Grave Groomers, LLC - Full Cemetery Maintenance & Care Services

- Helping Cemeteries since 1999 -

Http://www.GraveGroomers.com

Our current locations offering Full Cemetery Maintenance Programs include the following:

Minneapolis, Minnesota

San Francisco, California

Fresno, California

Boise, Idaho

Austin, Minnesota

Hayward, Wisconsin

Hibbing, Minnesota

Detroit, Michigan

Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Please visit our website and give us a call for more information.

Thank you!

Figuring out which mower or backhoe to buy may be tough, but it's nothing compared to deciding who to hire to operate the mower or backhoe.
Whether you've got a grounds staff so large that some people do nothing but run a string trimmer or a staff so small that the backhoe operator also sits down with families to design monuments, you can't afford to take hiring lightly.

WHAT: We've done a 180-degree turn on the whole subject of hiring. Thirty years ago, our process was something like: "Run down the street, and if you see a warm body moving, try to get them to take the job." Today, we're like the Marines: We're always looking for a few good people. It doesn't matter what time of year it is, we're always looking. We want the best of the best. We might interview 15 people to fill two jobs.

WHY: To carry through what you're trying to do at your cemetery you need the right people. It doesn't make a bit of difference how much good equipment you buy, you've got to have the right people with the right attitude and the right standards to operate that equipment the way you want it to be operated and to do the job in a way that will keep your customers happy.

If you don't start out with great people, even training becomes so difficult—never mind the problems the person may cause down the line. It's crucial you go through an exhaustive search to get the right people.

HOW: Most of the people we hire full-time start out as seasonal workers. This gives us a chance to examine their overall work habits and work ethic. The possible downside is that when you're hiring seasonal workers, you may go in with the mind set that you just need good technicians for specific jobs, and not think down the road to the possibility that some of these people may become full-time. That's one reason we've decided to ratchet up the standards for seasonal workers. We're trying to remind ourselves, 'These people could be full-time in a year."

Most of the people who move from part-time to full-time staff do so at the recommendation of a supervisor. A person who does a good job of mowing the grass and string trimming and basically keeping the grounds looking good 40 hours a week is not necessarily qualified to move up to the backhoe level and start operating a $70,000 piece of equipment and maneuvering it around our expensive monuments and landscaping. And of course the supervisory level requires different skills.

We also realize that not everyone who comes to work at Spring Grove, whether part-time or full-time, will be here in five or 10 years. Some people use the training they get by working here to qualify for another job, maybe to run their own landscaping business. There's nothing wrong with that.

We might post a job opening internally and advertise it outside as well. We generally advertise in the suburban community press, rather than in the larger paper. This helps us target specific areas at less cost. For seasonal or part-time help, we advertise at the colleges as well.

1. Don't automatically give an applicant extra credit for previous cemetery experience. In certain positions we might want someone with experience, but for the most part, just because a person has worked at another cemetery for several years doesn't mean we'll be hiring that person. We're willing to train. In fact, Spring Grove has its own way of doing things, and if a person worked at another cemetery some of the training may involve undoing the training they got there. You want your employees working to your standards, not saying to themselves, "Well, that's the way we did it at Soandso Cemetery—that should be good enough."

2. Set up a check list for qualifications that must be met. We have a fact sheet they have to fill out: Can you lift 40 pounds? Do you have a valid driver's license? We like applicants to have a high school diploma or GED, since many positions, such as backhoe operator or marker technician, require a good ability to read and write.

3. Consider an applicant's job history. Maybe you don't want someone who's had 10 jobs in 20 years. At Spring Grove, we want someone who is likely to have some longevity.

4. Interview to discover work ethic and attitude. Attitude is crucial, yet this is something no one studied in school. Who ever signed up for Attitude 101? So this is something you'll have to try to discover through the interview process. Here's how:

• Use open-ended questions, not questions that elicit a "yes or no" response. Ask what they liked best about their previous job, what they liked least, how they interacted with people. Ask them to tell you their best success story as far as helping a customer. Things like that will give you an idea of whether they're a fit for the cemetery business or not. Another good question: ''Tell me about your last boss. Describe how he or she handled your work relationship." If you ask an applicant that and the jugular vein on the neck starts to throb, that can tell you a lot right there!

The bottom line is, ask a lot of questions and then sit back and listen and observe. Make mental notes about what you're hearing and it shouldn't be difficult to determine whether that person will be coming back for Interview Round Two.

• Include several people in the interview process. We can't stress enough how important it is to have more than one interview, and to involve the employees the new person will be working with. We also have at least two people conduct each interview. You want to get multiple views on whether the person is a good fit for your company and the position.

We do two to three interviews for a new hire (someone who hasn't worked for us part-time). Maybe two supervisors or a manager and a supervisor will conduct one.

And before someone is hired, there has to be an interview involving the people he or she would be working with. This is good for the interview process; it will result in different questions and insights. It's amazing what you'll learn during the debriefing process after you've talked to an applicant, the things that some people will have noticed that others didn't.

It's also good for your employees to get a feel for whether they want to work with this person. Even if you only have two employees, if the two don't get along, you're going to spend all your time dealing with their conflicts.

Doing this also creates "buy-in" and team camaraderie. Years ago, when employees were told on Friday afternoon that someone new would be starting on Monday, it was "the managers decided," "they hired someone." And the employees would think, "I wonder who the heck they're bringing in?" Now, when the new person starts, they're welcomed to the team by some of the people who were part of the process.

• During the interview process, let applicants know what your company has to offer the right person besides money. Good employees will be interested in more than the starting pay. One of the things we learned as we've refined this whole process is that money isn't the only thing that motivates people.

When companies are having trouble filling positions, the automatic response is "you've got to pay more, you've got to pay more." But back when we were chasing after people to work here, we were already paying well—very well—and we're convinced that's not an issue, at least not here. You do have to be in the ballpark as far as pay, certainly, but people want more out of a job than money. What else can you offer? Communication and recognition.

Communication: People want to have a feeling that they are part of things, that what they do matters. An applicant will want to know, ''Can I be a part of what's going on here, or is working here going to be a matter of 'Do what you're told, keep your mouth shut and keep on mowing'? Am I going to be kept informed about what's going on?"

At Spring Grove, it doesn't matter if you're a vice president or a student who's a part-time string trimmer, you're going to know what the company's vision is and you're going to know that we're all working together as a team. People like that. They like feeling that they're "in" on things, that they're being kept informed no matter what their job is.

In too many companies, the attitude is, "Well, that's something the officers will decide. We don't tell the line people about that" But those line people are the people who are getting the job done! They're the ones who need to know where the company's going and what the vision for the company is.

Recognition: We have a sign that says, ''People work for money, but they excel for recognition." We don't do enough of it in the American workplace. Every way and every chance you get, recognize people. Find people doing good things and let them know right then and there. Have all kind, of recognition programs.

Of course, doing these things will help you keep people once you've hired them. We've had people tell us, "Wow, what a great company to work for. Nobody I worked for ever asked my opinion before. Nobody had an appreciation event."

5. Consider doing some testing. We're still developing this, but we've had great success with testing that determines personality styles. We had used it for years in hiring sales people before we started using it on the operations side.

We definitely do testing now when we're advertising for our supervisory jobs, using a test designed for the purpose. It's helped us make decisions we would not have made if we'd just gone with our gut feelings.

The testing organization we dealt with designed a test that tells us how people would handle a hypothetical situation if they were supervisors. The first time we did it, the test results surprised us at first, but when we read over them, we could see that they were accurate, and we've never looked back.

6. After you select a candidate, do a pre-employment check. We pay a third party to do it, and it costs less than $50 per check. Most of the time—maybe 70 percent of the time—it comes back exactly as you expected, with everything the applicant told you checking out. But then there are the times it doesn't.

Sometimes it's bizarre what you find out—sometimes people just lie. The person said he had a valid driver's license but doesn't. We've had serious problems show up—gun law violations, robberies. It might take a week longer to get the new person on the job (assuming everything checks out), but the extra time and expense are definitely worth it. Think what it could cost you in the long run if you hire some scam artist.

7. Require drug screening. No one starts to work here without taking that final step. And again, people know they'll have to pass a drug test to work here and yet sometimes you get the results and it's "oops."

No matter what you do, of course, you won't be immune to some bad hiring decisions, but if you take these steps you should have plenty of successes.

Cemeteries add mausoleums for a variety of reasons, but when they face running out of room for interments, making more efficient use of their remaining land tends to top the list. Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary added 20 years' of interment space with its Garden of the Matriarchs project, but it involved doing a lot of planning, making many appearances before city officials and dealing with neighbors who didn't want their view of the cemetery ruined!

As the end of the 20th century neared, Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary appeared to be approaching the end of its active life. COO Barry Berlin calculated the Culver City, California, property had five to seven and a half years of interment or entombment space left, much of it not prime property. And families coming to Hillside were accustomed to being able to choose the best. The memorial park's list of "distinguished residents" includes people who made their mark in Hollywood, business, education and athletics.

"When you get down near the end of the cemetery's life," said Berlin, "a lot of what you have left is odds and ends. Family estates or single spaces become scarce or unavailable."

There was a ravine behind the maintenance area that was overgrown and forgotten. Forty years ago, Hillside's owners were told the metropolitan water district had an easement on it that made it unusable for interments. But the only other contiguous parcel of land the memorial park owned, a former supermarket site, was tied up in a long-term lease. The cemetery would run out of space before the land was available, much less made usable, and no other contiguous land was available for sale.

So, Berlin took another look at the 2.25- acre ravine area, hidden and separated from the rest of the park by the maintenance building and a garden crypt complex as well as its topography. He found that yes, there was a drainage easement on the land, but it was held by Culver City, not the Los Angeles County Department of Water and Power, and was not as extensive as had been believed. "All of a sudden," Berlin said, "we found ourselves two and a quarter acres of usable land."

In 1999, the first plans were drawn up for the project, which was completed in 2004. Berlin talked to ICFM about coming up with a plan that would make the neighbors and city happy while making the most out of Hillside's "found" land.

What did you have to do to satisfy the city?
Culver City said we could build on the land if our civil engineers could design a drain system to allow drainage through the park to continue. We had to resection the drains in the park so the water would flow under the park. Under the mausoleum, there is a spillway containing 1,500 cubic yards of solid concrete. In the unlikely event the drains overflow, the water will simply go under the building and out.

The whole approval process took three and a half years. We had to go through the Planning Department, which asked for numerous changes, and then of course we had some contentious public hearings—the neighbors were concerned that the new building would block their beautiful view of Hillside's park-like setting—and the whole thing had to go before the Culver City Council.

The neighbors didn't want their view of the cemetery blocked??
Remember, we've been here since 1941, before any of the residences nearby were built. Their view, when they moved in, was of a park, since this is a memorial park without upright monuments. So they were afraid the building would be ugly, or would block their view.

Obviously in the end Culver City approved the project.
The City Council voted unanimously to allow us to build, but with 52 conditions. We had to do a lot of things that really had nothing to do with the project, but the city saw us as a vehicle for getting all kinds of things done.

We had to build bus shelters and benches. We had to beautify the entire exterior of the park, change some of the bushes and trees along Green Valley Circle, Doverwood Drive and Centinela Avenue, which is on the opposite end of the memorial park from where the mausoleum was being built. They had us completely change the irrigation system, build retaining walls, make handicapped-accessible sidewalks, smooth out slopes and put in curbing. Fifty-two conditions of approval, let me tell you, is a lot of conditions! But all the work enhanced the area.

Did you have a number in mind for how many interment spaces you wanted to get out of this property?
We told the architects, Mekus Studios, we wanted to maximize every single inch of space, but we knew that we needed to include ground space as well as wall crypts. In the Jewish religion, most people still prefer ground burial, particularly in the case of Orthodox Jews. While we are owned by a Reform temple, we serve Orthodox, Conservative and Reform families as well as unaffiliated members of the community.

We also had to work with the topography. This was a very difficult engineering project, because the land was a disaster, in terms of its topography. It had deep valleys, high hills and wild trees. We couldn't just go in there with a bulldozer and level it out—the city would have had a hemorrhage, to say the least. And we had to design the building to be as unobtrusive as possible as far as the neighbors were concerned.

We tore down the maintenance building on the edge of the "found" land after we built a new one elsewhere, in a wooded area, but we needed to coordinate the new mausoleum with the existing garden crypt complex, Sunland Gardens.
Our original plan was to have a building of one height, within the city's height
restriction, but that turned out to be too massive. It was back to the drawing board, and what emerged was a three-tiered mausoleum with gardens atop the first two levels and a skylight on the third level, as well as lawn crypts divided into three gardens.

The gardens are beautiful and the neighbors love it. They've called us, they've come over to walk through the gardens and tell us that they are very, very pleased. The ones who were our antagonists at one time have admitted that it's beautiful and very different from what they had envisioned.

We started construction in 2002 and Court of the Matriarchs mausoleum and Garden of the Matriarchs lawn crypts were dedicated in January of this year.

How much space did you end up with?
We added 5,356 crypts, including 2,687 double-depth crypts. In the mausoleum, we have 2,854 casket spaces. We have five family rooms with a capacity of 12 to 18 caskets. All five have been sold, were sold while the building was still under construction. We couldn't include more because that would have decreased total capacity too much.

We estimate this project gives us an additional 15 to 20 years of interment or entombment space. It also gives us a nice array of different types of inventory so no matter what a family is looking for; we have something to show them.

When did you start selling?
We started preconstruction sales in 2002, using artist's renderings, and we've done very well. The early sales helped pay for the project.

What sort of marketing have you done?
A massive amount. We've contacted all the temples and other Jewish organizations. We've worked out arrangements so that if they, or a congregant, purchase property, we will make a donation to the synagogue. We've sent direct mail to the client lists our sales counselors have. We've advertised extensively in the Jewish weekly newspaper in Los Angeles, both with regular ads and inserts.

We've done everything we could to get the word out to the Jewish population of Los Angeles, which is extensive, that we have something new and unique, and it seems to have worked.

What will you do with the land now under lease when it becomes available?
Our master plan shows us tearing down the administration building and mortuary, replacing them with new buildings on that property, which is at the intersection of Green Valley Circle and Centinela Avenue, which is where we'll move the main entrance.
We'll keep the chapel now located by the current mortuary, and include a chapel with the new mortuary. That will give us the ability to handle two services at the same time.

The administration building and mortuary take up about 9,000 square feet, so moving them will free up some land, which we'll use for mausoleum space. Since we'll have a new main entrance, we can close some of the current roadway and develop it, as well.

I won't be here to do all this, but in the cemetery business you have to think long term.

Deciding what equipment to buy for your cemetery or memorial park is a crucial grounds maintenance decision. There's nothing worse than buying an expensive piece of equipment that ends up sitting in the corner of your garage because it can't handle the job.

WHAT: When selecting grounds maintenance equipment at Spring Grove, we don't buy anything until the people who will be using it have tried it out.

WHY: The wrong decisions can cost you money in repair and replacement costs and increase the cost of completing a task. If equipment problems mean the grounds don't look their best and jobs aren't being handled quickly, customer satisfaction and sales will be affected. And having machinery that's cumbersome, prone to breakdown or unsafe in some way will hurt employee morale—if not the employees themselves.

HOW: Reading a press release or checking a company's Web site can give you the basic specs, but you can't buy this type of “hands on,” hard-working equipment based on that type of research alone.

• Deal with high-quality vendors, people who listen to you, the customer. Some of the progressive companies in this business are so customer-oriented they invite customers such as Spring Grove to take part in sort of a focus group where we suggest areas for improvement and indicate what our greatest challenges are.

These aren't manufacturers saying, ''We've got the best engineers in the world, we know how to do everything." Instead, they're asking the people who actually use the equipment under all kinds of different conditions what their challenges are. They're asking customers, ''What can we do better? How can we improve this product? Where are the breaks occurring in this piece of equipment? Where do you see that the metal may be fatiguing? Where can we beef this thing up? How can we improve the safety? Are you able to use this easily on 15 degree grades?"

We rotate selection of the employees who get to take part in these groups, since it's a "feel good" reward for our people.

Even if your cemetery can't participate in this type of research, you can get an idea of the quality of the company by asking them whether they do this type of thing and by noticing how their salespeople respond if you make suggestions. Ask the company what kind of input they get from cemeteries. It's just part of doing business in America 2004: How can you improve whatever you're doing to meet—and exceed—the customers' needs and expectations?

• Be open-minded. We're willing to try anything new that comes down the pike. Some cemeteries try to look for a way to beat up on anything new, whether it's a new piece of equipment or a new way to memorialize. But we love to share information at meetings about new things.

• Listen to the sales pitch and ask questions. When you decide to have the sales rep bring in a demonstration model, make sure you spend time with him or her—don't just let them drop off the machine and leave. We make sure they train us in using it, tell us what's new, what's unusual about the piece of equipment, why the rep feels it would be a valuable addition to our fleet.

• Evaluate, evaluate, evaluate. Make sure there's plenty of time to try out the equipment. Don't let the sales rep say, "You can have it this afternoon, but I need to pick it up in the morning and take it to the next place." What we want to do is really put the piece of equipment into use for several weeks—certainly not for a couple of days or a couple of hours.

We want several different people to try it out, we want to use it under different conditions—different temperatures, different growth applications (spring grass vs. summer grass). Then get all the people who have tried out the equipment together and talk about the pros and cons.

We don't buy anything unless we've had a good chance to try it out. Our other cemetery, Oak Hill, is experimenting with a smaller backhoe. We have an old one that needs to be replaced and we're trying to decide if we need one the same size or should we buy a smaller one that can do other things besides dig graves.

If a company won't let you keep a piece of equipment for a long time or if you don't have the time and personnel to test out equipment, there are a couple of things you can do. This is where networking comes in handy. You can call someone at one of the larger operations in your area and ask if they have any experience with that piece of equipment.

You can also ask the sales rep where the equipment is available as a rental. A lot of times, even if they haven't thought to make those rental arrangements, you can work something out. Simply explain that you don't feel comfortable buying the equipment based on trying it out for a couple of hours and would like to work out an agreement for, say, a one-month rental. We handled a stump grinder evaluation that way one time.

The evaluation process, including renting a piece of equipment, also can help you if you're trying to decide whether a particular process is something you want to handle internally or is something you'd rather outsource.

• Try more than one product. We once bought a tamper that we thought was going to do the job fine. We had tried it out, but later, after we tried some other ones, we realized we could get one with the same amount of compaction capability that weighs about 30 pounds less. We bought the lighter one, too, and now when it's down for repairs it's like pulling teeth to get someone to use that heavier one.

• Make sure the people who will actually be operating the equipment on a daily business try it out. If you've done your job as a manager, the people actually doing the work with the machinery know what the cemetery's expectations are, they know what they have to get done in a given amount of time. Handling things this way also improves morale and cuts down on complaints from employees. You don't want to hear, "They got that for me. I didn't want it. They made me use it." You want to get rid of the "they" complaints and get everyone on the "we" team.

When your cemetery undertakes a project, whether it's building a mausoleum or developing a new section, you want to ensure that it will make a profit and benefit the cemetery's image in the community.
Creative design and planning can do just that.

Planning cemetery developments is far from a one-size-fits-all proposition. In addition to the physical characteristics that affect what can be done at a specific site, many other factors come into play.

Each cemetery has its own traditions, priorities, client base, financial status, ownership and mission, and all of these factors must be taken into account, as well, for a project to be a success. How do you measure success? A successful project must measure up in the following ways:
• Function: It must meet the cemetery's needs as intended.
• Beauty: It should add to the cemetery's image, interest and identity.
• Return on investment: It should generate income.
• Client satisfaction: The result should be considered worth the time and investment the cemetery made in the project.

Money Is Basic
You should begin each project with the premise that your first goal is to make a profit. This generally means that the project has to generate a positive cash flow. One of your first decisions will be about pre-construction sales.

Some states require sales to be delayed until after a new development is completed, but even where this is not the case, many cemeteries prefer to take this approach. Reasons for not selling on a pre-construction basis include:

• Not wanting to get involved with temporary entombments.
• Wanting to avoid trusting of construction funds.
• Wanting families to see exactly what they are getting before they buy.

If you choose this approach, you must take that into account in your financial planning. The money you put into the building, added to the income you will not be earning on preconstruction sales, will affect its cost. Foregoing pre-construction sales will add as much as 10 percent to the cost of your project.

The "If You Build It They Will Come" approach may work in the movies, but in the real world, most cemeteries and funeral homes cannot afford it. Even if your developer offers extended financing, if cash outflow exceeds cash inflow, you have added cost to the project. This is referred to as the "opportunity cost" of capital.

You must also size your project properly to ensure financial success. If your project is too large, it will require too much of a cash outlay and/or will take too long to sell, thereby tying up too much capital.

On the other hand, if you make your project too small, you make the unit cost of development so high that you will be unable to generate a profit.

If you are unsure about the market for your project, you may want to conduct (or commission) a study to evaluate market potential and probable consumer response, to estimate the rate of sales and to gain an understanding of price sensitivity.

What development method generates the best financial results? One that generates a positive cash flow. To accomplish this, the project must do the following:

•    Be saleable by meeting the needs and desires of your clients.
•    Compliment either the image you have already established for your property or the new image you wish to create.
•    Provide value—the perceived quality must exceed the price.

