun is a ball of fire), which is a symbol that represents the importance of God and his judgement. The keystone can be a Masonic symbol for the York Rite of Order. 

The next symbol I noticed is the cloak that is draped over the top of the monument. See how it is draped over the top and sides and has tassels on the ends? It reminds me of curtains!

Curtains are a symbol often seen in the cemetery and are made "fancy" by adding fringe at the bottom and tassels. The curtains symbolize that the impact of this individuals death will continue to linger. 

The interesting thing about these curtains is that there is also an urn on the very top of the monument that has a cloak coming out of it. That is a very significant symbol. It's tough to see in this picture, but do you see the top piece? >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

If you walk around to the back, you will see the obvious shape of an urn with the cloak coming out of it. 

So, when you hear the word "urn", you most likely think of ashes. Throughout time individuals have stored the ashes of a loved one in an urn. So the symbol of the urn has been associated with death for thousands of years because of it's history of storing ashes. As such, the urn is a symbol of the ashes to which our bodies will turn. The cloak coming out of the urn represents the soul departing the body for eternity. 

By analyzing the epitaph (message of faith and hope), along with the draped urn, we understand that he had a deep faith in God. We also understand, based on the epitaph and the curtain, that he was greatly missed. We also gain an understanding that he was social (having belonged to two fraternal organizations) and placed importance upon the activities associated with them. 

I hope you have found this journey through symbolism to be interesting and helpful! If you would like information on how to tell your loved one's story, please check out our website at www.emersonmonument.com 

Murder, Faith and Dreams.

Ask anyone who knew Dustin Chamberlain and they will tell you he was a shining star. Bright, polite, caring and kind, athletic, charismatic, goal oriented and a follower of Christ. Dustin was grounded in his faith and knew that he was being called to serve others through medical missions. But no one could have ever imagined the manner in which he would truly be called- not even Dustin.

In December of 2011 Dustin completed the first semester of his Sophomore year at Baylor University. Attending Baylor was a dream come true for Dustin and he savored most every moment of it. He was thrilled to have the opportunity to work toward his life-long dream of becoming a doctor and jumped into the Pre-Med/Biology program feet first! As a Pre-Med student he was active in several medical service organizations and The Bear Pit, a crazy-fun Baylor Bears Basketball spirit organization and tradition. He loved being involved, loved the group of friends that he had made and loved being a student at Baylor.

When Dustin came home to Arkansas for a much-anticipated Christmas break, he was excited about spending time with his family, visiting with his parents about a medical mission trip, looking at potential medical school programs and taking a short break from hitting the books. But before he could do any of that he had to have a minor outpatient procedure performed- after that, he could relax and enjoy.

On the morning of December 15, 2011, Dustin was recovering from his outpatient procedure at home in Northwest Arkansas. Although his parents offered to stay home from work and nurse him back to health, he insisted that he was fine and didn't feel as though he needed assistance. His parents agreed that he would be okay without them and his father made plans to come have lunch with him later in the day. 

But after his parents backed out of the driveway, watched the garage door shut and drove off to work, their worst nightmare began to unfold.

Lurking in the shadows behind the garage was a stranger, a local man, who had been reported as depressed, suicidal and missing. He stood out there for about two hours, waiting for the family to leave for the day- waiting for the opportunity to enter their home. 

But the stranger wasn't quiet about making an entrance, in fact, he is believed to have caused quiet a commotion, which Dustin heard from inside the home.

Home invasions aren't common in the small town of Siloam Springs. In fact, the possibility of a home invasion was probably the last scenario on Dustin's mind. The family dog often got into the garage and made noise, and is, more than likely, what Dustin thought was going on.

But when Dustin made it to the door, he came face to face with an intruder. Neither man expected to run into one another in that doorway that morning. The surprised intruder was armed and fatally shot Dustin 4 times. He then proceeded to pilfer through the house until he finally sat down in a chair in the family room and shot himself.

Dustin's parents loved having him home for Christmas and his mother called him throughout the morning to check on him- but received no answer. Her initial thought was that he was sleeping and recovering from his procedure, but became concerned and asked his father to run to the house and check him. Little did he know at that time, that Dustin had truly gone Home for Christmas.

When I first met the Chamberlains they knew one thing about how they wanted Dustin to be remembered. They wanted their son, the sweet auburn-haired boy who had a tender heart and genuine spirit, to be remembered as a man of God, who sought to live his life for Him. They referenced a statement Dustin often made when asked why he pushed himself so hard or worried about making the right decisions and that was, "Because I love God and don't want to give him less than my best." He also had a verse he loved- Hebrews 12:1-2, that the family wanted to incorporate along with his photo, a vase and the Baylor University Logo.

Dustin never could have imagined the manner in which he was called to serve, but his parents, family and friends now know that Dustin was called in a unique and special way. He was called to serve with his memory in a way that will continue to touch countless people around the world through The Dustin Chamberlain Memorial Foundation, also known as Dustin's Dream.

Dustin's Dream is very much alive today and has recently partnered with the John Brown University Mission Team to construct a medical clinic in Guatemala City. In 2013 the two organizations will host events and fundraisers to help raise the $50,000 that is needed to erect the medical clinic that will serve those in need of treatment.

The first fundraising event they are hosting is Dustin's Heavenly Birthday party, to celebrate Dustin's life and dreams. It will be held on Saturday, December 15, 2012 from 11:00 am - 2:00 pm in the Lowe's parking lot in Siloam Springs. Doorprizes will be given away every 30 minutes and balloons will be released at 1:00.  Lunch and birthday cupcakes will be served, with all proceeds going to support Dustin's Dream.

For those wishing to donate to Dustin's Dream but unable to attend, you may click here to email the Foundation.

But I Found it Cheaper Online!

A few months ago my husband and I began planning our first family vacation to Disney World.
NOW, if you have ever planned the proverbial trip to Disney World, then you are aware of the expense involved. From getting there to lodging, to dining, park admission and entertainment...the trip ain't cheap! So we decided we would save money where we could, including the air fare to get there.

Rather than book airline tickets through our normal airline carrier we decided to book through a new-to-our-area discount airliner. The flight is direct and was supposed to be inexpensive. Or so we thought.

You see, the airline carrier advertised $75 one-way tickets to Orlando. What a bargain, right??!!
But then they charged us for checked luggage (if you are going to be at Disney World for a week with kids then you are going to have to check some luggage), carry on items (If you have flown with small children then you KNOW you must have something on board to keep them happy and quiet), and they even charged for our seats on the plane...in coach class. Once they added on all of the taxes and fees our airline tickets cost just as much through the "discount provider" as they would have had we purchased them through our normal carrier. And you don't get frequent flier miles as a thank you, either.

You see, online "discount" monument providers are a lot like that discount airliner I wrote about. I recently stumbled accross an online "discount" monument provider who was advertising granite markers for $199 with free shipping. That sounds pretty good, right? Especially considering that the same marker in our store cost $395.

BUT, when I started reading about the product I started noticing that they had pulled the old "advertise low, upgrade 'em high" trick.

You see, what they have done is market a product for $199 that looks okay and, by all means, "gets the job done". However, the price only includes certain things. For instance, the name. They had advertised that the engraving is inlcuded in their price but only for a name (first and last) and two dates (years only). If you would like a middle name, middle initial or suffix, that will be additional. If you want the actual month and date and year of your loved one's lifetime, that is additional too. And, if you would like a graphic or an epitaph, that will be extra as well.

Another issue arises, which is installation. Sure, you can haul the marker to the cemetery, buy some supplies and place the marker yourself. But the marker is going to be heavy (100+ pounds depending on size!) and you will need the necessary tools and supplies to do the job right. Or, you can hire a company to do it for you.

The last issue that arises is that of maintenance. You see, the Earth is constantly moving, thus causing the ground to settle and making the marker subject to shifting along with it. Our price always include a guarantee on the way the monument was placed in the cemetery and we are always glad to go out and raise and/or straighten the monument if sinking or shifting occurs.

So, by the time you add in the extras that the online discount provider tacks on, and the time and materials it takes to set the marker, and the future expense of having someone fix it if and when it settles, you would have spent far less by purchasing the marker at Emerson Monument Co, your local monument manufacturer and dealer.

At Emerson Monument Company our price is always clear. We let you know up front what is included and never cut corners on quality. If you have any questions about the process of purchasing a memorial or need help getting started, please contact us and we will be glad to help!

Beautiful Bronze Statuary

When the fine folks at the First Christian Church contacted Emerson Monument Company regarding a bronze chalice to go atop their beautiful mahogany granite columbarium, we were up for the challenge. The chalice has great meaning and symbolizm to the First Christian Church, as it represents a central place of communion in worship. The Cross cut-out (shaped as an X below) is known as Saint Andrew's Cross and represents the importance evangelism.