Case Studies
The following projects illustrate how good planning and design can enhance the image of a cemetery and help ensure its long term financial health.

Oak Grove Cemetery
This is a well-run, conservatively operated cemetery in La Crosse, Wisconsin. In the 1980s, the cemetery's board decided it needed to address the following issues:

•    Lack of inventory: The cemetery was fully developed and appeared to lack room for expansion.
•    Public perception: People believed all the cemetery's facilities were old and that the cemetery was full.
•    Buildings in need of work: The maintenance building was in disrepair and the office facility was inadequate.
•    The board had the money for improvements and also had a vision of Oak Grove's role in the community The plan developed for Oak Grove took the following approach:
•    Auditing assets: Usable grave spaces and unplatted lands were inventoried.
•    Analyzing strengths and weaknesses, including land, buildings, people and reputation.
•    Evaluating the integrity of buildings, both structurally and operationally.
•    Creating a master plan showing potential future development, establishing phases of development and estimating the cost of each phase.
•    Arriving at a consensus for action: The board members agreed on a list of short- and long-term goals.

Through this process, a significant number of potential new grave spaces were obtained by removing trees and bush beds and closing a few roads. This effort added 20 years of useful life—additional sales—to the cemetery.

Establishing that the cemetery did have salable inventory provided the financial basis for investing in improvements.

Changing the cemetery's image of being outdated was a top priority. The board decided the first step was to replace the office and maintenance buildings. The design incorporated an office, board room, crematorium and maintenance and storage facility, and looking to the future, included a phased development of a garden mausoleum and columbarium.

The first phase of the project was completed in 1988, and for the next several years, the cemetery conducted a marketing campaign designed to let people know they were still in business.

In 1996, the first phase of the mausoleum/columbarium development was completed, with memorialization for cremation given high priority through inclusion of niches of various configurations. The result? Strong sales and revitalization of a 100-year old cemetery.

Prairie Home Cemetery
The governing commission of this municipal cemetery in Waukesha, Wisconsin, decided its main objective was to operate independent of taxpayer money. To accomplish this, commission members elected to establish a marketing program and add a complete line of products and services to sell.

The cemetery had an excellent reputation and identity. Over the years, it had constructed a number of smaller garden mausoleum buildings. The challenge was to enhance the cemetery's image by offering a unique product that complimented existing structures.

Siting the new development at the front of the cemetery, and next to the main entrance, was considered important. A radius design consisting of three new buildings encircling a central courtyard serves as a buffer to the road located on the cemetery perimeter. A fourth building, lower in height, is located on the inside perimeter to serve as a focal point with a central waterfall. Semiprivate sanctuary areas were integrated throughout the development to provide quiet, intimate spaces.

A large bell tower anchors the entire development. To provide a source of revenue, the tower contains a private room with couch crypts and niche spaces. While it was being built, one patron was so impressed that he gave the cemetery a generous gift, and the tower was named after him.

Sunset Memorial Park
Sunset, in North Olmsted, Ohio, is a large, progressive cemetery blessed with forward-thinking and creative owners. The cemetery has completed many projects, but two in particular illustrate how to enhance the value and image of a property.

First, Sunset wanted to create a chapel that would ease the burden of loss by providing a place for visitation and services as well as banquet facilities, all in one location. This facility would allow for a more comfortable and acceptable place for lot owners.

The facility's open, gracious lobby offers visitors a bright and uplifting greeting. The three chapel rooms can accommodate a service of almost any size, from the intimate "family only" to the largest of gatherings. On the lower level, two banquet areas, complete with small kitchens, provide a place for families and friends to gather after the service. Families may choose a caterer or plan the dinner themselves.

A second project illustrates an income producing concept most cemeteries can use. Sunset had a garden of several acres situated on an uncomfortable slope. The section also lacked identity.

In order to maximize traditional inground burials and use the slope to advantage, a retaining wall was constructed in the middle of the section, and the terrain was reconfigured to create smaller garden areas. A series of columbaria were added along the retaining wall, which became the garden's main feature as well as a revenue source.

*****
Custom design by experienced cemetery planners and architects knowledgeable about the death care profession and sensitive to the client's financial goals does not have to cost more than simply buying a building or a garden design out of a catalog, and can create a project that will enhance a cemetery's image as well as its finances.

Treating customers with care, honesty and dignity helps us build ethical business practices and also helps us learn what standards to expect from ourselves.

As individuals with free will, we must determine for ourselves what ethical standards to follow. Therefore, it is possible that others' standards will differ from our own.

This can add to the struggle of deciding what is right and wrong in business, especially when something falls in a gray area. Many issues have two sides and will never have a black or white answer.

The basic question you should ask yourself when a problem situation occurs in your business is, "How will my decision affect my conscience?"

If your company discovers a wrongful burial and you correct the problem at midnight, without notice to the family, you might find yourself very troubled, even haunted by that decision. However, if you fess up to the family, apologize and then correct the problem, after it is all over, you are likely to feel good about your decision—and not likely to have nightmares.
 
In other words, honesty is the best policy. When you enter into a contract with a customer, you must follow through. If you find, after the customer has left, that you made a mistake in an agreement, such as putting down an incorrect burial location, you must not change the agreement. You must have the customer return and execute a corrected agreement.

If you make a verbal promise to the customer, you must follow through. A good example of this might be when you promise a grave will be sodded. Get it done! You must also follow through by checking to see that your promise has been fulfilled (since you are probably not going to sod that grave yourself). Always remember the Golden Rule: Treat others as you want to be treated.

Most of us know what unethical practices are in business. Stealing is unethical. If you remove someone's flowers off their loved one's grave and put them on someone else's grave, it's stealing. If you accept payment for services and don't render those services, you are stealing.

Lying is unethical. If you show a picture of a certain type of vault when you make a sale and then deliver a different type of vault at the time of need, you have lied to the customer.

Abusing a customer is unethical. In our sensitive business, ethical violations can include psychological abuse. Take the example of a headstone damage, which can occur during mowing. If a customer comes to you to report such damage and you dance around the issue instead of acknowledging and taking care of it that could constitute psychological abuse. You must train your employees to be truthful so that you can honestly deal with customers.
It is always a good idea to have a mission statement framed and posted in your office so customers can see it. For example, your mission statement can promise customers that your company will:
•    honor their wishes,
•    take care of their loved ones with compassion, and
•    deal honestly with all customers.

The 5 areas to cover
There are five important areas you need to cover in business ethics: conduct, administration, confidentiality, competence and identification.

Conduct: Everyone who comes in contact with a customer must always engage in ethical behavior. It is wise to have everyone trained in your state's laws and to stress the importance of being truthful. If all employees are truthful to each consumer about what they are buying and are honest about any mistakes made, they will be practicing good, ethical behavior.

Administration: The people in authority must always practice ethical behavior. If you set an example of unethical behavior to your employees, you can expect them to learn from it and practice what they have learned.

Confidentiality: This is of utmost importance when dealing with customers. Giving out your mailing list is unethical. Letting someone know the cause of death of a decedent is unethical. Some of these practices are also illegal.

Competency: Being good at what you do leads to good ethical practices. If someone who works for you out on the grounds is constantly damaging headstones while mowing, that person is incompetent, and so is the manager charged with training and supervising that employee.

Keeping your equipment in good working order is also part of being competent. Using a lowering device with frayed straps is incompetent and unethical—not to mention the fact that it opens you up for an incident that could lead to litigation.

Identification: In the cemetery and funeral profession, a good identification system is a required business practice. This is so vital that if you do not have a good identification system, both for bodies and grave sites, you might be considered unethical.

Remember:
•    Treat each decedent as if he or she were related to you.
•    Honor your contracts and do a good job.
•    Maintain your cemetery in a fashion that makes you proud.
•    Implement checks and balances to make sure you properly identify bodies and cremated remains and inter remains in the proper place.
•    Admit your mistakes; contact your customer as soon as you become aware of an error.
•    Know and follow the laws and regulations at the local, state and federal levels.

We must do all we can to protect our families, who have suffered the ultimate pain of the death of a loved one, from any further grief.

Will Garry The Groundhog do for cemeteries what Popeye The Sailor did for spinach and Smokey Bear did for forests?

In most cemeteries, a 6-foot-tall groundhog would be a groundskeeper's nightmare. At Calumet Park Cemetery and Funeral Chapel in Merrillville, Indiana, it's a welcome sight, especially to children. Garry The Groundhog is Calumet's mascot.

A cemetery and funeral home mascot? Did you laugh as you read that? That's the point. Rob Vogel, a fourth-generation Calumet staff member, developed Garry as a friendly face for the cemetery and funeral chapel. People smile when they see Garry, and children who might otherwise find a cemetery scary flock to him.

Groundhog with a purpose
But Garry is not just another furry face; he has experienced loss.  Vogel writes about it in "Garry The Groundhog," the first book of a planned series. Garry's grandfather, who used to take him to all the beautiful places in Calumet Park, where the groundhog family has lived for many generations, "went away with the sunset one evening. Mom said he went to a better place where he can always watch out for us."

Garry goes on to say that Grandpa is still with him, that he sees his face as a reflection in the creek or in a cloud. He remembers Grandpa telling him about the cycle of life and about families coming to the cemetery to remember loved ones, to celebrate life.

Vogel uses Garry to provide children with a comforting message the adults in their lives may have trouble conveying at a time of loss. "We often assume that parents have a firm grasp on helping kids to deal with grief," Vogel said, "but our experience has shown that's often not true.

"Children can be dramatically affected by grief after the loss of a loved one. Sometimes they withdraw from their family, as well as from activities at school and with their friends. They can lose their sense of emotional safety.

"I practically grew up in a cemetery, my parents and grandparents worked in the profession, and yet—I was surprised to learn—my grandparents kept my dad from going to funerals involving family and close friends.

"I'm a dad myself now, and I'm close to my son. If I were to die today, I wouldn't want him to be afraid to go to my funeral."

Vogel hopes Garry's story will introduce cemeteries and funeral homes to children in a non-threatening way, as well as let children who have lost someone know ''that they are not alone in their feelings," Vogel said.

The story ends with a subtle uplifting note as Garry says that "groundhogs burrow in the ground but will always come out to see the light."

The book—and DVD and CD—are aimed at all children, not just those facing a loss. "Kids love the character and have fun simply listening to stories," Vogel said.

Each page is colorfully illustrated by Max Azarov of Gary, Indiana, who also designed the Garry the Groundhog Web site and handles distribution of the books.

Garry going global?
The rodent's love for cemeteries is one reason Vogel made Garry a groundhog—also known as a woodchuck, marmot, gopher or whistle pig. Vogel and Azarov think Garry would make a great mascot for cemeteries just about anywhere.

The groundhog is a North American native, but burrowing animals of some kind and cemeteries seem to go together.

"Ninety percent of the cemeteries across the country are home to groundhogs or close relatives," Vogel said.

Vogel has already been approached about a franchise deal but for now is concentrating on helping Garry spread his message beyond Merrillville via his Web site, books (for sale via the Web site and at bookstores) and a cartoon under development.

"We're still working out all the details for national exposure. It's a step-by-step process," Vogel said. One way or the other, he promised, "Garry will be helping children.  There is a need for Garry."

School counselors have started adopting the book to use, Vogel said.

Meanwhile, Garry has his paws full in Merrillville. Calumet's children's room has a Garry theme, with Garry posters on the wall, a stuffed groundhog among the toys and, of course, Garry books for the children to read.

Garry welcomes people to Calumet for special events. On Mother's Day, he handed out flowers. He helped Scouts and other children place American flags on grave for Memorial Day. He'll help out at the "fishing for memories" contest.

Garry has already been profiled on the front of the Merrillville Post- Tribune's ''Neighbors in Business" section in a story titled "Never fear, Garry's here. 'Groundhog' makes cemetery less scary for kids." Garry also threw the first pitch to open Little League season.

Garry will participate in parades, and he's planning visits to hospitals, day care centers, schools, bookstores and other cemeteries and funeral homes, where he will read his book and play his songs.

Yes, Garry writes not only stories (with help from Vogel), but also songs (with help from Azarov). Each book comes with a DVD of Vogel reading his story and Azarov singing the Garry The Groundhog song.

The song does not mention the cemetery; it's simply a catchy tune about being a friend to everyone.

Listening to the chorus—"I'm Garry The Groundhog; I'm easy to love and hug; I'm Garry the Groundhog"—you can easily envision a group of 3-to-6-year olds singing along at the top of their lungs.

Garry's adventure will continue through a series of books, Vogel said. ''He'll tell stories about his grandpa, his friends and a veteran. He'll tell about the time he lost his pet caterpillar, Rocky, and the time he fell in love."

Garry The Groundhog: Coming soon to your cemetery, a cemetery near you and/or your television screen.

Recycling the yard waste from your memorial park saves money on disposal, provides you with mulch and can lead to positive publicity.
Being a good neighbor and a good steward of your land is just good business.

Gardeners everywhere are aware of the value of good mulch. Mulch is the organic top-dressing applied to planting beds and gardens. It provides nitrogen, holds water, prevents erosion and reduces weeds, to name a few benefits.

What goes into good mulch is as important as what comes out. With the seasons' cycle, leaves fall, storms pass through and renewed growth begins. By working with these cycles, cemeteries can benefit and even flourish in the wake of seasonal storms.

Let's face it, storms happen. Cemeteries hit by severe weather can sustain excessive landscape damage. These parks, with their mature and manicured landscapes, can end up having to deal with large amounts of plant debris.

Many cemeteries still place seasonal leaves, storm debris and pruning leavings in the trash. At the cost per load, plus the cost of using precious landfill space, this is an expensive solution that can create poor public relations.

Mulching for dollars
Mulch is any product applied to the top layer of the soil to prevent erosion and reduce weeds. Topsoil is what plants prefer to grow in.  We make our plant beds with topsoil exclusively or by mixing topsoil with the existing soil to add nutrients.

With a good mulching program:
• leaves are collected seasonally and turned into a rich topsoil for the next year's planting and construction projects.
• pruned branches, fallen trees and woody debris are chipped and turned into bark mulch as a top dressing for the plant beds.
• grass clippings are left on the ground to provide nitrogen and reduce fertilizer needed in the lawn beds.

Evergreen-Washelli Memorial Park, in Seattle, Washington, which encompasses 140-plus acres, used to annually fill 35 to 45 waste containers, each holding 30 yards, with the leaves, pruning and fallen limbs generated within the park. Now a small portion of the park is set aside so that we can keep this material and render it for use within the cemetery.

The approximately 500 cubic yards of fresh leaves produced every year at the cemetery is turned into about 160 cubic yards of good rich topsoil, which is used on the grounds.

The cost of topsoil in our region—not including delivery—is about $25 per yard, so that 160 cubic yards we make ourselves is worth $4,000, plus delivery charges. This is money saved—on top of not having to pay for disposing of 35 to 45 loads of material. The value of a recycling program is easy to see.

Mulching is one of the ways the cemetery maintains its grounds. Each year, Evergreen-Washelli uses 150-200 cubic yards of bark mulch. The majority of this comes from trees, tree limbs and other woody debris from seasonal storms. In our region, bark mulch runs about $30 per cubic yard, so making our own saves up to $6,000 right there, in addition to saving us the cost of having the debris hauled away.

Setting up the work area
At Evergreen-Washelli, the recycle area is laid out to process and render down large quantities of leaf and wood debris. The key to making this work is to separate out the individual products into their piles:
• Separate the leaves from the branches and wood for chipping.
• Place products that cannot be chipped or mulched efficiently (such as pine needles and noxious weeds) in a pile to be hauled away.
• Pull out stones and boulders to be used for other projects.
• Set aside firewood for employees and neighbors to use.

Evergreen-Washelli mulches its landscape debris in three ways:
1. Lawn clippings are left where they fall. The grounds crew uses mulching mowers, and leaves the grass clippings where they fall. Grass clippings left on the lawn help replace nitrogen, reduce water evaporation and reduce the amount of fertilizer required.

Excluding grass clippings from the mulch piles means that herbicides used on the lawn areas do not get transferred to the mulch material. Herbicides, especially those used in lawns to kill dichotomous weeds (plants other than grass), can be a serious problem. Mulch contaminated by herbicide may, in fact, poison the very plantings it is intended to help.

2. Leaves are collected in the fall and placed in a pile that's turned and pushed throughout the winter to mix and break down the leaves. Depending on the weather, the pile is turned once every four to eight weeks. Warm, dry weather aids the decomposition process and cold, wet weather slows it down. In very cold and wet areas, cover mulch piles with tarps to help retain heat.

As the leaves age and decompose, the rich final product used for topsoil is pushed toward the loading area. The topsoil is used to build new plant beds and improve poor soil in existing ones.

3. Wood debris such as branches, logs and shrubs is collected in an area adjacent to the chip pile. Sometimes it's easier to chip the branches in the field and dump them in the chipping pile later, and sometimes it's easier to haul the branches to the pile and chip them there.

Either way, the chipped and rendered product gets collected in one area and pushed and turned. Eventually it is pushed around toward the loading area for final use as a top dressing for plant beds (mulch).

It is important to turn the chips on a regular schedule (every six to eight weeks). In the center of the pile, the temperature is high enough to cook and kill the seeds and break down the material, resulting in clean, well decomposed mulch.

The importance of turning the piles of mulch and topsoil-in-the-making cannot be emphasized enough. For large applications, a small bulldozer is best. For smaller areas, a front loader is sufficient.

Turning the piles frequently speeds up the decomposition process and keeps odors under control. Noxious smells can become a problem with mulch piles that are not turned frequently enough. It's amazing that a pile of fresh leaves can smell like fresh manure when decomposing.

When dealing with serious storm damage, entire trees can be destroyed.  The first order of business is to ask an arborist to determine whether any of the seriously damaged trees can be saved. Where landscapes have been uprooted, entire sections of mature plantings may need to be chipped up and disposed of and new trees planted. Unless the damage is where you want the recycle area to be, you will want to chip the material into trucks and move the chips to your recycle area to be processed later.

It is best to use commercial equipment and professional arborists for this type of cleanup and chipping. Since much of the cost savings is due to eliminating hauling and dump fees, using professional arborists is the most efficient way to clean up after major storm damage.
 
Plan for it!
Bad weather, dead trees, annual pruning and autumn are unavoidable. Set aside an area where you can dump leaves and chips. Provide enough room so you'll be able to move the individual piles around.

In smaller areas such as work yards, bins work efficiently. Typically bins 10 feet wide and 20 feet deep are set side by side. When the first bin is full, the material is dumped into the next bin, where it's turned, and finally into a third bin, where the final product is produced for pickup.
If you are fortunate enough to have a large area available within your cemetery or memorial park, your recycle area can handle a large amount of storm debris on site.

If by adopting a recycling program you end up with more mulch than you need, share it. Gardeners everywhere know the value of good mulch. One of Evergreen-Washelli's good-neighbor policies is to make leftover mulch available in the fall to their neighbors for pickup. Just think, you could take the damage from a serious storm and turn it into a useable and valuable product, one with many good customer relation opportunities.

So stop throwing your money away. Recycle the yard waste from your property. Collect your leaves and mulch them into good topsoil. Collect your trees, branches and shrub waste and chip them into mulch. What you don't use, sell or give away as a community service. All it takes is a little planning.

When you're in the office and you need to get a message to an employee somewhere on the grounds, what do you use? Smoke signals? The old tin cans and string method? A 20-year-old radio? There's a better way ...

WHAT: No matter how prepared you are and how much information you send people out with in the morning, there are times you need to relay a message to or ask a question of an employee who's in the field.

At Spring Grove, we've come a long way. From 1845, when the Grove started, up till 40 years ago, we were pretty much in the "tin cans and string" era, and now we're state of the art. We just purchased a new communications system in 2004.

WHY: The better your communications, the more efficient your operation can be and the better you can serve your customers. For example:

• A committal service is scheduled for 2 p.m. You learn at the last minute that the service is going to be delayed to 2:45 p.m. If you can communicate easily with employees in the field, they can be doing other things until you notify them it's time to head to the service location.  Otherwise, you're going to have people sitting in their trucks at the scheduled time, waiting and waiting-and waiting. The more efficiently you can deploy your grounds staff, the fewer people you need.

• A driver has run into a pole and knocked out electricity in your area. Are you at a loss about how to get a hold of people, or does your communications system enable you to keep operating when your land lines are down?

• One of your counselors is helping bereaved parents select a burial site at need. Can she get answers to their questions quickly via a portable device? At Spring Grove, our counselors wouldn't think of going out into the field without communications ability. Being able to provide almost instant answers projects professionalism.

• One of your grounds staff members has been corralled by a distraught customer. Bringing flowers to his wife's grave, he found a problem with the monument. Of course your employee assures him the problem will be taken care of. At the Grove, he doesn't have to take our word for it. The employee can reach someone to come to the grave site within minutes.

Just think how much it means to that distraught customer to see a problem getting taken care of right away. He'll be telling everyone he knows how well the cemetery takes care of its families, and you just can't buy that kind of advertising.

HOW: Unless your communications system is state-of-the-art, you should consider upgrading it. As we review the systems Spring Grove has used, setting out the pros and cons, think about how your cemetery's system compares and how you could improve it.

The "tin cans and string" era
This was how the Grove operated until about 1960. It was really the "go find the person you need to talk to" era. If you had an urgent message for someone who was out on the grounds, you'd head in the direction you thought he might be. You'd see someone—not the person you were looking for, of course—and ask, "Have you seen Joe?" And he'd say, "I saw him about 20 minutes ago; he was headed up that road."

With 40 miles of road at the Grove, what were your chances of finding him? More than likely, you'd be led on a wild goose chase for a while—and that was a slow-speed chase, since you can't drive too fast in a cemetery, especially when you're looking for someone. A lot of times you'd end up deciding you should just head back to the office and talk to the guy when he came in for lunch, or at the end of the day.

Even if you were able to locate someone out on the grounds, it was a painful experience. You were always weighing the importance of getting a hold of someone vs. the time lost in trying to track him down.

The radio era
About 1960, we got tuned into a radio communications system. This was before the planned budgeting process we have now, so we explained to the trustees why we thought we needed it and they got it for us.

It was just a shortwave radio type of system. At the time, we thought it was the best of the best, but it wasn't great. We were tuned into a specific frequency, and we'd hear all kinds of chatter from other places.

The chatter caused a couple of problems. First of all, it was annoying, and sometimes people just got tired of it and cut off their radios.

Second, we had no control over what those other people said. The worst was when the University of Cincinnati was adding a large new building and the crane operators were on our frequency. Crane operators tend to spend a lot of time waiting for that bucket of concrete or whatever to show up, and like anyone else, when they don't have work to do they talk, and their language was not acceptable.

When you had a customer with you, you'd have to try to turn down the volume as soon as you heard one of those guys start to blurt out an obscenity. It was hard to be quick enough, and sometimes you were out of the car and had the radio up so you could hear it, which meant that people going by your vehicle could hear it, too. There was a lot of explaining and apologizing necessary, and this went on for two years!
In addition to hearing things we didn't want to hear, sometimes we couldn't hear at all. The Grove's topography is pretty hilly. It seemed like nine times out of 10 the person you wanted to talk to was in a low point where the signal didn't reach the little antennas those radios had.

One thing you heard all the time with that system was, "You'll have to say it again; I didn't hear the first part" On the other hand, at least it was a way to signal people out in the field that you had a message for them, even if what that message was wasn't clear.

Another problem with this system was that all the radios were attached to vehicles. That meant every time you heard a squawk from the radio, or wanted to call into the office with a question, you had to run back to your car.

Last but not least was the fact that there was only one guy in town who could work on the radio system we had. There was no competition, and if we had a problem and he was tied up or on vacation, we were just dead in our tracks.

The "new and improved" radio era
Toward the end of the 1980s, we finally decided there had to be a better system, so we did some research and opted for a Motorola system. We studied the cemetery and found a great place to put up an antenna so that we wouldn't have those blind spots where you couldn't receive or transmit.

The new system also allowed us to use hand-held units. We did still have some radios in the vehicles, but now we had portability. It was a great feeling, having that radio hanging on your belt. Of course, sometimes you walked funny, because those radios weighed about 6 pounds.
And you had to replace your belt every few months.

But having a portable unit was a huge deal. You could keep the volume low and still hear what you needed to hear, and the volume control was easy to reach.

Even so, there still was no way to have a private conversation. Everybody with a radio heard everything that was said. If you wanted to alert someone about a tough situation, a family on their way where the circumstances were tragic, everyone heard it, and a lot of times what you heard would make you squirm.

To help with this situation, we came up with a sort of "code" to use when talking about certain common situations. For example, a lot of times when a burial is going to take place in a wet site, the excavated area will get filled up with water when it rains. You never know when the sexton might have a family with him, so you don't want someone saying on the radio, "Bring the water pump up here I've got a doozy on 132!"

Our people were taught to say, "I'm going to need the instrument on Section 132." Nobody except our employees knew that "the instrument" was the water pump, so that sounded OK to other people who might hear it.
Another problem we still had to deal with was having only one channel. If somebody was already on the line, you had to wait until that person was finished talking. Sometimes you'd be with a family and you'd have to wait five minutes before you could get through and ask your question or relay some information.

We finally asked Motorola if there was anything we could do about this, and they started putting a second channel on any new radios we bought. That seemed like a good idea until we realized that you can only keep your radio tuned to one channel at a time, and if you don't know someone's trying to reach you on the second channel, it's useless.

We were paying a few extra dollars for that second channel, so we had brainstorming sessions about how to use Channel 2. It was kind of hilarious. The only thing we could figure was to use Channel 2 for tours.

Sometimes you have a caravan of several vehicles going through on a tour. They drive from one stop to the next, get out and then listen to somebody talk.

We figured we could give each vehicle a radio tuned to Channel 2 and then the tour leader could offer some profundities while everyone was driving. ''On your left is a very nice vibernum. To your right is a Gothic memorial."

Of course, there were still problems. "We can't figure out how to turn the volume up." "Are you sure this thing is on the right channel? We keep hearing when the next service is coming in—and somebody in Section 132's got a problem with a backhoe pump."

Even so, we felt we were moving forward, and we were, but we were definitely taking baby steps.

The two-way radio plus phone era
About six years ago, Andy Conroy, our president at the time, came back from a conference talking about a new two-way system someone was raving about.

We contacted a company representative to learn more. It was a pretty new system, and pricey. The cost of getting all new equipment, plus the operating costs for daily usage, added up to kind of a staggering number. We weren't sure it would be cost effective.

Last year Spring Grove got a new president, Gary Freytag. We were used to the "all call," everyone-can-hear-everything system we'd been using for decades, but sometimes a new person coming in can give you a different perspective.

The receptionist had become almost a clearinghouse of "somebody needs to get to a radio to discuss this" messages. She was answering 175 telephone calls a day as well as talking to people in person, plus she had to stay tuned into our radio system.

When she was with a funeral director or a family, she wouldn't answer the radio page right away, so of course we'd repeat the message over and over, thinking "Why isn't she answering?" By the time she finally got to you, she'd be kind of fired up and then there'd be some bantering back and forth.

Our new president must have heard some of this, and seen customers who happened to be around raising their eyebrows, so he had his administrative assistant take a look at the costs and benefits of a new communications system.

We talked to a couple of suppliers and they let us try out their systems for a couple of weeks at no charge. This involved giving units to some key personnel so we could see how receptive people would be to using something different. There's always some hesitancy when you make a big change.

At first, some of us wanted to hang onto our old radios "just in case" while we tried out the new radio/phone units. Within three or four days, we'd forgotten all about our old radios, and in less than two weeks, we were saying, "This is unbelievable. We can't imagine ever going back."

With our new communications system:
 • You can contact just one person, or use "all call" when you need to let everyone know about something. Professionalism and "Disney magic" are the order of the day. There's no need for our customers to be exposed to hearing about the grunt work that goes on behind the scenes.

At first, we worried that because we couldn't hear every conversation all day we'd lose touch with what was going on around the cemetery, but we do have the "all call" capability. We're still working on mastering what should be an "all call" and what should be a private conversation.

• There is no usage charge for the two-way radio system. One supervisor even called us from South Carolina, where he was on vacation, when he remembered something that needed to get done. The sound quality was great.

• About 10 of our people have units with cell phone capability. We give people usage limits (in minutes) and we get a report on usage from the company, since we get charged for outgoing cell phone calls. We've had no problems with people abusing them.

When a manager in the field finds out that a backhoe part didn't show up as scheduled, he can make a call right then and there.

Giving cell phone capability to our supervisors has been a win-win situation. Their productivity has increased and they feel more a part of the team. They take the units home with them. Of course, this has a downside. As long as a manager's got a radio with him and it's turned on, he can be reached.

Once Fife was at a restaurant eating chicken wings and watching the Bengals game with some buddies when his "Grove Hot line" started ringing. It was a security guard calling to ask how to turn on the sound system for a wedding that was being held at the cemetery, and Fife was able to give him instructions without leaving the restaurant.

• The units weigh only 3 ounces, so they clip onto your belt without weighing it down, and they're rubberized. If you drop a unit, it bounces like a rubber ball.

• There are other options available, including tying the radios into Spring Grove's computer system. Right now, that is being done only with the PDAs the customer service/security team uses.

Of course, now that we've made the changeover we have a lot of Motorola radios, around three dozen, to get rid of. There's nothing wrong with them—they'll probably work well for someone, so if you're still in the "tin cans and string" or "early radio" era, give us a call. Have we got a deal for you.

Dealing with clients who are upset with your funeral home or cemetery is not pleasant, but it is necessary You want upset clients complaining to you, not to everyone else in the community you serve. There are practical ways to head off problems, to diffuse situations when problems do occur and even to learn things from upset clients that will help you improve your company's service to families.
 
Calming upset clients is rarely pleasant, but it must be done. The No.1 reason: Bad information travels faster than good information. If you please someone, that person will tell three people. If you displease someone or if that person is upset, he or she will tell 15 people! What's worse, the one person that upset client probably won't talk to is you.

A recent study showed that 96 percent of business clients don't complain to the business when they have a problem. This means that for every complaint you receive there are 24 unhappy clients.

As you can see from the information box, "Why you lose business," you should be less worried about price competition and more about making sure that families are pleased with the services and products you provide and that they feel they have been treated with courtesy and respect by you and your staff.

The second major reason you must deal with upset clients is that you can learn from them and improve the quality of service you provide to all families. They may clue you in on things that are annoying other clients, who don't speak up, as well, or may alert you to behavior by staff members that you are unaware of and that is irritating clients.

In any case, dealing with a client who is upset will teach you patience, at the least, and doing so successfully will build your confidence.

Why do clients get upset?
Clients can become upset for many potential reasons. Among the most common:
•    Their expectations have not been met.
•    They are already upset with the company and something has happened to set them off.
•    They are tired, stressed, frustrated and in grief.
•    They feel like victims and are suffering from loss of control over their lives.
•    No one will listen to them.
•    They want to feel "right."
•    They have a chip on their shoulder.
•    Someone at your company made them a promise and did not keep it.
•    Someone at your company was rude, indifferent or discourteous.
•    They have received inconsistent messages from your staff members.
•    They acted on information your staff gave them and it turned out to be wrong.
•    They feel that someone in your organization doesn't like them.
•    They were not listened to.
•    They have some sort of prejudice against the way you or your staff members are groomed or dressed.
•    They feel they can manipulate you by making noise.
•    They are suspicious of your organization.
•    They had made incorrect assumptions about your company.
•    They were told by your staff not to be angry.
•    A staff member gave them a smart or flip answer.
•    The person they were talking to at your funeral home or cemetery transferred their call to someone else without first asking their consent.
•    Their phone call was screened.
•    They were embarrassed at doing something wrong.
•    Their honesty or integrity was questioned.
•    Someone at the funeral home or cemetery argued with them.
•    Your staff was unable to handle a situation or question quickly and accurately.

Remember, annoyances that a client usually tolerates become intolerable when that individual is upset. You can't control another person's behavior, but you can change your behavior to avoid causing more annoyances.

Avoidable upsets
First, go back and look at the list of reasons clients get upset. Which ones do you have control over? List those you feel you can at least partially control and note what actions you could take to keep those things from happening.

The annoyances you have some responsibility for causing are:
•    You or someone in your funeral home or cemetery promised something that was not delivered.
•    You or someone in your funeral home or cemetery was indifferent, rude or discourteous.
•    You or someone in your funeral home or cemetery had an unpleasant attitude.
•    No one on your staff listened to the client.
•    Someone told the client they had no right or reason to be angry.
•    Someone gave the client a smart or flip remark.
•    Someone at the funeral home or cemetery embarrassed the client for doing something wrong.
•    Someone at the funeral home or cemetery questioned the client's honesty or integrity.
•    Someone at the funeral home or cemetery argued with the client.

There are many things you can do to avoid turning a dissatisfied client into an angry one through careful attention to your personal presentation and to both your verbal and non-verbal communication.
Personal Presentation. This may seem basic, but you should make sure that you and your employees present a pleasing appearance at all times by running down this simple checklist: good general hygiene, hair clean and well kept, make-up neatly applied, face shaved, breath fresh and clothing pressed.

Non-verbal Communication. The importance of body language has long been recognized. You must give the upset client your full attention in a respectful manner. You and your staff members should assess yourselves (or each other) in the following areas to see where you might improve:

•    Facial expression: Maintain a calm, concerned, sincere and interested expression.
•    Body posture: Remain attentive by standing or sitting up straight.
•    Movement: Clients who are upset want to see appropriate action taking place to solve their problems.
•    Gestures: Do not cross your arms. As awkward as it may feel, hold your arms at your side.
•    Smoking: Even if you are in an area where smoking is allowed, never smoke while you are dealing with an upset client.
•    Chewing gum or eating: Again, never do this when dealing with a person who is upset. The situation could easily escalate so that you are dealing with an extremely irate client.
•    Touching: Avoid touching-it could set off violence.

Verbal Communication. See the table "Words that make a difference" for a list of common mistakes to avoid and suggestions for getting the same point across in a non-confrontational way more likely to move the situation toward a resolution. In addition, remember:

•    Watch your tone of voice. People often respond as much to how something is said as to what is said.
•    Watch out for sighing. This may be your automatic reaction when you are confronted with a difficult situation, but do not do it in front of clients, since it suggests annoyance or impatience.
•    Never curse. Even if the client curses, there is never an excuse for a professional to curse.

Calming upset clients
What do clients who are upset really want? Of course it varies from person to person, from situation to situation. In general, one or several of the following applies. They want:

•    To be taken seriously.
•    To be treated with respect—no condescension or arrogance.
•    To get immediate action—no "next day, next week, next month" stuff.
•    To gain compensation or restitution—they want someone to pay.
•    To have the party who wronged them reprimanded and/or punished—they want corrective action.
•    To clear up whatever caused the problem so it will never happen again.
•    To be listened to. This is the most important thing to remember when you are trying to calm an upset client.

Improving your listening habits
There are a number of behaviors that make people feel their complaint is not being heard. Dr. Lyman K. Steil of St. Paul, Minnesota, compiled a list of trouble spots listed below. Go through this list of troublesome listening habits and the suggested corrections to help you improve your response to people who are complaining or upset:

•    Criticizing the speaker and delivery.  Focus on the client's thoughts and feelings rather than how well he or she is expressing them.
•    Listening only for facts and not feelings. Most people say they are "not" upset, even when they are.
•    Not taking notes or trying to write down everything. Taking brief notes shows interest and covers you later. However, make sure you are not constantly writing and looking at the paper instead of at the person talking.
•    Faking attention. Do not "tune out" the person and think of something else while he or she goes on at length. People don't just want to talk, they want to be heard. Pay close attention so that you will be able to respond properly.
•    Tolerating or creating distractions.  Don't be distracted and don't tolerate distractions. Hold your calls and tell your staff you are not to be disturbed.
•    Tuning out difficult or confusing information. Ask the client to slow down and ask for more details if necessary.
•    Letting emotional words block the message. Ignore name-calling by an irate client.
•    Interrupting or finishing the other person's sentences. This is always an irritant to a person who is upset. Let him tell his story his way.
•    Biases and prejudices. Work on eliminating this.
•    Not facing the person who is upset.  Look the person in the eye.
•    Not checking to make sure you have understood the problem correctly. Repeat back to the person what you have understood the problem to be.

Use verbal cushions
Showing that you empathize with the person who is upset can help the situation. Try saying something like:

•    "I can appreciate what you're saying."
•    "I can understand how you'd feel that way."
•    "I can understand how that would be annoying."
•    "I can see how you would be upset."
•    "I would be upset, too."
•    "It sounds as if we've caused you inconvenience. I'm sorry."

Use the three Fs: feel, felt and found
"I understand how you could feel that way. Others have felt that way too, and then they found that we were able to correct the situation without any difficulty."

Additional ideas to help you stay in control
Remember: Don't take things personally. Keep your focus on gathering information, assessing the situation and coming up with solutions.

•    If you are losing it, excuse yourself for a short time. You could say, "I need to verify some information on this file."
•    Don't cry! Cry later; never cry in front of an upset client.
•    Get the client's attention. If the client is ranting, use his or her name. Most people stop and listen when they hear their name.
•    If the client is obstinate and resisting your suggestions for a solution, ask the client for a solution. "What would you like me to do now?"
•    Using polite repetition, tell them what you can do for them. Repetition helps understanding.

One caveat: We are talking here about people who are upset or angry, perhaps even teary or shouting. But if a client actually threatens violence, seek assistance immediately. You do not have to put up with threats, nor should you.

Debriefing after the client has left
After dealing with an upset client, perform an incident review. This should not be a gossiping session with fellow employees—"You won't believe what I just went through." This isn't about you, it's about improving service to your families.

It's a good idea for staff meetings to include time for sharing staff experiences in dealing with upset clients and what worked and what didn't work. Talk about what else could be tried if a similar situation arises.  In some cases, you may want to discuss whether the cemetery or funeral home should change a policy or procedure to prevent similar problems or misunderstandings in the future.

To prepare for the staff meeting, review the incident and jot down some notes about what happened and how you handled it. Some of the questions you may want to consider:

•    What did I do well in calming this client down?
•    What could I have done sooner or better to calm him down?
•    What did I say that I don't want to say again?
•    How was my body language?
•    What did I learn?

Guidelines for managers
Your goal as manager of the funeral home or cemetery is to create an environment conducive to client satisfaction.

•    Be a role model. Don't expect your staff to use good listening skills and deal empathetically with people if you don't do so yourself.
•    Ask for your staff's suggestions. Talk about how to better serve families at staff meetings.
•    Solicit client feedback. You can send postage-paid return cards or surveys to families after serving them, or solicit the information through telephone calls.
•    Reward good client service behavior.
•    Encourage your staff to use their initiative to solve problems. You have to set limits, of course, but you don't want staff members further angering already upset clients by responding to every problem with an "I can't authorize that" or "I'll have to ask my boss."
•    Don't talk negatively about clients.  This fosters a negative atmosphere; you want to promote a positive approach to dealing with families.
•    Know when to fire a client! If a client continually upsets your staff for trivial reasons, you may need to invite that client to consider another firm. As extreme as this may sound, it is a potential solution. Some families do call a funeral home or cemetery that is not a good match for their needs and desires, and their disappointment ends up being expressed in continual nastiness.

Cemeteries are valuable greenbelts.
You know that, but does your community?
To publicize how your grounds benefit everyone
in the area, try these ways of "spreading the green."

WHAT: One way of using your cemetery's natural assets to generate goodwill is to invite people to enjoy events on your beautiful grounds. Spring Grove certainly does that throughout the year, and your cemetery probably does, too.

But we also believe in exporting a bit of nature as a way to remind people that we're an arboretum as well as a cemetery. We're about the cycle of life, and you can't give people a better symbol of renewal and rebirth than a growing plant.

WHY: Plant giveaway programs can generate good news coverage and draw people in who may not have visited your cemetery before. They don't have to be annual events. Try the ones we describe here, or come up with your own tailored to your community and your cemetery, or to a special event in your community like a centennial celebration.

It's a subtle way to get your name out in front of the community, to be a good neighbor and a good citizen. When an at-need situation arises, maybe someone will remember your cemetery because of one of these programs.

And we can't emphasize enough the need to constantly build goodwill in the community, to generate good news stories as often as possible. Because no matter who you are, no matter how hard you try to have a perfect safety record, there may come a day that something goes wrong and the unhappy family runs to the media. When that happens, you want to have a long history of good news so that people will weigh that against the bad.

HOW: We do "green outreach" in a number of ways; we're going to describe three in detail. We've found these three to be cost effective and enjoyable for our employees and the public.

1. The Pansy Program. This is one we just started last year, so we're still working on perfecting it, but we love this idea. We get some tough winter weather here in the Midwest, and we thought it would be nice to do something to celebrate the rebirth of the outdoors environment as we start coming out of the doldrums of winter. In our area, pansies seem to represent that idea.

We decided we'd give away pansies to everyone who comes into the office. We start in mid-February, which is a little ahead of the curve as far as the end of winter. Occasionally we'll get one of those surprise 6O-degree days, but overall it's one of the ugliest months of the year in Cincinnati. The cemetery looks like it's taken a "whupping," with tracking where we've had equipment even though we tried to put boards down. The sky is gray, there's not a bud on a tree.

Just think how great it is to go into an office, maybe to complain about something, and as you're leaving the receptionist says, "Thank you for corning in; we'd like you to have this nice flower to take home and enjoy." Here's this colorful pansy looking you in the eye. How can you not smile when you see a pansy?

Did the bank give you a flower? No. The dry cleaner? No. The grocery store? No. But the cemetery did, and it brightened up your day. And the employee who handed it to you enjoyed doing it, too.

It's amazing how the expression on people's faces change when you hand them the flower and tell them it's free. We include a brief care sheet telling people they can either put the potted pansy on a windowsill and be inspired by it for a couple of weeks, or place it outside.

It doesn't have to be a pansy. Maybe you want to give out petunias, or some other flower. Pansies work well for us because even though the name makes them sound wimpy, they're actually tough plants. They'll tolerate extremes in temperatures, so the cemetery doesn't have to worry about keeping them inside just because it's going down to 20 degrees at night. Pansies love cold weather, damp rainy weather.

You can order them from a local grower, or grow them yourself in your greenhouse. Bring as many into the office as you think you'll need that day, in little pots. Any you don't give out that day can go back outside—you can't keep them inside too long or they start to yellow.

Start planning now, and say "welcome, Spring 2007" with flowers!