First Christian Church Logo

After obtaining an understanding of what the chalice should look like and the size that it should be to appropriately fit on the columbarium, we were able to collaberate with both our bronze manufacturer and our setting crew to determine the design details.

Once the design was determined, we received a styrofoam model of the chalice itself.

Styrofoam model

Once the styrofoam model was approved, a wax model was created. The wax model is what is used in the actual bronze-pouring process. We put the chalice next to a water bottle to give perspective to the size of the chalice.

Wax model

After the wax model was approved, it was time to pour the bronze. Now, I am not a bronze expert, nor do I claim to be. So, in order to share the process involved with creating bronze statuary, such as this, I found a video on You Tube that actually shows it.

The result was this beautiful bronze chalice!

Actual chalice

The final step in the process was to place the chalice on top of an existing granite columbarium. Our setting crew did a fantastic job of placing the chalice, thus adding the finishing touches to this stunning memorial.



The Austin Cemetery at Best, AR

Nestled deep in the Ozarks somewhere between Rogers and Clifty, Arkansas, sits the quiet little community of Best. Surrounded by trees, creeks and views, this community is home to one of the largest oak trees in the nation. But this small community is home to another interesting slice of history- The Austin Cemetery.



The Austin Cemetery at Best

At first glance, The Austin Cemetery is host to stunning views. However, as you look more closely, you will notice dozens of identicle small square headstons dotting the landscape.

 

These simple headstones, made of concrete and lacking inscriptions, were erected several years ago in honor of individuals whose graves had not been marked.

 

But finding these unmarked graves certainly wasn't easy. In fact, a lot of time and effort went into this privately funded project, resulting in the discovery of these unmarked graves.

 

So how did they determine where these unmarked graves were without a cemetery map or cemetery records? Well, they scraped the land and looked for areas in which the dirt appeared "different". And as they continued with their search they realized that the areas of "different dirt" were actually in perfect rows and even left room for a narrow pathway down the middle.

 

Determined that these individuals, regardless of their race, gender and history, lead lives worth remembering, the property owner erected small memorials on their behalf. But who are these people? Where did they come from and what did they do during their lifetimes? This project gained the attention of several area residents who are working to answer those questions. What an amazing project, indeed!

Homemade Memorials

So this past weekend I made a trip to the Butler Creek Cemetery, nestled in the hills just North of the community of Sulpher Springs. I had never been up toward that direction and, WOW! was it beautiful!!
Trees and plants of all kinds dot the landscape, creating a beautiful setting for this quaint little cemetery.

Butler Creek Cemetery

Aside from the beauty surrounding the cemetery, I was in awe of the number of homemade memorials that had been placed throughout and will focus this post on those memorials.

You see, mankind has had an emotional and historical need to remember the loved ones it has lost and the history it has made since the beginning of time. Of course we have evidence of this today with ancient monuments such as the Great Pyramids and their hieroglyphics, Stonehenge, and many, many more.
This need is inherent and human nature is to ensure that the need to remember is met.

While there is no material (to our knowledge) that will stand the test of time in the cemetery as long as or as well as granite, some families choose to create homemade memorials from other materials for several different reasons. Perhaps the family has experienced financial hardships that keep them from purchasing a granite memorial for their loved one. Or, perhaps their loved one worked in a certain area of skilled trade and the family simply wanted to remember them with something they had made. Whatever the reason, the important thing is that their loved one, whether they were cremated or traditionally buried, has been remembered and memorialized. 





This memorial (to the right) appears to have been derived from a cross-shaped tree branch. It has been whittled smooth and features the gentleman's name "Jim" where the arms cross. It is set into the ground with some concrete.



You will notice the little vase to the side of the monument has become separated from its base. Over the years I have heard countless customers describe the lengths they have gone to to fix a broken vase and, unfortunately, most of those remedies do not work.

 
Folks have tried Gorilla Glue, shoe glue, some kind of adhesive caulk, hot glue, the list goes one. However, if you want to re-attach a vase to a base, the only solution that truly works and holds up over time, is to use what we call "vase tape". If you need some, drop by the store and I will give you some.
 
If your vase has cracked, busted or otherwise broken, there is, unfortunately, no way to fix it indefinitely. The best solution if that is the case is to completely replace it.
 