2. The Arbor Day Tree Giveaway. We don't do this every year, though it's not very expensive, and it's a natural for cemeteries. Really, is there a cemetery anywhere that doesn't have trees?

When we do it, we team up with the city's urban forestry division. Almost every city has one, or a parks division or something similar. Call up and say you'd like to partner on an Arbor Day project. (Arbor Day is the last Friday in April, by the way.)

One way is to buy seedlings wholesale, maybe for the top two or three plants for your area, and work with the forestry or park people to get them delivered to any schools or libraries who want to do an Arbor Day planting. Newspapers are always looking for a tree planting to take a picture of for Arbor Day, and if your cemetery donated the tree, you hope that will get mentioned in the photo caption or story.

Another way to give out trees is to announce that you'll be giving away seedlings to the first 200 families (parent or parents and at least one child) who come in to the cemetery during a particular time period, maybe the Saturday before or after Arbor Day. You want the child there to talk to about the importance of Arbor Day and trees in general. Having a child also makes for a better visual for the newspapers or television.

You want the parents there for obvious reasons. You'll have a chance to introduce yourself, hand over a card or brochure and ask if you can put them on the mailing list for your newsletter. So it's a subtle way to get some names of people you can eventually approach to talk to about preplanning.

Don't forget to notify the media that you'll be giving away seedlings. They're on the lookout for Arbor Day stories, so "this year. the ABC Cemetery is giving away dogwoods and blue spruce seedlings to beautify the community and celebrate Arbor Day" is news.

This is something you should start out small with, maybe 200 seedlings, depending on the size of your community. If you run out of seedlings, put people on a list to get one later and have a second pick-up day scheduled.
 
You can get a tremendous number of seedlings for a few hundred dollars. When deciding which seedlings to choose, you want to look for native plants that are reasonably priced, easy to transplant and have a high survivability rate. (You can ask the forestry or parks division, or your local Extension agent, for suggestions.)

You don't want Mommy, Daddy and Johnny planting a seedling, getting all excited, watching it grow and then going outside one day to find that it's died. Fife remembers Arbor Day as being Silver Maple Giveaway Day when he was a kid, probably because those trees can survive anywhere, so that's what everyone handed out.

The bigger the seedling, the higher the cost, of course, but you don't want to give people a tree so dinky that no one can really see it and it's going to get run over and chopped up by the lawnmower. You can buy a decent sized seedling sometimes for pennies and certainly for less than $1 a piece.

We give away seedlings 18 to 24 inches high—significant enough so you can see them. We buy them in bulk and repackage them. You can make a fact sheet with transplant and care instructions on it to give out, and a tag maybe with your logo on it that you can attach to the tree.

Or, since you have to repack the seedlings in planting bags with a little sphagnum moss to maintain the moisture, you could use a bag with your logo and the care instructions right on the bag.

The garden editors come running when we do the Arbor Day seedling giveaway. What better advertising can you get than a picture of a child getting his free tree as mom and dad look on? People look at that photo and say to themselves, "Man, that Spring Grove—they're always doing good things."
 
3, The Patented or Special Plant Program. Spring Grove has a Patented Plant Program—yes, some of our plants have been patented. But you don't need a patented plant to do this, just a tree or flowering bush that's special in some way and can offer "babies" to the community.

Maybe you have a great white oak tree you've been mowing around for years. It's got a majestic form and a huge canopy in the summer; it provides late fall color; its beautiful branches and white bark look phenomenal against the winter sky. You don't have to patent it—just identify it, maybe even name it!

Then make it available to the gardening public. Collect its fruit—the acorns—to give away. You could take the next step, of course, and plant the acorns yourself, then give people the seedlings as little potted plants. Either way, this is a fun giveaway.

When you think about it, a lot of cemeteries have been around 50, 70, 100, 150 years, and have plenty of plants that have endured over time. Take photographs of your magnificent tree or plant so people can see what great stock the acorns or cuttings come from, then write a little story about your giveaway to send to the press.

We sell some of our patented plants across the country through our Web site, popular plants that will grow probably in 60 to 75 percent of American gardens. But we're suggesting this as a low-cost giveaway limited to your community.

This doesn't have to be tied to Arbor Day (though it could be), but should be done during a good planting season, meaning spring or fall. As always, include a fact sheet, maybe saying something such as "this is a direct progeny of the champion/the biggest white oak on Section 23 of ABC Cemetery."

Remember, it doesn't have to be a tree, it just has to be a plant that's relatively easy to propagate. We've done this with some of our shrubs. Check with your Extension agent for suggestions.

Maybe you have a nice flowering vibernum—a plant that's adaptable to 90 percent of American gardens. You recall that the previous superintendent said the plant was there, and thriving, when he arrived 30 years ago. It's endured droughts, severe winter and summer weather and flooding. What better test is there? (Be sure to mention that in your press release.)
 
There's no law against naming it the ABC Cemetery Vibernum, taking some cuttings and offering them to the community. Make sure you have photos of it when it's blooming, or that you send out your press release when it's blooming so the newspaper can get a good photo.

☼☼☼☼☼☼☼

We've tried to plant a seed of an idea with this column. Why not try one of these programs next year? Your employees will get inspired—they'll like being a part of this type of goodwill effort.

After all, being in the cemetery business could be a bit of a downer if it weren't for the fact that we're always trying to do some of these uplifting things, too.

Of course embalmers need to be wary of bloodborne pathogens, but they're not the only ones in your funeral home, crematory or cemetery who might face exposure. Make sure your employees—and your company—are protected.

Exposure to bloodborne pathogens is a significant risk to employees of the cemetery, funeral and crematory professions. Violations of OSHA's Bloodborne Pathogens Standard were the most prevalent citation in the profession in 2004. While OSHA citations are infrequent relative to other industries, the last thing you want is this type of notoriety when your goal is to offer your clients competence, caring and peace of mind.

While staff who handle bodies for funeral or cremation are likely have expertise and extensive background in mortuary science, and hence a good understanding of the risks and methods of controlling exposure to bloodborne pathogens, you may have ancillary employees who don't have knowledge and training but may directly or inadvertently come into contact with body fluids at your facility.

Your custodial staff, florists, drivers and designated first aide responders might all fall into this category. Do you ever hire a beautician to do hair or ask a yard worker to help lift a body? Add them to the list.

OSHA's Bloodborne Pathogens Standard (general industry standard 29 CFR 1910.1030) details the specific requirements for your facility's exposure control program and your obligations to all employees with occupational exposure.

Let's start by reviewing the basics of the Bloodborne Pathogens Standard to ensure that your business is meeting OSHA requirements.

Bloodborne Pathogen Standard
Bloodborne pathogens are viruses and bacteria in human blood that can cause disease in humans, including the Hepatitis B and C viruses and the human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV.  Workers exposed to these pathogens risk serious illness. The HIV will survive for only a few days in a body; but Hepatitis B is a relatively common infectious disease that is potentially present in the body of any individual being prepared for burial or cremation and can survive for 30 days or more.

Since medical histories and examinations cannot accurately detect all patients infected with pathogenic agents, universal blood and body fluid precautions should always be used.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration standard was established in 1991 to eliminate or minimize occupational exposure to Hepatitis B virus, HIV and other bloodborne pathogens. The agency concluded that exposure to these pathogens can be minimized or eliminated using a combination of engineering and work practice controls, personal protective clothing and equipment, training, medical surveillance, Hepatitis B vaccination, signs and labels and other provisions.

The key elements of the Bloodborne Pathogen Standard are:

• Exposure determination. Assess the risks of exposure to bloodborne pathogens (generally in the form of potential contact with body fluids) that employees may encounter at their work place. List the tasks and locations where this contact can occur (i.e., cleaning out the refrigerated storage area).

• Written exposure control plan. Establish written policies for protecting employees against exposure to bloodborne pathogens as they complete these tasks.

• Engineering and work practice controls. Establish and regularly update engineering and work practice controls that will control employee exposure.

• Labels and signs. Use required labels and signs to caution employees where exposure risks exist. This does not include public spaces such as crypts or viewing rooms.

• Personal protective equipment. Provide appropriate personal protective equipment to shield employees from exposure risks.

• Employee information and training. Inform employees about the risks identified. Train employees on your specific program to minimize or eliminate the risks associated with exposure to blood borne pathogens.

• Vaccinations. Provide Hepatitis B vaccinations at no cost to any employees who will potentially be exposed as a part of their job.

• Post-exposure follow-up. When an employee is exposed, the employer must provide a no-cost medical evaluation.

• Recordkeeping. Maintain records of employee training, as well as of injuries and accidents related to any bloodborne pathogen exposure in the workplace.

The standard stresses the need to use "universal precautions" in dealing with exposure to potential bloodborne pathogens in the work environment. This means operating under the assumption that any contact with blood or body fluids may result in a potential exposure to bloodborne pathogens—regardless of the diagnosed condition of the source of the blood or body fluids.

Now let's discuss what exactly is involved in meeting the OSHA standard.

1. Exposure determination
Each employer must prepare an exposure determination that lists any and all job classifications in which employees have occupational exposure, and lists all tasks and procedures where occupational exposure can occur. (The fact that your embalmers wear protective gear which protects them during exposure does not mean you can declare that your embalmers are not exposed to bloodborne pathogens.)

2. Written exposure control program
Whenever any employee's anticipated duties may result in occupational exposure to bloodborne pathogens, the employer must establish a written Exposure Control Plan to minimize or eliminate exposure.  The plan must be designed around the concept of universal blood and body fluid precautions. This written Exposure Control Plan must contain at least the following elements:

• An exposure determination (see # 1).
• The schedule and method of exposure control.
• The procedure for evaluating circumstances surrounding exposure incidents.

Employers must ensure that employees have access to a copy of the Exposure Control Plan. This plan must be reviewed and updated at least annually, or whenever new or modified tasks and procedures affect occupational exposure.

3. Engineering and work practice controls
Engineering and work practice controls must be used to eliminate or minimize employee exposure. Where occupational exposure remains after institution of these controls, personal protective equipment must also be used. Engineering controls must be examined, and maintained or replaced, on a regular schedule to ensure their effectiveness. Examples of engineering controls include:

• Establishing needle-handling and disposal procedures.
• Prohibiting eating, drinking, smoking, applying of cosmetics or lip balm and handling of contact lenses where there is a reasonable likelihood of occupational exposure.
• Performing procedures involving blood or other potentially infectious material in a way that minimizes splashing, spraying, spattering and generation of droplets of these substances.
• Placing appropriate labels and signs in the work area.
• Cleaning and straightening areas where bodies are stored or prepared for burial.
• Providing hand-washing facilities.

4. Labels and signs
Appropriate warning labels must be affixed to containers of regulated waste, refrigerators and freezers that contain blood or other potentially infectious material, and other containers used to store, transport or ship blood or other potentially infectious materials.

5. Personal protective equipment.
When there is occupational exposure, the employer must provide, at no cost to the employee, appropriate personal protective equipment. This could include:
• gloves,
• gowns,
• shoo covers,
• laboratory coats,
• face shields or masks and
• eye protection.

Some jobs may require only gloves and eye protection, while others may require a gown, face shield, shoe covers and gloves for full body protection. Personal protective equipment is considered "appropriate" only if it does not permit blond or other potentially infectious materials to pass through to or reach the employee's work clothes, street clothes, undergarments, skin, eyes, mouth or other mucous membranes under normal conditions of use for as long as the protective equipment will be used.

The employer must ensure that the proper personal protective equipment, in the appropriate sizes, is readily accessible at the work site, or is issued to employees. Hypoallergenic gloves, glove liners, powderless gloves or other similar alternatives must be readily accessible to employees who are allergic to the gloves normally provided. The employer must dean, launder, repair or replace all required personal protective equipment as needed to maintain its effectiveness, at no cost to employees.

6. Employee information and training
Employers must ensure that all employees with occupational exposure participate in a training program, which must be provided at no cost to employees and rake place during working hours. Training must be provided at the time of initial assignment to tasks where occupational exposure may rake place, and at least annually thereafter.

Employers must provide additional training when changes in tasks or procedures affect an employee's occupational exposure. Training must be appropriate to the education level, literacy and language of each employee.

The minimum training program requirements include:
• an accessible copy of the regulatory text of OSHA's Bloodborne Pathogens Standard, and an explanation of its contents;
• a general explanation of the epidemiology and symptoms of bloodborne diseases;
• an explanation of your Exposure Control Plan, and information on how employees can obtain a written copy of the plan;
• an explanation of the appropriate methods for recognizing tasks and other activities that may involve exposure to blood and other potentially infectious materials;
• an explanation of the various methods— and their limitations—that can be used to prevent or reduce exposure, including engineering controls, work practices and personal protective equipment;
• information on the types, proper use, location, removal, handling, decontamination and disposal of personal protective equipment;
• an explanation about how to select personal protective equipment;
• information on the Hepatitis B vaccine;
• information on the procedures to be followed when any exposure to blood or body fluids occurs;
• an explanation of the signs, labels and color-coding required to identify hazards; and
• an opportunity for employees to ask questions of the person conducting the training session.

The person conducting the training must be knowledgeable in the subject matter as it relates to the workplace, and be able to answer any employee questions.

7. Vaccinations
Hepatitis B vaccination. The employer must make the hepatitis B vaccine and vaccination series available to all employees who have potential occupational exposure within 10 working days of their initial assignment, at no cost to the employees and at a reasonable time and place. These vaccinations must be performed by or under the supervision of a licensed physician or another licensed health care professional according to the recommendations of the U.S. Public Health Service current at the time that these evaluations and procedures take place.

8. Post-exposure evaluation and follow-up
Following a report of an exposure incident, the employer must immediately make available a confidential medical evaluation and follow-up, at no cost to the employee.

This follow-up must include the identification and documentation of the individual who was the source of the material to which the employee was exposed, unless the employer can establish that identification is not feasible or prohibited by state or local law.

The employer must ensure that all laboratory tests are conducted by an accredited laboratory at no cost to the employee. The employer must obtain and provide the employee with a copy of the evaluating health care professional's written opinion within 15 days of the completion of the evaluation.

9. Recordkeeping
The employer must establish and maintain an accurate record for each employee with occupational exposure, in accordance with 29 CFR 1910.20. Training records must be maintained for three years from the date on which the training occurs.

Cemetery records are a treasure trove of important historic and current information for both families and communities.
This irreplaceable data, once lost, can never be recovered. Or can it?

Hurricane Katrina recently gave us a vivid reminder of the fragility of traditional cemetery records. On August 29, 2005, a 30-foot storm surge at Gulfport, Mississippi, leveled the city cemetery office building, located two blocks from the beach. Where once a sturdy building stood, only a concrete slab remained.

Vicki Parkhill, the city's cultural affairs officer, remembers the storm aftermath: "I arrived at the office and found that the storm surge had washed the building and its contents off the cement slab. I began to cry, because I could not believe this hurricane did this. The records gone—everything gone. Nothing was left. Just a site of absolutely nothing."

Years of plot and operations information, recorded on thousands of cemetery lot cards, was lost. To add to the confusion, the loss of life in Gulfport created an immediate need for cemetery services.

What if this type of disaster—hurricane, tornado, fire—struck your cemetery office? Would you be ready for business again in one day? One month? One year? A data disaster recovery plan is crucial to your business. So what are your options?

Disaster plan options
Basic, low-cost. The most basic and least expensive option is to make simple copies of your lot cards. Cemetery records also can be scanned into computer file "photocopies."  They can be saved in a variety of file formats, including JPEG and PDF. These file types can be opened by most basic computer software for viewing, but not modifying. Store the paper or computer file copies in a fireproof container or room, above flood level.

The key to this disaster recovery plan is to store the backup copies at a remote location. The building down the block may not be in the same fire, but could be struck by the same tornado, flood or hurricane. The remote location must be far enough away from the primary record storage to avoid complete data loss from the same disaster.

The short-term benefit of copying lot cards is the cost. The initial expense is minimal compared to other options. The drawback is the long-term upkeep of the offsite records. The records at the remote location will quickly become outdated, especially financial records. Updating paper backup records is very important, but time-consuming.

Automated. The next level of data protection is to automate your cemetery records with a cemetery management software package. Cemetery management software has the obvious benefits of greater operations accuracy and efficiency.

The disaster recovery benefits are less tangible, but equally important. Cemetery management software usually has a backup function built in that requires only a blank CD or backup tape and the click of a button. With one recent backup tape or CD of the computerized records, a cemetery can recover from total record loss within hours.

The location of the backup media is again important, but much less space is required for storage. Remember to create backups daily or weekly to keep the data current. If you are backing up records only once a month or quarterly, you are not taking advantage of the full disaster recovery benefits of your software.

Remember your maps. Lot cards are not the only records which can be lost or damaged. Cemeteries often rely on multiple maps to track lot locations and owner or burial information.

Imagine your situation if your cemetery maps suddenly disappeared. How many months—or years—would it take for you to go through the lot cards to recreate a complete map?

If your lot cards were also missing, would it even be possible to recover all the information? Creating a backup map should be an important part of your disaster recovery plan.

Many maps are handwritten on oversized paper, with manual color categorization. Photocopies of oversized paper may be available at some printing companies, or a specialized map company.

Check with the company first if you need a color copy; oversized color copying services are more expensive and less widely available.

Store the backup maps according to the same guidelines used for storing the lot card backups, and avoid storing them in direct sunlight. Direct sunlight can deteriorate some types of paper or cause ink to fade.

Smart maps. The alternative to paper copies of cemetery maps is computerized, interactive "smart" maps. Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology, your cemetery can be mapped into a computer file. Combining multiple paper maps prevents data accuracy issues usually associated with referencing multiple maps for a variety of information.

The computerized map is integrated with the cemetery management software for "point and click" access to information formerly kept on maps and lot cards. Even financial records can be linked to your map. The map is then included in the built-in backup function of the software.

Past disasters. GIS maps are great disaster recovery safeguards against future problems, but what if disaster has already struck? Let's say a building fire burned all your cemetery maps and records in 1960, or a vandal removed headstones in 1943. Is there anything you can do now to locate occupied versus vacant burial sites?

If a small number of lots need exploration, digging or probing may be an effective option. However, care and time must be taken to prevent damage to caskets or, worse, emotional damage to family members who find a recently excavated burial site within their plot.

Technology provides larger cemeteries or cemeteries hoping to minimize site disturbance with an alternative to manual excavation. Ground penetrating radar [discussed in detail in the March-April 2004 ICFM] has been used to scan cemeteries that experienced record loss at some point in their history.

The radar scans the ground for inconsistencies and creates of rough outline of objects below the surface. It can outline a burial, a large buried rock, or even a utility line. The map created by the radar can be integrated with an existing, interactive "smart" map. If you need to know which lots are unavailable for burial because of blockage in the ground, or to verify those available for sale, you may want to consider ground penetrating radar.

What did Gulfport do?
So what happened to the City of Gulfport Cemeteries after Hurricane Katrina wiped out the office? By a lucky twist of fate, earlier in the year the city had shipped all of their lot cards and cemetery maps off to a vendor (Ramaker & Associates) for scanning. The lot cards and maps had been returned to the city just two weeks before the storm hit, so they were all washed away.

When she saw that the cemetery building—and all of the paper records—were wiped out, her initial reaction was shock, Parkhill said. "I couldn't think. Then I realized Ramaker had all the cards and maps scanned. I was so excited!"

Parkhill called the company to find out what information the city could get to replace the lost data. Within 24 hours, the city received electronic copies of all documents via e-mail; and within a week, hard copy versions of all lot and burial cards were shipped down to Mississippi.

"What a relief," Parkhill said. "Because there were copies, we'll be able to rebuild and revive our cemetery records." The City of Gulfport Cemeteries disaster is a perfect example of data automation literally saving a cemetery from total record loss.

To safeguard your cemetery's data integrity against potential data loss disasters, which level of protection will you choose? It may depend on your risk comfort level and judgment about costs and benefits, but it is important to have some sort of plan in place. Otherwise, what will you say after a disaster strikes and a client comes in to ask for the location of the plot purchased 30 years ago? Will you say, "I can get the information to you in a few days," or "I'm sorry, I might know next year sometime."

You don't need to set up an eBay store to sell that old equipment you're not using anymore. All you have to do is clean it up, advertise it and-most important-auction it off as a single lot.

WHAT: Do some spring cleaning by selling the equipment you don't need anymore or are replacing.

Spring Grove has one sale a year, near the end of winter. We accept sealed bids, and we make people bid on everything. We used to sell pieces of equipment individually, and what always happened is there were some things everyone wanted and other things no one wanted.

Now, even if you only want four of the 12 pieces of equipment we're selling, you have to bid on all of it. Maybe you resell some of it, maybe you junk some of it. We don't care what you do with it, as long as you get all of it off Spring Grove property by the deadline!

By selling it all as one lot, the amount we get for our old equipment is staggering compared to what we used to get. We can buy three mowers for the money we get by selling our old equipment.

The winning bid depends on what we've got in the mix, of course. If there's a quad (an all-terrain vehicle), or a four-wheel-drive vehicle, people go crazy. They'll bid on the whole lot just to get that quad.

WHY: Equipment you don't use anymore and can't trade in takes up space. It needs to be inventoried. It costs time and money to take it to the landfill—if you eve, get around to doing it. And it's a potential revenue source that's dropping in value every day you allow it to just sit there.

Besides, selling your old equipment to someone who can put it to use is in the spirit of "reduce, reuse and recycle." It's nice that some of this equipment can be put to good use for a few more years instead of being buried somewhere.

As we've already said, selling equipment a piece at a time is not the way to go. This isn't a terribly complicated program, but you do need to do a bit of planning.

1. Know what you're buying and what you can get rid of.   Being able to do this properly is contingent on having a good budgeting process. At the Grove, we know what equipment is being replaced months before we sell it. If you're not sure how many new mowers you're going to buy, it's going to be hard to decide how many of your existing ones to sell.

You might think, "Well, I'll just sell the old equipment off as the new equipment comes in." The problem with that is you'll end up having multiple sales, and you know what rule number 2 is:

2. Sell everything as one lot, auction winner take all. This not only means you won't have any leftovers; it's also a way to clear out some of your old inventory. At one point, we had about 20 push-type blowers that had been in inventory for years, replaced with newer, easier-to-use models. Every year we throw a few into the mix. Sure, some of the bidders say, "What am I supposed to do with those?" Our answer is, "We don't care what you do with them, they're just part of the auction."

There is some equipment you can either trade in or sell outright and get big bucks for—a backhoe, for example. For the auction, you'll be gathering small pieces such as soil-hauling equipment and mowers, of course.

We don't hold a live auction; we accept sealed bids. Since people don't know who they're bidding against, you tend to get higher bids, especially if you have a piece of equipment in the lot that people really want. If you have a John Deere Gator or any kind of all-terrain vehicle, that will draw bidders. And tractor prices are spectacular. If you have a tractor of any size in the mix, you will generate lots of excitement.

3. Put auction conditions in writing.
Tell people the deadline for accepting bids and the deadline for the winner to remove the equipment. We also reserve the right to refuse any bid and give potential bidders a list of the equipment with a note that there is no warranty on any of it—it's being sold "as is." (They are buying used equipment, after all.)

4. Put someone in charge of handling the details. One of our mechanics handles the sale, getting bids and meeting the people who want to come by and look at the equipment before bidding. Usually we get about a dozen bids.

At this point, we only advertise the sale every other year. We've been doing it a while, and we let the regular bidders know when it's time for the auction. You do want to advertise periodically, though, to bring new people into the process.

Early March is a good time to hold the sale. The winning bidder will have time to retrofit that mower or put that new alternator in the ATV before the weather warms up.

5. Be honest with potential bidders. We do clean up the equipment, since making it presentable is going to payoff in higher bids, but we answer questions honestly. “This mower had a problem with such-and-such. We've had those mowers three years, we run them 50 hours a week and we can't afford to take a chance on one of them being out of service for several hours, so we're replacing them. But for the average person who uses a mower two hours a week, they should be good for years."

The guy who has won the auction the last couple of years runs a business cutting grass and also sells equipment.

Every year, usually in April or May, we get calls from people asking if we've got any equipment for sale. We tell them who won the auction.

Even though there's only one winner—and even though the winner has to take some old leaf-blowers off our hands—all the bidders ask to be notified about next year's auction.

You need good employees, of course, but to make everything work right, you also need formal business processes, policies, procedures and automation.

I’m not going to tell you how to run your cemetery; I'm simply going to describe 10 "best practices" based on what we're doing at Rose Hills. It's up to you to decide whether they would work for your organization.

How do you determine something is a "best practice"? We use five criteria:

1. Does it do something for the customer? Does it improve the delivery of products or services for your families?

2. Does it benefit your company? Does this practice help you become more profitable, reduce costs or increase safety?

3. Does it benefit the employee? Does it increase employee morale, or foster teamwork and buy-in?

4. Does it also improve the community?

5. Does it raise the bar for the entire profession and make funeral and cemetery services that much more relevant to consumers?

The Rose Hills Top 10

10. Have in place a good performance management system. You can't hit the target if you don't know what you're aiming at. A good system becomes an effective tool for communicating with your employees.

The system we've been using is built around the job position profile, which is different from a job description.

A job description basically lays out what a job is; the education requirements for it and so forth.

A job profile has three key items: the parts of the job, the standards for doing it and SMART goals. Have you ever heard anyone say, "In my job I wear many hats?" When you're creating a job profile, you're listing those "job hats."

At Rose Hills, the members of my operation team all have very similar job parts, such as operating within budget, or delivering customer service at levels we set for ourselves. Also, all managers and supervisors are expected to always have their safety hat on, so there is a risk management job part.

Leadership is also a major component of their jobs, so we need to identify what good leadership looks like. For instance, are we communicating effectively with our team and our staff?

All our managers at Rose Hills have a human resources development component to their jobs, meaning they're expected to train and grow and nurture their employees.

And lastly, our managers and supervisors have a personal development aspect to their jobs. We expect people to participate in events such as ICFA training, evening classes, the Chamber of Commerce—something outside of work to develop their skills.

Each of these job parts has what we call a job standard. For business management, it might be something like: "Performance is satisfactory when all planned projects are completed on time and on budget. Performance is satisfactory when targeted customer service goals are achieved or exceeded."

Each job part has one or more related job standards, and these typically don't change from year to year. If you're in the same job, what's expected of you doesn't change from year to year.

However, certain job standards will have what we call SMART goals—specific, measurable, attainable, results-oriented and time-specific.

For example, let's say you have a person whose job standard is, "Performance is satisfactory when all assigned projects are completed on time and on budget." That job standard will be the same, whether it's 2006, 2007 or 2008. But the SMART goal for 2006 might be, ''Project X will be completed within budget by June 30, 2006." You want to be able to know whether the goal has been achieved or not.

9. Institute written policies and procedures. Most of our employees really want accountability and standards, and I think written procedures are the way to get there.

There are many advantages to written procedures. They provide some consistency in how the job gets done. They are objective and results-oriented. And they provide a mechanism for constructive feedback and corrective action, and for performance reviews.

There are five key elements we embed in all our procedures:

• Define the job in terms of what success in this job looks like.

• Describe the process step by step.

• List the skills and talents required to do the job.

• Name the specific safety standards associated with that job.

• Include productivity standards.

Having written policies and procedures can also help you in other ways, such as being able to share them with other departments. A couple of weeks ago, we did a presentation for 200 of our preneed counselors about our interment process, and we shared our procedures. The more our employees know about what other departments are doing, the better, and having written policies and procedures makes it very easy to share this information.

Also, we have the policies and procedures for our subcontractors and vendors. We want to make sure they know what our safety rules are, and we expect them to follow our park etiquette standards. Our contractors sign off on that, and we expect them to follow through, or they're not coming back.

8. Keep a focus on career development. You want to hire and recruit, train and retain the best quality people you can, so it's not just a human resources department function, it's an operational management and leadership function to focus on career development.

Examine the diagram at the top of this page. Someone with a low skill level and a very high challenge is going to feel anxiety because he or she can't do the job right. Someone with a very high skill level and a low-level challenge could be bored.

We don't want our employees to be in a state of either anxiety or boredom; we want them "in the zone," where their skill level and job challenge are well matched. Managers need to work with employees and understand where their zone is, and create a career path and career opportunities to keep them in it.

It's difficult to orchestrate opportunities, but it's important. In the past, a new person would come to work at Rose Hills, go through training and rotate through jobs, but not really have a career path.

That wasn't working, so we came up with something new. We developed a career path for all employees based on skill acquisitions. As people acquire skills and experience, they are automatically promoted to another level and have an opportunity to increase their compensation. Our employees are so much more valuable to our organization as they grow those skills. We meet with each person on a quarterly basis and analyze their career development plan to make sure they're progressing.

7. Develop a vehicle, equipment and facilities maintenance program. We have formal written maintenance programs in place. With 100+ vehicles in our fleet, we maintain written records of everything done to each vehicle.

We have five working chapels on our property, and 500,000 people visit them each and every year. It's critical that those facilities look as good as they can. People are forming impressions about Rose Hills, and funeral and burial ceremonies, when they enter our property.

We do a weekly inspection of all our public facilities, everything from the speakers to the AV equipment. We check the restrooms to make sure the toilet dispensers and the faucets are working.

Don't forget your employee work areas. You can tell the quality of an organization by looking behind the scenes. It's important that your employees' work areas are safe and neat and well maintained.

6. Conduct internal inspections and quality control and compliance audits. At Rose Hills, our parent company does annual inspections. Someone comes in unannounced and looks at all our procedures and safety compliance and writes a report. We also have somebody on staff who does this. Not every organization is going to have a staff person who can do this, but if you don't, maybe you can subcontract it out.

5. Fully disclose the nature of services before you render them. We all know about the waivers, disclosure forms, at-need and preneed contracts, general price lists. What I've found is that you have to have these things, but most people don't read them. We try to focus on informal methods of communicating the important things.

Avoid industry speak. Nothing drives me crazy more than hearing somebody say, "I'm looking at Mrs. Smith on her ROC”—using terms that clients don't understand.

Brochures, handouts and web sites are obviously great tools to inform people about the business, but nothing replaces good, strong product knowledge and training for your people.

Also, we're beginning to leverage other influencers in the process-clergy, senior associations, leaders and so forth. Get these people involved, and sometimes they can be your best advocate and explain things to families.

4. Have a good system for resolving customer dissatisfaction. Do you have systems in place that resolve customer dissatisfaction? Statistics tell us that every person who has a problem with a company tells 10 other people—the worst type of advertising.

The most important thing is to address the issue immediately. Customer service issues are not like fine wine; they do not age well. We want our staff to address problems with the family immediately, since that's the best bet for restoring the customer's confidence.

Make sure you listen and get the whole picture before acting. Don't start trying to solve a problem before you've got all the facts. And don't blame others. I had a situation not too long ago where one of our supervisors was solving a customer service problem and said, "Well, the preneed person should never have told you that." That didn't give the customer a lot of confidence in our organization.

Separate the objective problems from the subjective. An objective problem, for example, is a cracked marker, a scratched casket or dead flowers. In those cases, you know what you have to do: give a refund or replace the product.

The bottom line is, do the right thing. I can't tell you how many times we've won the battle but lost the war with customer service. A family has 10 spaces, and we're fighting them over $100 worth of flowers. To try to avoid this, we tell staff, "If you make a decision favoring the customer, you're not going to get into trouble if you err too much on their side."

Of course not everyone who has a problem is going to tell us about it, so we use customer surveys. We ask the family, "Would you recommend us?" We want the answer to be "yes" at least 98 percent of the time.

3. Leverage technology. Walk around the convention this week. It blows you away how much more technology is in our industry than there was five years ago. Make your web site as useful as possible. We do $10,000 a month in flower sales for grave placement, and the family finds the online shop a great tool—they don't have to drive all the way out in L.A. traffic to put flowers on the grave.

We're beginning to use document imaging technology to replace a lot of the old manual recordkeeping. And we're using a park data resource system involving little handheld laptops so our staff can provide information to families in the field.

2. Know thy customer. This needs to be the mindset of all your operational managers. Cemetery master planning, facilities design—everything needs to be built around what you know about your customers.

We know where all our property owners live. We can graph our property owner distribution by zip code. More important than demographic information is psychographic information, which deals with people's attitudes, beliefs, religious preferences and lifestyle. You can do focus groups, survey your families and talk to your employees to get this type of information.

We also need to consider all the people involved in the funeral and cemetery decision process. This includes not only the buyers but also the initiators, who gather information; the deciders; and the influencers, such as clergy and hospice.

All customers have both articulated and unarticulated needs. If customers are telling you what they want and you're meeting their needs, you're not getting any bonus points, because that's what they expect. That's the basic level of service. Pleasant surprises you offer a family—"Wow, I didn't know you did that"—get you bonus points.

1. Put safety first. We've got to have a razor-sharp focus on safety through three different lenses:

• Safeguard the deceased, from the removal to the time the casket is lowered or the deceased is transferred to the crematory. If you have subcontractors, are you inspecting them?

• Safeguard your employees. OSHA requires safety procedures, and we don't view that as a burden. You want your employees to be safe, and they want to see that you care about their safety. We do a lot of safety training.

• Safeguard your visitors. You need to go around you, pack and look for anything that could endanger visitors. Is there a slipping hazard somewhere? Is that construction project properly marked with signs and cordoned off'?
 
Most of the things on this list are not quick and easy. They take hard work, but I can tell you from personal experience that they pay huge dividends. It's a lot easier to grow weeds than it is to grow grass. These things are going to help you grow grass

This article compiled from an address presented by the author at the 2006 ICFA Annual Convention

It should be understood that the following notes apply more particularly to cemetery tracts of the larger sizes, not especially diversified in topography, adjoining the larger cities and in which the first cost of the ground is high and the expenses of development heavy. It may be stated that they are written more especially for conditions where the platted lots represent a cost of $2,000 and upwards per acre, exclusive of buildings, and where the average price obtained per square foot is 75¢ or more; it being understood also that a large proportion of the lot and grave owners are of the poorer classes and necessarily desirous of being as economical in their expenditures as possible.

In those cemeteries where the first cost of the ground and the subsequent development are low, a more liberal allowance as to the sizes in the smaller lots and the space allowed for the single graves will be permissible. It is always to be remembered, however, that every additional foot of ground entails a continuing additional expense for future care; that every foot of ground needlessly used for drives, either by excessive width of the roadway or by providing for more drives than are absolutely necessary, is a serious burden for the future. There is not only the loss of the receipts from the sale of the ground so wasted, but the continuing heavy expense of maintaining the extra driveway, which is very much greater than the expense of maintaining the same area in lawn or shrubbery planted ground.

SECTIONS

The sizes and shapes of the sections will, of course, be determined by the general landscape plan and the layout of the roads; each separate tract surrounded by driveways being considered a section, although it will generally be found advisable to divide the spaces lying between the driveways and the boundaries of the cemetery into several sections by lines cut through the narrower parts. It is not a good practice to arrange for the driving of carts into the sections for the purpose of removing grave dirt and the like and the writer believes it is generally abandoned. For convenience in working, therefore, these sections having, drives on both sides should not exceed 300 feet in width except where the lay of the ground makes it absolutely necessary and on the other hand they should not be greatly less than 200 feet in width, both through motives of economy and from the standpoint of general effect. The sections along the boundaries which have a drive on only one side should not exceed 150 feet, nor be less than 100 feet in width as a general rule.

It is our custom considering the high cost value of the property, to allow only ten feet free space between the boundary sections and the line fence, this, of course, being densely planted to trees and shrubbery. The formal hedge-like appearance which it would otherwise obtain being avoided by running the planting out at intervals, somewhat more thinly, into the lots.

The length of the sections should not be less than three times their width and we find sections 700 to 800 feet long not to be objectionable. The laying out of these long sections saves the loss of ground, the expense of making and the maintenance of large areas of driveways.

Another point to be considered is that practically all the vistas in cemetery landscape are down the drives and the adjacent lots, and the only way that long and attractive views can be obtained is by long sweeps of slightly swinging drives; the adjacent lots being deep, the monuments being placed at the back part of the lot and planting undulating towards and away from the driveways to conceal many of the monuments in the long vistas and partly conceal practically all of them. It is to be hoped; however, in this connection that no cemetery superintendent will attempt to make the final layout of his grounds without calling in the assistance of some landscape architect who has had long and successful experience in, the laying out of cemeteries. No matter how competent the superintendent is or how long his experience in cemetery work has been, his training is in the line of administration and development and the writer believes that in ninety-nine cases out of one hundred the aid of an experienced landscape gardener will be of untold value, not only to the superintendent himself but to those who employ him. It is, not the business of the cemetery superintendent to design a cemetery. His work is to develop the cemetery after the plans are made and to administer the affairs in a businesslike way. He is not an artist but a hard-headed business man. Of course, it is necessary that he have a wide knowledge of the technical parts of the work and thoroughly appreciate the results desired to be obtained from the plans. The work of laying out the cemetery should be done by consultation between the landscape gardener and the superintendent, the former giving his wide knowledge and general experience, the latter modifying the ideas of the former to fit the particular conditions with which he is necessarily so familiar.

LOTS

When the point of the subdivision of the sections into lots is• reached, then the work must be done by the superintendent. Conditions in the different cemeteries differ so greatly that it is impossible to properly and economically subdivide the section without an exact and intimate knowledge of local conditions and of the character and wishes of the people who patronize the cemetery.

In those cemeteries where a large proportion of the lot buyers are well-to-do or wealthy people, the lots, of course, will be laid out into larger sizes and less regard will be paid to keeping them in shapes best, adapted for the maximum number of burials with the minimum use of ground. On the other hand, in cemeteries where a large proportion of the lot buyers belong to the poorer classes the lots must be laid out in smaller sizes, as nearly rectangular as possible and the dimensions so figured as to allow the greatest possible number of burials in the smallest space.

Returning again to the subject of vistas along the drives, the reasons given there make it necessary that the lots adjoining the drives be large ones and that they have good depth; a minimum depth of twenty feet should be the standard and this should be increased to forty feet or more to as great an extent as it is possible to dispose of such large lots. A planting space of not less than two feet should be left between the lots and the drives. This is useful as a place for the laying of water pipes and occasional drains, forms a protection to the lot against vehicles and horses and prevents the setting of any headstone too close to the drive. A wider space up to four feet would be desirable from many points of view, but considering the loss of ground and the expense of maintenance it is not to be generally advised.
 
The minimum depth of the front lot, as stated, is twenty feet. This, with the planting space of two feet, gives a depth to the back of the lot of twenty-two feet and if the monument is placed within a foot or so of the back of the lot and the other lots on the other side of the drive are treated in a similar way, an open stretch of ground of fifty feet or more, including the drive, is preserved unobstructed by monumental structures. Adjoining the front lot and extending back to a four foot walk parallel with the drive should be another lot a little shallower than the front lot perhaps, or of equal depth. The minimum depth, however, of any lot should not be less than 17 feet. This gives space for two tiers of graves with their headstones (16 feet) and six inches between the borders of the lot and the ends of the graves, which should be the minimum allowance, one foot, of course, being better. Where some very large lots are desired and the laying out of the whole outer border into very deep lots would produce too many of the larger sizes, they can be alternated, one lot running clear over to the back walk, being 37 feet or more in depth, the next being cut into two, a front lot of 20 feet and a back lot of 17 feet.

A walk of four feet in width, it will be noted, has been recommended. The writer has found it an absolute waste to layout any walk over four feet in width. This gives ample space for drains and water pipes and as there is no teaming in the sections, there is no need for anything wider. At occasional intervals cross walks are to be constructed, running in as far as the first walk, at right angles with the drive and then going square across the center of the section on lines best adapted to the rectangular subdivision of the inside, turning again at the opposite side of the section to meet the opposite drive at right angles.

Several points must be considered in determining the width of the lots on the drives. It should be understood that all dividing lines between these lots must be erected perpendicular to the drive. The width of the front of the lot where it is desired to make the lots rather small and especially where the drive curves outward strongly, must be fixed by a. minimum width of the inside lot on the walk, as it is to be remembered that setting the dividing lines perpendicular to the drive makes them approach more closely as they come to the inside walk and if the front on the drive is made narrow, the front on the inside walk will be too short. In such cases it will be necessary to space off minimum widths along the walk for the inside lots and let the frontage of the outside ones come as it will by dropping perpendiculars. On the other hand, where the drive curves in, the reverse condition will exist and the minimum frontages must be spaced along the drive and the perpendiculars allowed to strike where they will on the inside walk.

One of the main things to be done in dividing a section into lots is to see at the time that no subsequent grouping or crowding of monuments can possibly occur. Where a large demand exists for small lots, it is an excellent practice to layout alternately two wide ones and then two narrow ones, the narrow ones to be sold with the agreement, which is entered in the deed, that no monument shall be ever erected upon them. In this way a large number of very: desirable small lots can be provided and yet the general appearance of the grounds be in no way injured. Our practice in the cheaper parts of the cemetery is to make these small lots 8½ or 11 feet front in the narrow part. By placing burials close together this gives three graves in width and allows a six inch space between the outer graves and the lot line. An 8½ foot front by 17 feet deep will give six graves with headstones. We do not in practice, however, layout anything less than 18 feet deep. In the larger lots grave spaces of 3x9 are allowed and from that on up to 4x10.

When this part of the work is decided upon and the lots staked with temporary wooden stakes, we have a planting space of two feet wide running entirely around the section, a lot 20 feet or more in depth back of that, another lot 18 feet or more in depth further back and adjoining it, and a walk four feet in width running entirely aroui1d the section and parallel with the drive, connected at convenient intervals by cross walks with the drives. These lots, will none of them be square, although where the drive does not curve very much, they are approximate rectangles and the stronger the curve of the drive the more wedge shaped they will be. Enclosed by this walk is the center area of the section and the aim should be to divide this area into rectangular plots of sizes adapted to meet the requirements of the lot buyers. Unless this part of the section is very desirable and is well elevated, it is proper to subdivide it into small lots, in so far as they are needed. Our own practice in regard to very small plots, that is three and four grave lots, is to layout lots 17 feet front and 18 feet in depth. These can be re-divided into halves, making two 6 grave lots, or .into quarters making four 3 grave lots, or into two spaces 9x11 and one space 6x18, making three 4 grave lots; all of these small lots, of course, to be sold without the monument privilege. A lot on which a monument is to be erected should not be less than 20 feet in depth and the maximum frontage should not be less than 11 feet. This width is almost too narrow, however, unless on each side of the lot a no-monument lot is laid out. Two monument lots 11 feet front and adjoining each other will bring the monuments less than 10 feet apart, which is certainly an objectionable practice. In the no-monument lot the size of 11x19 covers an 8 grave lot, or 13½x18 covers a 10 grave lot. 11X20 and 13½x20 make monument lots of similar capacity. In the better parts of the ground 12X20 is a more desirable size for an 8 grave lot and from that on up.