 
 
 
 
This cross memorial (to the left) is actually one of my favorite homemade memorials in BCC and appears to have been chiseled from native stone.
The metal butterfly in the middle is actually wired to the memorial and looks like it is in pretty good shape.
The "sunburst" design back behind the cross has been beautifully done as well.
Although beautiful, I was unable to locate the name of the deceased on either the front or the back; Perhaps the inscription has weathered away.

This double marker (to the right) features a VA marker (free-issued by the US Government for Veteran's who had honorable discharges from any branch of the military) that has been inlaid into a concrete border that doubles as a memorial for his wife. The neat thing about this monument is 1) they used a colored concrete, which helps it become more visible from the ground and 2) they were really ingenious in their use of resources.

It isn't uncommon to have a family come in who has noticed that a homemade headstone has become difficult to read. In these cases the family will typically choose to leave the homemade memorial in the cemetery, undisturbed, and place a flat granite marker in front of it that lists the individual's name, dates and any other important information.

We hope you have found this post both informative and interesting. Please contact Emerson Monument Company if you have any questions or a need that we can assist you with.

When Inspiration Strikes

If there is one thing I love about my "job", it is listening to each familys' inspiration and making it become a reality in honor of their loved one. In fact, the more I help folks, the more I realize that we are all truly individuals: with individual likes, dislikes, interests, loves, opinions - the list could go on.
It also seems that each family, as a whole or as individuals, always holds tight to something that reminds them of their loved one: a favorite song or saying or verse...a photo or piece of artwork...a memory or single moment in time. The inspirations are countless.

A few weeks ago I had a sweet customer bring in this photo. She had found it online and immediately fell in love with it; and I can see why- it is absolutely beautiful!

Although I have admired their beauty for years, I never really knew much about the cherry blossoms and their significance in several Asian cultures. And as the daughter explained it to me, the more interested I became in researching the meaning behind this beautiful flower.

In the Japanese culture, these sweet little blossoms are most commonly held as symbols of purity, good fortune, love, life and mortality. So why do they act as a symbol of mortality? My research shows that it is due to the blossom's short life cycle.

In the Chinese culture it appears that the cherry blossoms take on a whole different meaning. In China it appears that the cherry blossom is associated with feminine beauty, love and passion.

With that symbolism being known, it is easy to understand why this sweet daughter would want to incorporate the cherry blossom into her mother's memorial. On  occasion a customer will come in with a specific design idea that is completely unlike anything I have in my design library. When this happens, as it did in this situation, we search our system to see if there is anything relatively close to what the customer wanted. And when it appears there is not, we are left to draw our own the design by hand.

You will notice the design on the left (the closest match from our system) does not have the same clarity as the one on the right (the one we drew by hand). You will also notice the symbols- all of which we drew by hand as well.

After completing the drawing we let the family review both proofs and select the one they felt was most like their initial inspiration. The family selected the hand drawn proof (the one on the right) and then we began the manufacturing process.

I was very pleased with the way this monument turned out; it is such a beautiful memorial for a special mother and her daughter.  

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Memorial Day, 2012

I love visiting with folks about their Memorial Day traditions. In fact, the more I visit, the more I learn that the older generation was raised going out to the cemetery on Memorial Day and really celebrating. They would sit under covered pavilions in their lawn chairs and visit with kin-folk and friends alike; the ladies would bring the food while the men would bring their weed eaters and lawn mowers. All in all, the day was devoted to remembering loved ones and offering a display of respect by decorating their graves and cleaning up around them.

Today many cemeteries still have what they call "Decoration Day" that may be held on Memorial Day weekend or another designated day in the spring or summer. The Veteran's groups still go out and place small flags on Veterans' graves while families work to make their loved ones' memorials look fresh and "springy". Decoration days are my absolute favorite to visit the cemetery because everything looks so fresh and lovely! here is something so peaceful about going to the cemetery and seeing all of the beautiful monuments adorned with flowers, trinkets, notes and more. And there is also something so "old-timey" feeling about seeing folks gathered under the pavilion, sharing memories and making new ones.

This year Memorial Day falls on Monday, May 28. For those who have recently lost a loved one, or have lost a loved one and have yet to erect a memorial, the deadline to order monuments from Emerson Monument Company with a guarantee of having them placed in the cemetery by Memorial Day is April 15.