Careful planning is necessary to avoid, as far as possible, triangular lots or lots with long, sharp, tapering corners. Of course, some spaces of this kind will be unavoidable, but it is our practice to cut off these sharp corners and throw the small triangles into the walk, leaving spaces which can be planted with shrubs or used for waste receptacles if surrounded by shrubbery. In practice each lot, of course, is given a frontage on a walk and if two lots are 18 feet in depth this will make the walks 36 feet apart. Cross walks, of course, must be provided at intervals. We have not found it necessary to make cross walks closer than 200 feet apart, and have not found 240 or even 250 feet very objectionable. One point to be remembered in the laying out of all lots is to have no curved lines. Curved lot lines as laid out by the surveyor by the swinging of a radial line, are very objectionable and very difficult to re-establish after monuments and headstones are erected on the lots. If the drive curves very strongly so that a straight line drawn from corner to corner of the front leaves too much width in the planting space, one or two points may be set in along the roadway two feet from its edge and straight lines may be drawn connecting them, the idea being to have every boundary line of a lot a straight line which can always be verified and the points replaced if necessary. In the case of a circular section, which, by the way, is an abomination, points may be set at frequent intervals, maintaining the circular edge of the roadway but making the lot an octagon or similar figure. Small triangular sections, which are always to be avoided when possible, or if they are used must be sold at a very high price in order to reimburse for the waste ground and the additional driveway, may be laid out by erecting perpendiculars from the center of each of• the three sides to meet at a middle point, making three lots. The pointed ends of other sections may, of course, be thrown into one lot in this way. 

In laying out walks, due regard must be had for the general direction of the travel. If the natural course of visitors is lengthways of the section, then the walks must be run largely lengthways, otherwise paths will be worn across the lots. It should be born in mind that every foot of ground in a walk is not only a loss but a constant future expense for care, and much study must be given to so laying out the lots that the minimum amount of ground will be wasted in walks.

After all the lots are staked temporarily, a rough plat or sketch of the section should be made, the lots given their proper numbers, and concrete corner posts prepared and set at the outside corners, or such other markers as may be decided on. The inside corners may be marked by white topped terra cotta markers. The plan in force for marking lots with us, which has worked exceedingly well and saved much time by reason of the visitors being able to find the lots without having some one sent to show them the way, is to have the outside corner posts made eight inches square (we should reduce this to about 6 inches, however, except for the sake of uniformity, having started on the 8-inch basis). Each marker contains the word "Sec." and the number of the section. In addition to that the word "Lot" is twice repeated and the numbers of two lots, it being set one-half in each lot. In this way the visitor, by finding one corner stone, knows immediately what section he is in. The stones are made of concrete 18 inches deep and are faced off like a cement sidewalk; the letters and figures are properly assembled in a form and pressed in at one operation. The expense of these posts, set in place, of course, flush with the ground, is about 35¢, dependent largely on the cost of material, with labor at $2 per day. It is very strongly to be advised that all corner stones be made and set at once. The work can be done very much cheaper if all are set at once instead of setting one by one as the lots are sold; there is no subsequent trouble over the loss of stakes, no subsequent variation by errors in replacing stakes with the stones and if the work is done in this way the final surveying, measuring and platting of the lots can be left until the permanent markers are in. In addition to this it will be found a great convenience in showing and selling lots and make it possible to largely avoid the exceedingly annoying error of showing a man one lot and giving him a deed for another number.

If the cemetery is laid out into 200 foot square, the intersections, of the lot lines with the lines of those 200 foot squares can be noted, the lots then measured up and platted very readily.

SINGLE GRAVES

Single graves are of two classes--the common single grave which is designed to be sold at the very lowest possible price, and the select or preferred single grave which is practically a small lot for one interment. The less desirable parts of the grounds should be selected for single grave districts, and preferably they should be adjoining the boundary of the cemetery and in a location where the visitors to the lots will not pass them. They should, also, if possible, be so located that the crowds of people going to and from the single graves will not be tempted to cross other sections and wear paths in the sod. A very large area should be provided, if possible, to cover all needs in common single graves for many years. This should be of sufficient width to take 50 or more adult graves side by side and should adjoin a drive. A very good practice is to call this one large lot and to subdivide it into long strips at right angles to the drive. These strips are of sufficient width to take an adult grave and headstone; that is, 8 feet in width and if calculated for 50 graves should be 125 feet long, 2½ feet being allowed for each grave space; rough boxes in this locality running 26 or 28 inches wide. Of course, where the general run of adult rough boxes is wider, more space will have to be allowed.

These tiers are numbered generally from the south line of the lot north, as Tier 1 North, Tier 2 North, etc.; the graves in each tier being numbered from the driveway. An 8-inch square stone is set along the drive at each tier, marked "Sec. -, Lot -, Tier I North," etc. and another similar stone should be placed at the other end of the tier. By stretching a line between these two stones, all the graves in the tier can be carefully lined up and the headstones can easily be set in the proper location. The grave spaces being accurately maintained, if it is desired to find any grave in the tier, no matter if all stakes and other markers have disappeared, it is simply a case for careful measurement.

The graves in the tiers are to be marked with round cement or tile markers, each marker bearing two numbers; the number of the tier above, which will be the same for each grave in the tier, and below, the number of the grave in the tier, which, of course, will vary for each grave. The description of any grave is entered in the grave receipt as follows: "Lot _, Section _, Tier __ North, Grave __”.  With this description and a little explanation it will be found that the grave owners can in almost all cases locate the grave they are looking for, thus saving a very large amount of time in the future which would otherwise be used in pointing out the location.

It will be noted in this article that the writer pays no attention to laying out the grounds for the burial of bodies east and west. In the locality of Chicago the old idea that all bodies should be buried due east and west has been abandoned and no attention whatever is paid to the points of the compass. The lots face in all directions and the burial is made entirely with reference to the conditions of the individual lot.

Headstones, of course, in the single grave sections will be kept very low, preferably not over six inches high, will be limited to one foot in thickness and not less than six inches and should be made six inches narrower than the width of the grave; that is, 24 inches, or less.

Between every four tiers, that are 32 feet apart, four foot walks are placed for drains, water pipes and access. Of course, this system contemplates that no mounds whatever shall be raised on the common single graves. The burials are begun at the point farthest from the drive and progress towards the drive, to avoid passing over the graves already buried.

The select or preferred graves are a higher priced proposition and should be of larger area and may be in better locations. We have found it a not bad proposition to take small lots here and there in the cheaper sections of six or eight grave, capacity and divide them, selling them out singly. They being so few in number and being maintained in the same way as the lot graves, they have not been found to be objectionable. (These graves are numbered on the same plan as the common singles; that is, the description of any grave will carry the lot and section number and will be Tier __ North, East or West as the case may be, and Grave __, North, East, or West, as the case may be.

* * *
The laying out of lots and single grave districts is not a matter in itself of great difficulty, although it requires accuracy in the making of the final plat and very careful study. Bad judgment used in this work is costly, either when it causes waste of ground or when it results in an awkward and inconvenient layout. After the plat is recorded and sales are once started in the section no changes can be made, hence the maxim to be observed is "Make haste slowly and study carefully."

The foregoing, as stated in the beginning, applies largely to the laying out of lots in cemeteries where the ground is fairly uniform in its character. The more broken and diverse the character of the sections, the more will the superintendent be compelled to vary from thee plans suggested here. It will be found very difficult to sell a lot which lies lower than the adjacent walk or drive hence it is evident that where there are depressions in the shape of small gullies, walks shall in all cases follow them. Where circular depressions exist, in grading the section they will, of course, be filled to a certain extent. It is an axiom that no part of a section should be so graded as to allow water to stand upon it.

Of course the superintendent will take advantage of mounds and desirable parts of the sections to lay them out in large lots and will be guided by the slope of the ground in setting his stakes and in facing his lots. In a general way the less desirable parts of the sections will be cut into small lots and the more desirable the ground the larger the lot this simply as a plain business proposition. The prominent parts at intersections of the drives should be laid out into one or several large lots and if the point of the section is quite sharp it will be advisable to cut back the lot some little distance and use the space so left out for the planting of shrubbery. 

PRICING

While not coming strictly within the scope of this paper, the pricing of lots is intimately connected with it and a few words may be advisable.

The writer does not believe in pricing lots to the customer by the square foot. Separate prices should be fixed for each lot as a whole. These can be arrived at by fixing a square foot basis for a certain section or for parts of the section, estimating the area and obtaining the price in that way, adding a little to the prices of the more desirable lots and perhaps deducting a little from the lots which will be less readily saleable. For instance, it will be found that lots on the drive or on an elevated part of the section will be sold very readily and in order to prevent their being taken up immediately the section is placed on sale, a material advance must be made in the price of such lots, the general idea being to price each lot according to the sale ability. It is our practice to increase the price of the lots bordering on drives about 10 to 15 percent to add about 10 percent, to corner lots or to lots having a walk on two of their sides. In the smaller lots it is also the practice to add about 10 percent, to a lot on which a monument is allowed over that on which one is not allowed, or if it is not desired to increase the total price of the section, an advance of 5 percent could be made on the monument lot and a reduction of 5 percent on the lot on which no monument is allowed; That is a good proposition in several ways. In the first place it costs more to care for a lot with a monument on it than one on which there is no monument. In the second place it is well worth while to offer inducements to the small lot owner to dispense with a monument.

The writer is not averse to a reasonable number of monuments of good design and material in a cemetery and believes it will be found impossible to prevent their use. The monument is with us and with us to stay. The evils of the monument are good monuments badly placed; bad monuments, that is, of poor material or faulty design, wherever placed, and the crowding of monuments. The poor material and the faulty design are found largely in the cheaper class of lots and the classes of people who buy these lots have a strong tendency to save on the size of the lot and put the money into a monument, thereby frequently making the monument just that much more hideous and unsightly.

I would not be understood as taking the position that a small monument cannot be just as attractive and just as artistic as a large one. In theory they can be, in practice they are not.

PLATS

It is well to adopt a standard scale of all plats. Perhaps the best scale for the original plat is one of 20 feet to the inch. Larger than this becomes unwieldly and a smaller scale does not allow sufficient space. The original plat should be made on a first class quality of cloth backed paper and all construction figures should appear thereon. From this a tracing can be made for record, and in this connection it should be noted that, in the state of Illinois, at least, a severe penalty is provided for those who fail to have a plat of each section recorded with the public recorder before making sales. For working plats, blue prints, etc., a reduced plat to the scale of 40 feet to the inch may be made. A copy of this on tracing cloth with the lines drawn somewhat heavier and the numbers and dimension figures also made heavier, may be reduced photographically for a zinc etching at a very small expense and this can be printed from' very cheaply, thus making it possible to furnish each lot owner with a plat of the section in which his lot is, so that he can readily locate it without having to take the time of the employees in showing him where it is.

From the publication:
AACS - Proceedings of the 23rd Annual Convention
Held at New York City, NY
September 14, 15 and 16, 1909

Immediately subordinate to a board of trustees or directors there are usually found in a cemetery organization, a treasurer, a clerk and a superintendent and sometimes an engineer, each directly appointed by and responsible to the board.

The superintendent usually divides his employees into gangs according to the nature of the work they are to do. Thus he has a foreman and a gang whose duty it is to clean the roads, another to dig graves, a third to cut grass, a fourth to put in foundations, etc., the size and number of the gangs depending upon the volume of business.

When one in his first bereavement goes to one of our large cemeteries to arrange for the burial of a beloved one, a man called a salesman helps him to select a lot, another takes his order for an interment, a third receipts for his money, a fourth whom he may never see again lowers his best beloved into the grave and later a gang of mowers cuts the grass as often as the superintendent thinks necessary and the financial policy of the board permits.

A large cemetery so administered seems to lack heart, while the small, cemetery where the superintendent comes directly into touch with his lot owners, has the advantage of a personality which makes for good and somewhat lessens the sharp pangs of death.

To efficiently administer the affairs of a cemetery it would seem there should be a large board of trustees, who should meet about once in six months to hear reports and determine the larger questions of policy.

This board should appoint an executive committee of say five members, who should meet as often as once each month. The executive committee should select an executive officer who would be responsible for all the duties usually devolving upon: the clerk, treasurer, superintendent and engineer. This executive officer, by whatever title known, should hire and discharge directly or indirectly, all employees of the association and his word should go in the office or on the grounds.

As far as practical the men on the grounds should be worked not in gangs but as individuals. For instance a man should be given a part of the cemetery, say a section and it should be his business to cut the grass, water and care for the flowers, clean the roadways, and at the same time to check any unseemly conduct on the part of visitors. He should know the location of each lot on his section and it should be his duty to render any little assistance in his power to any of the lot owners on his section. In short it should be his business to know his lot owners and to be a favorite with them.

A number of contiguous sections should constitute a division and of course the number of divisions would depend upon the size of the cemetery. Each division should be placed in charge of a foreman, or perhaps a better name would be "Division Superintendent." He should with the approval of the executive officer hire and discharge the section men and instruct them in the performance of their duties, and keep their time. He should attend all funerals on his division, and be responsible for the neat appearance of the opened grave, the orderly conducting of the funerals, the closing of the grave, the placing of the cut flowers after the interment and the removal from the lot of all material used at the burial. He could of course call upon the section man to help him and in this way both he and the section man would be enabled to remember without effort the names and locations of the more recent interments and afterwards to readily respond to inquiries from friends or relatives.

A book of rules definitely defining the individual and general duties of each employee would be a great aid in promoting a feeling of individual responsibility for the general welfare of the whole cemetery.

In Lake View good discipline is largely enforced by a committee of the employees originally selected by them.

Complaints of lot owners are referred to this committee and report is made to the next monthly meeting of the employees and if anyone has been at fault the committee states the case and announces the assessment of a small fine, which is paid into the employees' sick benefit fund.

It is also the imperative duty of certain employees and it is the privilege of all, to report to the committee any mishap, delay or other circumstances that may appear to be detrimental to the welfare of the cemetery.

The fundamental idea upon which we are working in Lake View is to develop individualism as opposed to gangism in the management of employees, resulting in a federation of small cemeteries, thus adding the good points of the small organization to the numerous advantages possessed by a large enterprise.

From the publication:
AACS - Proceedings of the 17th Annual Convention
Held at Rochester, NY
September 8, 9 and 10, 1903

Since my arrival here in the effete East, I have been subjected to a good many good natured serio-comic remarks about the subject I have chosen for my paper. In self-defense I have decided to inflict upon you a preliminary chapter.
 
One gentleman said to me: "I suppose when you wanted to organize a cemetery out West, you just killed somebody, or turned loose the James or Younger boys, or a tribe of Apaches, or a Kansas cyclone, or a band of cowboys and the cemetery started itself."

Now this is not true, if it ever was. Everybody who dies out our way now must have a regular certificate, and the causes of death appearing thereon read very much like yours, I presume. The tomahawk, bowie knife and six-shooter no longer appear. Ante-mortem conditions have changed. Instead of the bandit, the cowboy and the Apache, we have the doctor, the lawyer and the preacher and the over-sympathetic old neighbor, whose husband died the very same way. The bacillus finds more victims than the bad man from Bitter Creek; the merry microbe succeeds the mirthful cowboy; the greedy germ and numerous other microorganisms frequently get on the warpath and cause more trouble than Geronimo's braves; many people lose their vermiform appendix, but none their scalp lock. Christian Scientists treat more patients than the Indian medicine man. However, I am without data to enable me to give comparative results.
 
Another gentleman from way down East, gravely informed me that beyond the Mississippi, in that part of the country which, I presume, is still marked on their geographies as the Great American Desert, it is only good form for people to die with their boots on and rely upon the coyotes, jackals and turkey buzzards for final arrangements. This is another mis¬take. Post-mortem names and conditions have also changed. Instead of the aforesaid, we, like you, have the undertaker and the hack-man, the lawyer and the preacher, the florist and the monument man, the sexton and the cemetery superintendent, the administrator and the surrogate or probate judge. And they all get theirs.

About the only advantage there is in dying out West, is that after these are all done and there is anything left of the estate.  New York State does.

The West is surely behind on facilities for cremation. The nearest crematory to the Great American Desert is at St. Louis, making it neces¬sary for the few advocates of that method for the disposal of the dead, to travel long distances sometimes.

Not long since, a disconsolate widow from Topeka was returning from St. Louis with the ashes of her deceased fourth husband in an urn, as a part of her hand baggage. She had for a neighboring passenger a maiden lady from either Boston or Rochester; I do not just remember which. The Eastern lady, noticing the evident distress of the Topeka widow, sought to comfort her, and inquired the cause of her sorrow. Upon being told, she became quite agitated and exclaimed that here she had lived sixty-five years without any husband, while this woman had husbands to burn.

Nature provides wondrous and devious ways to regulate and control the population and depopulation of the earth and the Indian, the cowboy and the bandit were but cogs in the wonderful mechanism of nature's regu¬lator.

Death may be more important to the world than life. Wars may be blessings. Pestilence and famine may make for good. An epidemic of breakfast foods may not be an unmixed evil. The automobile may be doing its deadly work in the interest of humanity. Fire and flood, Fourth of July and football may all be elements in nature's great economy, to provide room for generations yet unborn. Let us prove it by a mathematical demonstration.

Rural New York claims the best high schools and academies and col¬leges in the world. It was in one of these, not far from Rochester, that I learned to figure and almost learned to believe figures will not lie. We shudder at the loss of life during Caesar's wars, which occurred about 2,000 years ago, or sixty generations of 33 ⅓ years each. Let us suppose that two more people had escaped death in these wars, and that the ratio of increase for these two was 1½ per generation of 33 ⅓ years each, which does not seem unreasonable, even in these days when we hear so much strenuous talk about race suicide. A simple mathematical formula, worked out on the basis of these figures, shows that the increase from this pair would have added to the population of the earth at the present time, 73,560,000,000 souls. This would make it somewhat crowded for us, and we may have abundant reason to thank Caesar that no more of them got away.

So the calamities of our generation become the blessings for those yet to come. It is safe to assume that nature's laws will continue to operate to keep the ratio of increase of population within proper limits, and the cemetery may be regarded as a permanent institution, and should be or¬ganized accordingly.

The question of cemetery organization seems to be important, yet we hardly ever hear it discussed in detail among cemetery people, so I have chosen this subject, knowing that I will be expected to say but little about it. In fact I do not dare to say much, for I might give some detail away and some superintendent might be led, in the heat of discussion, to tell something of which his governing board might not approve.

The organizing of a cemetery now is a different proposition from that of 100 or even 50 years ago. One hundred years ago only about 3 percent of our population lived in cities; 97 percent was rural. The burial of the dead had naught to do with business. Sympathizing hands prepared the body for burial; one kindly neighbor made the coffin, another dug the grave, the best vehicle in the community carried the remains to the church yard, where free interment was made. The grave was marked and cared for by kindred people, until finally lost in the blissful oblivion of weeds and forgetfulness. In all this there was no thought of pay or gain. Now 40 percent of our population is urban, most of the rest is suburban.

Under present conditions, when death occurs, friends and acquaint¬ances ride in the carriages, offer advice, sympathy and flowers, but seldom anything else. The disposal of the dead has become a business proposition. Most undertakers make a modest charge for their services. In fact, I believe they are made safe in most states by being made preferred cred¬itors. The minister who officiates wears, at the proper time, an expectant look above his clerical necktie. The liveryman usually renders a good sized bill and his drivers belong to the union. The florist expects more profits from funerals than weddings. There are more of them. It takes two to make a wedding, one only to make a funeral and besides some do escape matrimony. While I am decidedly averse to saying anything about our good friend, the doctor, candor compels me to admit that he looks you up in Bradstreet and makes his charge for what he thinks you or your estate can stand then adds a percentage as a factor of safety. The lawyer who breaks the will is usually satisfied with one-half of the estate, if it is quite large. A lawyer out our way, after lying a long time at the point of death, finally died. His trusting wife placed upon his memorial the inscription: "A lawyer and an honest man." One of our old plantation darkies, noticing this, remarked with evident surprise, "I wonder how they came to bury two people in one grave." The price the monument man names indicates that he never expects to get another opportunity, and wishes to make the most of this one; and so all along the line, until we come to the cemetery, we find everything connected with mortuary affairs organized on a basis of financial profit. But we find cemeteries organized in divers and wonderful ways. We have them on the basis of poverty, politics, patriotism and pri¬vate greed, charity, church, city and corporation, lot owners mutual; some mutually strong, others mutually weak. Nothing seems to be settled; no particular plan seems to be accepted as best. All are subject to more or less criticism.

The ownership and operation of large cemeteries by churches has been practically abandoned, except by the Catholic Church. No other one de¬nomination having the compact membership, the perfect discipline and splendid organization to successfully handle larger cemetery propositions.

Cities can and do own and operate cemetery properties. Municipal ownership offers some advantage. The city's credit can be used to secure the money to purchase the necessary ground and provide for initial im¬provements. The general fund is handy to make up any deficit that may occur. Too often, however, the city cemetery receives either too much or too little attention from the city authorities. Mayors and aldermen are looking for patronage, and some of them do not hesitate to prostitute the highly honorable positions of superintendent or sexton, and others, to po¬litical purposes.

I heard of a case down east somewhere, where a large number of men were needed in the city cemetery just before a close election, but were not needed long after and the dominant party was accused of voting them all, besides a good many names from the memorials.

At best, public sentiment is apt to be fluctuating and spasmodic, and the cemetery suffers in consequence. In any case, while many of the older city burial grounds are very well conducted and cared for, very few, if any, cities are establishing new ones.

Probably one half of the cemeteries in the United States are conducted by an organization or reorganization of lot owners. The governing boards consist of a number of good natured old gentlemen who have no financial interest in the proposition, but who are benevolently inclined enough to be willing to help by having their names printed on the list of trustees, but can seldom be gotten together to attend to the cemetery's business. Not getting anything out of it themselves, they sometimes fail to grasp the mag¬nitude of the financial proposition they are called upon to administer. I have heard some superintendents complain that they expected to have a $1,000,000 proposition handled by a $1,000 superintendent.

The elasticity of the organization of lot owners' cemeteries has in most instances enabled them to reorganize on broader business and financial lines to meet modern requirements.

A large majority of the larger cemeteries started in the last fifteen years have been organized as some form of private corporation. Some of these have been organized, as commercial propositions pure and simple; others, as a matter of public necessity, by public-spirited citizens, who in¬corporate, in order to more properly finance and more perfectly secure and maintain the interests of a large public enterprise. This method of organi¬zation seems to be more a matter of necessity than choice. Large cities are not establishing new burial places.

The modern cemetery requires too large an initial expenditure for a lot owners' organization. The cemetery is, as we have seen, more and more of a business proposition, Hence, modern methods of business and finance must be applied to it. Some people object, for sentimental or superstitious reasons, to cemetery investments. I knew one man who said he was willing to take money won at poker, bet on a horse, race, or gained by speculating in wheat, but he'd be hanged if he wanted any made by a cemetery investment. His trouble was more superstition than an over-heated conscience.

The first cemetery of which we have any account in holy writ was strictly a commercial proposition. Sarah, the wife of Abraham, had died in Hebron. Abraham demanded of the sons of Heth possession of a burying place with them. They offered him a choice of all their sepulchers without charge. But Abraham, with laudable pride, wanted a burial place of his own, and proposed to pay for it. He wanted the cave of Machpelah, which was in a field owned by Ephron, the Hittite, and he said to Ephron, "I will give thee money for the field, take it of me and I will bury my dead there." And after some further parley .about price, "Abraham weighed upon Ephron 400 pieces of silver, current money with the merchant, and the field of Ephron and the cave which was thereon, and all the trees that were in the field, that were in the borders round about, were made sure unto Abraham for a burying place by the sons of Heth."

The modern cemetery for the use of a large or rapidly growing city is a larger business and financial problem than the field of Ephron.

It should have ample grounds, say from 200 to 500 acres, not too near the city, but easily accessible by modern means of transportation. It should be large for several reasons, First, to meet requirements for 100 years; second, to provide plenty of room for park spaces, ornamental planting and like Abraham’s burying place, "to have trees in the borders round about"; third, to protect itself from new competition; fourth, to provide a large and permanent endowment fund for perpetual care, after sales of ground have ceased; fifth, to protect itself from condemnation, in consequence of the rapid increase of urban population.

Small cemeteries are constantly in danger, in or near large cities. And above all, perhaps, it should be large so that a policy to prevent overcrowd¬ing may be adopted and no danger from a sanitary standpoint may ever present itself. The evils and scandals arising from small and overcrowded burial places became so intolerable in the large cities of Great Britain, that in 1855, an act was passed by Parliament closing them all, with but few exceptions.

Burial within the limits of cities and towns is now almost everywhere abolished and at a very, large expenditure of money London and most of the chief provincial towns have outside cemeteries, which are under the supervision of local burial boards and of inspectors appointed by the government.

France has gone through the same experience. In consequence of the cemeteries of Paris being more or less crowded, a great cemetery with an area of over two square miles was laid out in 1874, sixteen miles north of Paris. Every city and town in France is required by law to provide a burial ground outside of its limits, properly laid out and planted, and in which each interment must be made in a separate grave. This last re¬quirement is not always followed in this country, where land is plentiful.

The large grounds being secured, they must have extensive initial im¬provements. While all of the property is not to be improved at once, yet a careful expert study should be made of the property as a whole, and a general plan for systematic and complete development must be outlined. A system of roads must be constructed; a system of drainage must be es¬tablished; a water system must be provided; perfect grading, shaping, sur¬facing, sodding and seeding of grounds enough for twenty-five years must be completed; an intelligent and extensive scheme of planting must be started, and a nursery should be planted for raising hardy ornamental shrubs and trees. Greenhouses-- but better wait awhile until you have to have them. Elaborate entrance or entrances must be provided; chapel and receiving vault must be built; a number of other buildings must be erected, such as suburban railroad station, administration buildings such as office, stables and tool houses, superintendent's residence, sexton's house, gate keepers' lodges, etc. Oftentimes local conditions require the construction of bridges, culverts and artificial lakes and waterways. Modern conditions seem to tend more and more toward forcing the cemetery to enter into competition with itself and establish a cemetery.

These grounds and improvements have to be perpetually maintained and cared for, an expense still greater than and just as important as the cost of initial improvements.

This must be provided for in the original financial organization. Bearing in the mind the idea of perpetual care and the fact that a cem¬etery proposition is a permanent investment, all the work referred to must be of the very best permanent character. The buildings, entrances, bridges and culverts must be of stone; the roadways of the very best macadam; the drainage system, including gutters, intakes and discharge pipes, must be of ample size and of the best material and workmanship and so on with all the improvements.

The purchase of this ground and the making of these improvements require a large initial expenditure, which, in order to secure the per¬manency of the burial place should not rest as a debt upon the ground.

To do all this you must have the help of the almighty dollar. Talk is cheap, but if you do things of this sort, they would tell you out West "You've got to have the stuff."

Three hundred acres of ground located, as I have indicated, would cost in the neighborhood of $250,000 ;$250,000 more would not make very elab¬orate improvements for a complete cemetery proposition when compared with older cemeteries, making a total of half a million dollars. Allowing 20 percent of the ground for roadways, parking, etc., the remaining 240 acres at an average of $1 a square foot would come to over $10,000,000. We have then, at the outset, a financial proposition of considerable magnitude, even in these days. It should be approached as such, and be properly financed along business lines. How shall it be done?

As I said in the beginning, I knew I would not be expected to say very much about cemetery organization, but I may venture to call atten¬tion to several facts in connection with it, which you already know. To summarize:

The nation, with the exception of a few patriotic cemeteries which it owns and splendidly maintains, pays no attention to cemeteries, or their regulation. Under our form of government, the cemetery would be con¬sidered a local matter and be left for the jurisdiction of the several states, but the states as a rule have no cemeteries and in many cases exercise very little control over them. Cities are quitting the business, and by condemnation for sanitary or other reasons, are causing others to quit. One church only, or possibly two still control cemetery affairs.

The lot owners' organization does not seem to be compact and power¬ful enough to project large, new, modern burial places. Private, individ¬ual ownership does not insure perpetuity and seems gruesome and out of place.

With the rapid growth of city population, a great many large burial places will be needed in the future. The present time seems to mark an epoch in cemetery history. Present conditions are forcing a public utility of the first importance into the hands of private corporations or stock companies. And this is being done without any adequate provision for the protection of public interests.

The citizen has as good a right to demand of the state, protection for his cemetery interests, as for his banking interests. We all have business with the cemetery. Just a few of us have much with the banks. If cemeteries must be conducted by private corporations, it seems just that the state should, by proper legislation, see to it that in the organization and operation of cemeteries, the interests of the public are protected. The public has a rightful interest, for instance, in the perpetuity of the ceme¬tery, and general legislation to secure that protection is desirable. Laws might be enacted, fixing the minimum size of burial grounds for cities of different classes, regulating location well without city limits, and pro¬viding that the grounds shall be entirely dedicated free from debt to ceme¬tery uses forever and that no encumbrance can ever be placed upon any portion of the ground. A larger degree of protection from condemnation should be provided. The proceeds from the sale of ground must provide for current maintenance, perpetual care and interest on and payment of original investment. The public then has an interest in this entire fund, and an equitable distribution of it to secure each of those results should be provided for by law. The matter of records is a proper subject for state inspection and control. It is a lamentable fact that in many of our larger and well kept cemeteries, the earliest records are foggy or uncer¬tain, and in some instances, lost entirely. A complete system of surveys, platting, duplicate or triplicate interment records and plat books kept at different places, should be made compulsory.

That the force of public opinion may be allowed to act for the pro¬tection and benefit of the cemetery at all times, the utmost publicity as to financial matters should be provided for. Some of the states have abso¬lutely no legislation upon any of these and other important points which should be outlined in the original organization of cemetery corporations.

It seems to me that this association might be able to accomplish great good by the appointment of a committee on legislation, to investigate present laws, study legislative requirements and make a report showing legislation needed, if any. The association could then throw the weight of its growing influence in the direction of public good. If this can be done, I will gladly refer the whole subject matter to such committee for consideration and shift the burden of any more of this paper from your shoulders to theirs.

From the publication:
AACS - Proceedings of the 17th Annual Convention
Held at Rochester, NY
September 8, 9 and 10, 1903

Various kinds of work performed in the large cemeteries of today have come about by a sort of an evolutionary process.

There was a time when the first church graveyard or the township plots with its ten by ten lots were probably aligned by the eye or chord line, and the sexton or near by neighbor could tell from memory all buried therein.

Today it is somewhat different. The lots are designed to fit the contour of the ground and the landscape effects should be most pleasing to the eye. After all it is the living we must please, and a visitor may be so attracted to a certain spot that often times leads up to the sale of the lot in advance of the need.

As I am assuming that all of us here are connected with cemeteries already established, and instead of dealing with an entire new proposition I shall devote my time more to the designing of a new section or that phase of the work.

Cemeteries of any importance should have in their possession a topographical map showing the contours, and the proposed roads, water mains, sewers, etc.

Before constructing a new section it is advisable to first build the road way around it, or at least bring the road to such a point that will be accessible to the section.

There should, be a great deal of consideration given to the roadways as they are a very important factor in the cemetery, the grades and curves should be well worked out. Catch basins should be set at certain intervals depending upon the width, grade, and slope if any on the section. Very steep grades are unbecoming as well as dangerous, and I would say that grades above seven per cent should be avoided and if at all possible hold down to five percent. All drives or roads on a curve in a cemetery boulevard, or elsewhere should be built with a super-elevation, i. e; the outside of the curve should be higher than the inside. This not only makes driving safer but saves the roads as well and will not mar the landscape when properly constructed.

I would like to digress here a moment and call your attention to some of our roads at Lake View Cemetery. We have between six and seven miles of macadam roads; as they were built a great many years ago the surface has been worn off in a great many places. During the past month or two we have tried out a few new schemes—on one stretch of about 1500 feet in length we have resurfaced with a material called Kentucky Rock, or some call it Kirock for short.  On another stretch of about the same length we have resurfaced this with a material known as Amacite.

On your trip tomorrow afternoon these two roads are near the Garfield Memorial, and we will be very glad to go into details of the laying of this material and any information that you care to have along that line.

If we are to have good landscape sections then there must be good roads to produce a harmonious effect which would be pleasing to the eye as one rides along the curved drives leading to or by lakes, ravines, or things of interest.

In designing sections, a great deal of thought should be given to this part of the work—long before a section is needed it should go through the mental stage of construction, even in this stage it may often be torn down and rebuilt. It would be advisable to visit the proposed plat of ground occasionally, and each time approach it from a different angle. Sometimes it may be well to do some free hand sketching. In doing this one will unconsciously acquire a mental photo of the future section.

After this is well established in one's mind, all trees or anything else that might hinder in the plan of burials should be accurately located. This will aid greatly in the designing of lots and should be platted accordingly. Nature has provided our land well with trees. In this part or the country our cemeteries contain many such specimens as the Oak, Maple, .Elm, etc., occasionally in undeveloped parts there maybe a large space that has no trees. In places such as this and others, a  few of the ornamental type might be considered, such as the Ginkgo, Pin Oak, Taxodium, Oriental Plane, or something on the order of the Purple or Copper Beech for color effect. There are many places where these types would be fitting and would not only be in contrast to the general shade type of tree, but would give an artistic effect to the section as well.

Before allotting a section a study should be made of its location as to its surroundings, etc. If one of the remote sections laying somewhere along the border tine it may be better suited for single grave allotments or a part of it for two or three grave lots. If on the other hand it should be the select part of the cemetery which would bring the highest price, an entirely different scheme should be worked out.

It would not be advisable to adhere to hard set rules in platting a section as one plan may require an entirely different scheme from another based on its location, and the contour of the ground. Each one must be a study of itself. In all events there should be a three root reserve strip on the border of the section. In this strip the water mains can be laid, and is a much better place than in the roadways, In case of a leak a repair can be made and the road will not have to be dug up or traffic interfered with. There may be occasions to lay telephone or electric cables an which this strip again becomes useful.

In the average section the first tier of lots back of the reserve strip may be ten or twelve feet in depth then followed by nine foot tiers with a three foot walk. 

It should be kept in mind that in platting the lots to provide for walks in which water lines can be run in which any lot can be reached with a hose on a fifty foot radius, and if it can be so arranged there should be only one drip for the entire section at the lowest .point. There should be a three inch drain in the same trench with the water pipe to take care of the waste water from the hose connections and goose necks where lot owners may have access to the water.

Monument lots should vary in size as well as the small lots which do not permit monuments. These lots should be kept back from driveways as much as possible to be in keeping with the park plan scheme. It gives the monuments more of an individual setting where planting can be used for a background which not only adds to the beauty of the monument but enhances the general landscape as well. Some have gone so far in cemetery designing to suggest that all stone work be eliminated to make it a beautiful park. I think this is overstepping the line somewhat, and is contrary to a deep rooted sentiment of a long time custom to mark the last resting place of those who have gone before. There will be parks, and there will be cemeteries, but let there still be a distinction between the two.

The distance from the road to the farthest lot in which pall bearers would be expected to carry should be given consideration. Probably 150 feet would be a maximum distance. Often times in a very large section it is advisable to run an eight foot service drive through the center in which funerals would have better access to the lot. This would also give better service to the gardener and grave digger in the handling of materials to and from the main drive.

A word or two about drainage may not be out of place. No one wants to bury their loved ones in a wet grave. A section or part or a section that would be inclined to be wet should be drained. This should be done during the course of construction after the rough grading has been done. When the allotting plan has been decided upon, the drains should be so arranged that they will pass through the lots where needed. It is also well to use plenty of cinders to insure better drainage.

The modern cemetery or course must have cornerstones with numbers upon them indicating upon the ground the boundary or lots. This is not only essential, but a great help to the salesman, lot owner, or employees in locating the lot. All corner stones should be furnished by the cemetery, and placed in the ground before the section is opened for sale.

The section or sales map should have all the data noted thereon as to the prices and sizes or all lots, as well as restrictions or whatever nature regarding the section. All details regarding the condition of sale, rules, etc., should be thoroughly explained to the new-coming lot owner, so that there may be no misunderstandings or hard feelings later on.

The selling of burial lots is nothing new; we might go back to Gen. 23: 15-20, where it tells us that "Abraham buried Sarah his wife who was 127 years old, and paid Ephram 400 shekels of silver for the cave in which to bury Sarah." Here we have the first purchase of land and a record of burial. It is very essential to keep an accurate record not only of the burials but all permanent fixtures that go into the ground, as well as on top, because sooner or later information may be wanted by the lot owner regarding past burials. Future improvements maybe made from time to time in which connections must be made to water mains, sewers, etc., which have been recorded in the past. A card index system giving the lot owner's name as well as those that have, been buried on the various lots is a very essential record to keep. From this it is quite convenient to answer the many quarters from the lot owners as to the location of their relatives and friends and often times their own lots. The various cemeteries seem to have their own system of keeping record of location of burials, headstones, etc. Some use the lot diagram book, and some the card system. A few of the larger cemeteries however, record this information as well as other, upon large sheets drawn to a scale. These sheets represent a plat of ground 150 ft. x 200 ft. Lots when platted upon these sheets not only show the adjoining lots but show all those near by, and have been found very useful in an explanatory sense, especially when arranging for burial with a lot owner who is not very familiar with his lot. As stated before, all permanent fixtures are recorded on these sheets, and with the proper index it is very convenient to locate anything, and the whole territory in question can be seen at a. glance. At the intersection of the base lines which represent this block, a permanent monument can be placed upon which is a number, corresponding to the number of the block. A map or record of elevation upon the various monuments will be found quite useful from time to time, especially when working up new territory.

There have been several schemes suggested and tried along the lines of advertising cemetery lots. Newspaper ads etc., may be all right to introduce a new proposition, but an established cemetery upon a running basis can do no better than interest people by its attractive landscape and good service, worked out from a well studied plan.

In many of the cemeteries a lot holder is considered a member of the association or corporation. In this way they take a greater interest in more ways than one, and will undoubtedly be a booster in their community to get their friends to join with them in the self same interest.

Gladstone, England's great statesman; who measured people by their cemeteries once said, "Show me the manner in which a nation or community cares for its dead, and I will measure with mathematical exactness the tender sympathies of its people, their respect for the laws of the land, and their loyalty to high ideals."

In conclusion it might be said that "cemetery engineering” after all, involves more than the use of transit and chain, as they only play a small part, yet are very useful when the proper time comes for their use in development work, whether it be new sections, roadways, buildings of various kinds, etc. These problems as well as many others require a great deal of methodical deliberation in studying out the various suggestions that come up. It has been said that work well planned is 51% complete, therefore it is absolutely essential that plans be prepared, and be given very careful consideration that later on when fully executed, they will show forth the idea finished in reality, which will be admired by those of like minds, as well as those of the community, and visitors as well, and will prove that time and money have been well spent.

From the publication:
AACS - Proceedings of the 41st Annual Convention
Cleveland, OH
August 22, 23, 24 and 25, 1927

There are in the United States two monthly Magazines SYSTEM and MOTOR devoted to business and each month they both have articles by business men on the methods of accounting and methods they have found successful in obtaining custom. There is also in each Magazine a red hot story of a successful strategy whereby some large contract was obtained or a good customer recovered by the head of the firm who showed the boys how to do or a story by the cub salesman who thought it all out by himself: Oh! The story is beautiful and the method of obtaining customers succeeds so well, but THEY DON'T WORK FOR ME! And so I may present to you sources of income which succeeds so well at my Cemetery but may be of no use to you.

In displaying to you the sources of income that appear to me open to a Cemetery I expect only to speak of those which relate to the operation of a Cemetery and do not include ordinary farming or market garden operations for at West Laurel Hill Cemetery there are no sources of income which are not directly applicable to any Cemetery. West Laurel Hill Cemetery Greenhouse sells nothing outside the Cemetery. Anyone can run a Greenhouse; anyone can be a merchant for anything and a Cemetery can grow and market potatoes or spinach or any farm product—it can hire its gardeners out to care for private places as West Laurel Hill Cemetery has often been solicited by its lot holders to do (but never has allowed) but all of these sources of income are outside the scope of this article, as they are open to anyone—but legitimate sources of income for a Cemetery are those open only to a Cemetery.

The sources of income open to a Cemetery as I see it may be put under twelve heads and several sub-heads:
First-Courtesy
Second-Persistent Advertising
Third-Psychological Salesmanship
Fourth-General Good condition of Cemetery
Fifth-Sales of Burial Rights
(Lot sales)
(Single Graves)
(Community Mausoleums
(Crematory & Columbarium)
Sixth-Inculcation of the idea that the Cemetery in which is his lot is HIS Cemetery rather than the Cemetery of the selling Company.
Seventh-Institution (and addition to it from each sale) of a fund the income from which shall maintain the Cemetery.
Eighth-The institution and inculcation of individual ENDOWMENT of the individual lot holders own lot:
Ninth-Burial Charges
Receiving Tomb Charges
Rental of Special Mausoleums instead of use of Receiving Tomb
Charges for digging graves and usual attention at a funeral
Charges for special grave structures
Charges for grave and dirt pile decoration and use of tents, etc.
Removal charges from grave to grave or as ordered.
Tenth-Income from construction of foundations and work connected therewith, as corner post holes and derrick guy line posts.
E1eventh-Greenhouse work
Bouquets, cut flowers and floral designs
Christmas designs and decorations
Faster and Memorial Day floral requirements
Flowerbeds
Planting Graves
Sodding and grading
Special trees    
Special yearly care of lots and
Talking up endowments:
Twelfth-Endowments

In presenting to you after twenty-seven years of Cemetery work the sources of income that appear to me open to a Cemetery, I expect only to speak of those which relate to a Cemetery and do not touch the farming operations which may be proper for the outlying or undeveloped parts.

First. Courtesy-I put courtesy and a spirit of interest in everyone coming to the Cemetery as one of the best sources of income a Cemetery can have—in the early days of West Laurel Hill Cemetery.