For those who have beautiful monuments in the cemetery, now is the time to begin thinking of your floral arrangements. Some tricks to making your cemetery arrangements work are:

• Use plenty of florist foam in the vase to ensure your vase arrangement will not blow away in the wind.
• Secure saddles by tying one end of the fishing line to each metal saddle "throng" and the other end to a tent stake. Drive the stakes into the ground. This will prevent it from flying away in the wind.
• Try spraying arrangements with a clear laquer finish to prevent fading in the sun. (actually, it won't prevent it but it will delay the process).
• Contact a local florist to make and place an arrangement in the cemetery on your behalf if you live out of town or are unable to visit the cemetery.

A Trip to Mount Holly Cem.

This past week I had the honor of visiting the Mount Holly Cemetery in Little Rock, AR and wanted to share my experience with you.

The Mount Holly Cemetery is on the National Historic Register of Cemeteries and is home to some of the most beautiful old memorials!

This beautiful cross is inscribed with "INRI" in the middle.  Now...I have seen this before and always wondered what it meant.  So, I looked it up and learned that the acronym represents the Latin inscription which translates into English meaning "Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews".  I found this information on wikipedia and you can click here to read the entire article.

Another popular inscription on memorial crosses is "IHS".  Many customers have asked what the monogram means and it is actually the monogram of the name of Jesus as it is derived from the first three letters of the Greek version of this name.  Those letters are" Iota, Eta and Sigma.

This monument for the Keene family caught my eye for several reasons.  While it is not as old as some of the surrounding stones in the cemetery, it boasts a great deal of intricate hand-carvings at the top.  I don't know about you, but I would love to have watched the monument builder carve all of that detail!

The Oliver monument caught my eye because of the beautiful raised letters for the last name.  You will notice the letters "stand out" against the panel on which they sit, thus the term "raised letters".  Raised letters were very popular (you will notice them on many of the stones) and are actually making a modern day come-back!  Raised letters are one of the few lettering styles that truly look nice on just about any color of granite.

A beautiful old memorial

A hand-carved marble memorial. 

This mausoleum door is absolutely stunning.  It appears to be made of iron and has beautiful iron work on the front of the windows. 



A close-up of the iron work on the mausoleum doors



This beautiful pink monument boasts beautiful raised letters!  The other thing I noticed is a signature from the monument company that created the stone (see photo below).  Decades ago it was customary for the monument builder to sign his or her work just as an artist signs a canvas.  In more recent years the practice is considered tasteless as many people associate it with advertising in the cemetery - and we do not take part in such practices.  However, I thought the practice was definately worth noting for history's sake!

 

This gentleman's bust is hand carved from marble and was then added to this beautiful Barre granite memorial.  Notice the raised letters and the handcarving around the top of the stone.  The craftsmanship of this stone is absolutely amazing!

More mausoleum doors.



I hope you have enjoyed this post; I know I certainly enjoyed my visit to this historic cemetery.  You know, if you are currently looking for a memorial, you might consider taking a stroll through a local cemetery to help you gain an idea of the styles and artistry that you like and dislike.  Northwest Arkansas is blessed with numerous cemeteries that boast countless monument ideas.  Or...if you are simply not a cemetery person, just come on in Emerson Monument Company and I will be glad to listen to you ideas, show you some pictures, and help you create something that is perfectly stunning for your loved one.

In the News...

The spotlight was on Emerson Monument Company in the September issue of the MB News!

Emerson Monument Company recently teamed up with Love Ashes to create an afordable alternative to pricey cemetery cremation memorials.

While many families choose to simply bury their loved one's cremains and erect a headstone, just as they would if their loved one was buried traditionally, some families choose to go a different route. These families may choose to place a small quantity of their loved one's cremains in the cemetery and then keep a majority of them at home where they may be safeguarded for years to come. Now, thanks to Emerson Monument Company and Love Ashes, families can do that in a whole new way!

Beautiful Adornments are vibrant dichroic glass tiles that contain a small portion of a loved one's ashes. They utilize an industrial strength 3M tape to adhere them to the back of granite memorials and look absolutely amazing in the sunlight.

This stunning memorial was made by Emerson Monument Co. and utilizes one of our Beautiful Adornments in honor of a son who had passed away. Here the Beautiful Adornment gave a family the flexibility to to include the son's memorial with that of the parents.

We are proud to have teamed up with Love Ashes to offer new and unique products to the customers we serve.