Yes! In the very early days when West Laurel Hill Cemetery was so far from the haunts of men that anyone could be excused for saying “Where is it at? I mean in the years 1869 to 1876. The Secretary at the City Office was a man who was courtesy itself; Listen to you, hear all about your life and remember it!! and yet he was always putting the Cemetery where the talker remembered it—Did his hours spent with aunt Jane and cousin Mary pay? Yes. They paid. By courtesy I do not mean an outward overflow of hand shaking and what I may call palaver, but that indescribable something which bespeaks interest in you. No matter if it is a child—no matter if it, is the poorest owner of a single grave—the child or the poorest owner of a single grave may have the word to say to some wealthy person "Go to West Laurel Hill Cemetery." Yes!! I see you say that is a low reason for courtesy-true!! But you want to see behind the scenes and I am showing you. I know whereof I speak—indeed, I have known of people once poor to become rich and the warmth of the courtesy shown them when poor made them a client, ah! That's a word!! Made them a client when rich.

Second. Persistent Advertising. Where—When—How. At West Laurel Hill persistent advertising through the last forty years has been by a two or three line ad in one or two daily newspapers and by a small pamphlet scattered broadcast over the city from the City Directory by mail—it pays—in one particular case the lady who bought a $500.00 lot told us she had thrown our pamphlet in the ash barrel and then, the next day, fished it out again. Again, and most important of all, West Laurel Hill Cemetery advertises by the persistent bombardment three times a year of lot holders and all whose names and addresses it is possible to obtain connected with lot holders; you come to our office and ask to see the lot or grave of John Smith—at once or as opportunity offers we get your name and address and relationship to John Smith and send you advertising matter three times a year.

Third. Physiological Salesmanship: What is it-Well! It is just the reverse of the psychological purchase of a horse. When you are psychologically purchasing a horse, you can see more defects in that horse than you can find after you purchase him—when you sell physiologically, you are weighing every point of the customer for that inkling of how high he will go—It is not his clothes; it is not the paint on his auto—it may be a sigh—it may be a hesitation as you walk by a lot—it is feeling the pulse of the prospect and at last perhaps shooting far ahead of his supposed mark so as to back gracefully down—it is saying—this lot is $15,000.00 dollars and noting an indescribable delay—perhaps be says to his wife—"How will that suit you Mother"!! The tone is enough—after that if you look at another lot you say, "It is not as good as your lot" clearly meaning the $15,000.00 lot. What is Psychological Salesmanship—it is so hard to tell—I give it up. You can cultivate it and never know you have it.

Fourth. General Good Condition of Roads and Lawns: Of course the appearance of the Cemetery will influence the prosperity of the Cemetery but there is often a neatness and evidence of care although all the grass may not be cut to hand mower shortness and the condition of roads and edging may vary in accordance with the locality; but neatness and evident care of the Cemetery are a source of income.

Fifth. Sales of Burial Rights.
Lot Sales
Single Graves
Community Mausoleum
Crematory and Columbarium

In most cemeteries the greater part of revenue from Lot Sales and in some communities the income from Single Graves is a source worthy of consideration but in Philadelphia I know of no Cemetery where it is worth considering and in my own Cemetery, West Laurel Hill, only 387 single graves have been disposed of in forty-eight years.

In regard to income from Community Mausoleums, Crematory and Columbarium, I am not in a position to speak as my own Cemetery has none and there is only one small community Mausoleum in or near Philadelphia and only one small Crematory and Columbarium which are under a society rather than in connection with a cemetery although the Society does own a few acres and sells lots. It may not be generally known that the Community Mausoleum was widely exploited as early as 1875, the idea then being, however, that the building would be in the built up portion of the city or on a lot in the city, entirely unconnected with the Cemetery.

Sixth. Inculcation of the idea that the cemetery in which is his lot is his cemetery rather than the cemetery of the company from whom he bought his lot.

A wise and successful owner of a department store in Philadelphia told people to come in, make yourself at home, the store is yours—but until his time such was not the fashion; the idea has spread until at lunch counters and such places, little watch seems to be kept of what people take. If we can get our lot owners to think of the cemetery as My Cemetery and not as belonging to he West Laurel Hill Cemetery Company—he will be a good missionary for the Cemetery. Some may say that the idea of ownership leads to the claim for privileges which would ride over all reasonable rules and' to read some Cemetery pamphlets it would seem as if the pages should each be headed with the good old German Sign "Es ist verboten".

Of course, the guiding hand must be there and the restraining and guiding must be done through our first heading COURTESY which is ever working from prospect of a sale to the grandchildren who may, and often do, endow a lot. And now I must touch on a point which will seem great heresy to many of you and that is that nothing awakens the feeling of affection and a desire to spend money for flowers and care of the lot as does the grave mound. Ah! My fellow members of the Association of American Cemetery Superintendents do not allow yourselves to believe you are true economists from a Cemetery standpoint when you smooth out your lots and destroy the evidence of burial. You are cutting the ground from beneath your feet—you are destroying a perpetual source of income. Trouble!! WHAT IS TROUBLE? You say a grave mound is in the way of your lawn mower—you say a grave mound burns out in summer: But if you will cultivate your lot owners and their sons and their daughters you can get orders to plant and replant the grave mounds and those you can't get orders to plant and replant stand you in good stead to show the awfulness of neglect. My friends, a thousand grave mounds mean several hundred dollars profit a year when you work it in the right manner—WORK!! Oh yes work—perhaps our positions would fade away if we did not and do not work. Mrs. Smith says "Look how nice Mrs. Jones' graves look—"I cannot be behind her!!!" This PROFIT on grave mounds will go on for years and will grow and grow.

Seventh. Institution and Maintenance of a fund the income from which will provide for the future care of the Cemetery—this fund to be IN TRUST with a reliable Trust Company and out of the hand's of the changing Cemetery authorities. West Laurel Hill Cemetery has from the first sale of the lot laid away ten per cent of the purchase money to form with like sums from all, other lot sales a Permanent Fund, we call it, income from which is and shall hereafter be applied to the care of the Cemetery, its roads, walks, buildings and appurtenances and, as a matter of fact, as far as it will go to the care of lots. The money so laid away is placed IN TRUST with Trust Companies (Fifty Thousand dollars to one and then Fifty Thousand to another). This fund now amounts, July 1st, 1925, to $350,731.53. The founders of West Laurel Hill did not know who would follow them as managers and were quite aware that a man might be a first class Cemetery manager and a bad financier. So the managers were relieved of all care of the principal of the PERMANENT FUND—the interest and income being paid the Cemetery Company for the care of the Cemetery.
 

The Permanent Fund for any lot is not added to the selling price but is paid by the Cemetery Company itself as agreed in its deed to the first lot purchaser and with all purchasers after him. As you can see the Permanent Fund is a great source of income to a Cemetery and a little arithmetic will tell you that West Laurel Hill Cemetery with a permanent fund of $350,731.53 will receive within a year at only five percent, an income of $17,536.56 from this source alone.

Eighth. The Institution of Individual Lot Endowments and inculcation of the fact that the lot holders lot should have a fund or endowment placed IN TRUST, the income to be for the upkeep of his property—HIS lot separate from the Cemetery General Fund. In all the States of the United States there are laws against trust in perpetuity except trusts which apply to Cemeteries and the care of cemetery lots. Seeing from the early years of our Republic that the European law of primogeniture held land and money in one family, to the detriment of the general public, our laws forbade such a course and no one can will their estate beyond their grandchildren; grandchildren cannot be denied the right to do as they choose with an estate received from a grandfather—however, our wise lawmakers, seeing every man must be allowed his burial place, and having in their hearts the feeling of us all, yes! Even us Cemetery Superintendents, that the place where our family is buried should be cared for FOREVER, have so shaped our laws that a fund may be left in perpetuity for the care of a Cemetery lot. At West Laurel Hill Cemetery we assiduously cultivate the placing of an endowment (as we call it in distinction from the Cemetery Company's Fund for the Perpetual Care of the Cemetery) for the care of the lot owners' own lot; and so successful is the system that in six months of 1925 we have received as follows:

January, 13 endowments totaling    $20,477.13
February, 7 endowments totaling        3,300.00
March, 12 endowments totaling        7,750.00
April, 10 endowments totaling        2,750.00
May, 10 endowments totaling          11,200.00
June, 18 endowments totaling            7,910.00

And in 1924 there were 107 endowments totaling $59,527.75. We have now 874 endowments totaling $528,891.25 besides hundreds of endowments placed separately with Trust Companies under the Wills of lot owners. If the lot is not endowed before his decease as soon as the lot owner is buried we send the heirs or the heir whom we know best a suggestion for an endowment and follow this suggestion in a proper manner until an endowment is made or the matter fails for the time being-perhaps another burial of a son or daughter of the lot owner will awaken a grandson or granddaughter to create the fund. The endowment when received is placed IN TRUST with the other endowments, all the endowments being lumped into one fund. When interest is paid, the proportional interest due each endowment is placed to its credit in the endowment ledger and each year a bill is rendered against each endowment just as our bills are rendered to our living customers. The West Laurel Hill Cemetery Company and the West Laurel Hill Cemetery Company TRUSTEE FOR ENDOWMENTS are two separate and distinct persons. The Bank account of the endowment income is, of course, a separate and distinct bank account from the Cemetery Company Bank Account. I cannot say too much in regard to ENDOWMENTS as a source of perpetual income to a Cemetery as lifting off the Cemetery Funds the care of lots and steadily producing income from the profit in doing the work required by the ENDOWMENT.

 
Ninth. Burial Charges:
(a) Receiving Tomb Charges
(b) Rental of Special Mausoleums
(c) Charges for digging graves and usual attention at funeral
(d) Charges for special grave structures
(e) Charges for grave and dirt pile decorations
(f) Charges for use of tent
(g) Removal charges

(a) Receiving Tomb charges after deducting cost of entrance of body and interest on the investment, upkeep and cleaning are not much of a source of income but the Receiving Tomb at West Laurel Hill Cemetery is, nevertheless, a great source of income. Family reasons often make it proper that the final interment should be delayed; for such eases the Receiving Tomb offers a temporary resting place and the Receiving Tomb is a feeder for sales.

(b) In 1911 the West Hill Cemetery Company built three Mausoleums for rent at a cost of $3,000.00 and from the time they were ready for occupancy they have never been vacant, except one at a time for a month; the rental charge is at the rate of $25.00 a month for each Mausoleum, being an income of $900.00 a year on an investment of $3,000.00. In 1921 we built three more of much better quality at $35.00 per month each and they are never vacant—indeed we have had a waiting list—an exchange from the Receiving Tomb being made to a Mausoleum as soon as possible. The construction at these Mausoleums was brought about because a prospective customer wanted to rent nine crypts in the Receiving Tomb so that there might not be anyone near his wife—but the Cemetery Company could not grant this request fearing the crypts might be needed.

(c) The charges for digging graves and usual attendance at funerals are a source of small revenue at West Laurel Hill Cemetery, far smaller on analysts than lot holders suppose—the margin of profit is often a loss as the ground at West Laurel Hill is often stony and men frequently work all night. However, it would seem absurd' not to mention these charges, but in my Cemetery we often write the profit on the ice.

(d) Grave structures as brick graves, whether enameled brick or plain red brick, concrete and brick and all the various structures, including concrete tombs or over boxes, all have a profit for the Cemetery.

(e) Charges for graves and dirt pile decorations in the many and various forms used throughout the country are all sources of profit.

(f) Some cemeteries charge for the use of tent and chairs. West Laurel Hill Cemetery does not charge for a tent; however, a tent is erected without charge in very inclement weather but never for clear winter weather or high wind.

(g) Removal charges might be included under the digging of a grave except that the profit on removal charges is greater per removal than the profit from a grave at the time of a funeral.

Tenth. Income from Construction of Foundations and Work Connected Therewith. In West Laurel Hill Cemetery all excavation and all foundations and exterior walls of vaults below the ground level are done by the Cemetery Company—all foundations are eight feet deep—the depth of a grave—and may of course, be deeper. There is a profit from this work, the percentage varying with the size of the work.

Eleventh. Greenhouse Work:
(a) Bouquets, cut flowers, floral designs
(b) Christmas designs and decorations, Easter and Memorial Day floral requirements
(c) Special yearly care of lots
(d) Sodding and grading
(e) Grave planting
(f) Flower beds
(g) Special trees
(h) Talking up endowments

All the above items at West Laurel Hill Cemetery come under the greenhouse. The greenhouse salesroom and the office are under one roof and it is hard to tell where one begins and the other ends—they lead up to each other. Special yearly care of lots is a heavy item at West Laurel Hill Cemetery; grave planting is a heavy item and flower beds also are an item of profit and the greenhouse work leads up to that important item of which I have spoken before.

Twelfth. Endowments: If I am placing emphasis on endowment of lots—special trust funds whose income is only to be used for the designated lot—it is because, like interest, it is working all the time. The income will continue long after we are dead and not only lift the expense of caring for that lot from the Cemetery, but will give a profit year after year. The solicitation for endowments is going on all the time at West Laurel Hill Cemetery even to the great grandchildren of the original lot holder. The money from a sale soon disappears but the income from an endowment will go on and on.

Gone are the living, but the dead remain
And not neglected, for a hand unseen
Scattering bounty like a summer rain
Still keeps their graves and their remembrance green.
Longfellow.

From the publication:
AACS - Proceedings of the 39th Annual Convention
Chicago, Illinois
August 24, 25, 26 and 27, 1925

In the few years in which I have been in charge of the business of our cemetery and a member of this Association I have watched with considerable interest the papers presented to the conventions and the various topics that appear in our magazine "Park and Cemetery". Organizing, planning, landscape, management, rules and regulations, care, accounting, advertising and laws affecting cemetery operation have all been freely discussed and with much benefit to us all. But there seems to be one subject above all others in which practically all modern cemetery men are most interested, and that is Perpetual Care and how it can be provided for.  I believe those two words "Perpetual Care" are about the most commonly used words in our modern cemetery business.

I know they are words that have different meanings to some of us, depending upon the age of our own cemeteries, and how the term applies to them. But I am not here to talk to you on this point for I realize that each of us have a problem more or less different and distinct from the others. Whether or not we have perpetual care provisions in any of the various methods to which the term applies, we probably are convinced to the last man of us, that in this day and age it is absolutely essential that our cemeteries be properly cared for so that we shall not be guilty of the disgraceful neglect that has characterized the past.

I think, too, that we are all pretty well convinced that the purchase price of ground should be sufficient to provide its proportionate share toward the up building of a trust fund for the maintenance and perpetuation of the entire cemetery. That, of course, would be the ideal condition under which. to operate, and is a condition that prevails in the affairs of some of our largest and best cemeteries, especially in the larger cities where the percentage of sale price as applied to the care fund is immediately sufficient for this purpose.

But, perhaps there are others here like myself who are realizing that in selling ground with the promise or contract, of perpetual care we have taken on an obligation that might some day become difficult of fulfillment. In other words, we have sold our ground for too small a price, and thereby sold more of it than necessary, and as a result we have increased our burden for all time to come.

A small price must, of necessity, yield but a small fund, for we all know that from our annual sales there must first come the bulk of our annual expenditures. To most of' us in the smaller cities high prices for cemetery ground are out of the question. We are just as ambitious to have our cemeteries beautiful and provide the best care possible but we cannot obtain the prices that will do these things and also add sufficient to the care fund.

This is exactly the situation that we face in our business at Freeport, Illinois. We have been operating for 23 years one of the most beautiful cemeteries in America and have from the beginning sold all lots with perpetual care provided. Our fund at present is far less than it should be, amounting to but about 5 1/10 cents per foot of sold ground. When there is added to this sold ground its proportionate share of the upkeep expense of the whole cemetery it shows how ridiculously small it is. During the earlier years of our business there was a ten percent deposit to the trust fund and later this was increased to twenty percent.  This latter figure most of you would say is a fair proportion of sales to devote to the fund and I believe is used by many cemeteries. However, when you consider that with our prices advanced each year we are now obtaining only sixty to ninety cents per foot for ground you will readily understand why it is still too small to accomplish what a trust fund is created for.

Shortly after assuming charge of our cemetery I began to wonder just how large our fund would become under the plan; what the perpetual care of the cemetery would require in interest earnings and whether, after all our ground was sold, it would be in any way adequate.

We were drawing all interest from the fund annually to assist in caring for the cemetery so that the fund could be increased only by the sales installments we placed to it. Therefore, for example, when our property, which consists of a little over one hundred acres, had possibly totaled sales of three million dollars we would have but six hundred thousand dollars in the fund.

In endeavoring to estimate our needs I find that some of our cemetery men have reached the conclusion that there should be at least fifty cents per foot in the trust fund. This seems more than necessary until we consider that it is not merely the individual lot that will sometime be dependent upon the interest earnings but rather the entire property, of which the general or public parts may be the more expensive in maintenance. Looking into the long, dim future none of us can tell just what the costs of operating or rather perpetuating our cemeteries will be, so that all we can do is try to provide abundantly and trust in the future conditions.

Studying over the problem, I decided that even if at sometime we were to obtain sufficiently large prices for our ground there would yet remain all the ground already sold that had not contributed its full share to the fund. There can be but one solution to this problem of inadequate apportionment to the fund and it is through the assistance of compound interest.

I have prepared printed copies of a sheet of figures that I worked out and these will tell you more than I have time to tell you here. I have here also a chart of some of the results obtained by my method of building up a trust fund' which is now to be adopted by our Association. The surprising figures will show you that we will cut our deposits in two, create a vastly larger fund and draw out more interest than under the simple 20% plan.

There are four uncertain factors in figuring as I have done. We do not know just what acreage or footage will be developed from the property we own; how long it will take to sell it all; how much may be sold each year and what the prices will be. And so for a basis of figuring I begin with estimated sales of twelve thousand dollars a year as an average for the next ten years and increase it one thousand dollars every ten year period, estimating that it may take 150 years to sell out. I have assumed that five percent is a fair expectation of interest earnings. Both our old and new methods are therefore figured alike as to sales and interest. No consideration has been given to the cost of administering the fund either way tor it is rather negligible as compared with the total earnings.

To begin at the beginning of our whole program regarding our Perpetual Care Fund. We are incorporated as Oakland Cemetery Association, though in fact we are but a stock company and are not in any way operating under any laws of the state governing cemeteries. If we interpret the laws correctly, we, as a profit sharing corporation cannot set aside a perpetual trust. We therefore propose to incorporate a voluntary lot owners association which will nave for its object the care of the trust fund and finally the perpetuating of the cemetery. This association will be empowered to create and elect a Board of Trustees, this Board to have the actual control of the Perpetual Care Fund. The further purpose of this second Corporation is to prevent the stockholders of the Cemetery Association having any chance to recall any or this entire fund.

Agreements will be made and recorded, between the operating company and the lot owners association which will set forth the methods and purpose of creating the fund and defining the conduct of both parties for all time. Each and every deed given for lots will carry with it enough of a contract for the ten percent of the purchaser's money to make it binding on both associations. Our attorney believes he can in this way make a three cornered contract that, as he expressed it, "no man on earth can ever break."

The application of the ten percent of sales will be made as long as ground is sold, so that, for as long as there shall be lot owners alive, there may be expected to be interest manifested in the project from these lot owners. Beyond that time a competent court will have to appoint the Trustees.

Each year the Trustees will retain two percent interest on the total fund as of the first of the year. To offset the loss due to inability to re-invest the odd amounts of earned interest to the last odd dollars and cents, the installments from sales shall be paid over to the Trustees semi-annually. The actual investing of the fund shall be through one of the largest Trust Companies in Chicago and all investments will be ratified by our local Board of Trustees. The Secretary of the Cemetery Association shall be the Secretary of the Lot Owners Association, thus providing the latter Association with a working officer who will always be in a position to look after its affairs.

I have figured various other compound interest schemes for long periods of time only to discard them when they failed to produce the desired result. We cannot afford to appropriate to the fund much more than we have in the past, and so I finally found that by using two percent as the compounding figure we would actually be saving something to ourselves for some years to come. Then, gradually, it will turn to a loss to us until the interest earnings mount up to a considerable figure when it will again begin to show a balance in favor of the cemetery.

The printed copies show only figures for each five years but to arrive at these it was of course necessary to carry out the entire scheme for each year. Some of the interesting items from the detail of the yearly figures are as follows:

In the 48th year of our new plan shows its first gain in the total amount in the Trust Fund and in the 115th year it is double the amount in the old plan. In the end it is more than three times as much.

Each year, in the beginning, shows a result in favor of the cemetery, decreasing yearly. The Total gain up to the 14th year is $6,033.27. The following year the result is in favor of the trust fund and it continues so until the 85th year during which time the operating income has suffered a loss of over $58,000.00. In this 85th year it again begins to add to the operating revenue and as the two percent interest earnings are now beginning to build up heavily, the gain of operating revenue increases very rapidly until at the end of the 150 years it shows a net gain over the losses of $544,937.11.

In speaking of loss or gain I mean that in the old plan we take all the interest earned. Under the new plan, we take all interest over the two percent which is returned to the fund, also the ten percent of sales which we do not place to the fund. The difference between these two incomes produces loss or gain to the operating revenue.

I know that the statements on this chart look like a paradox, but strange as they may seem they are nevertheless true. We will put in half as much, build possibly three times or more as big a fund and draw out more in earnings.

Now, there will be a provision made that whenever the fund has reached a total equivalent to fifty cents for each foot of ground that has been sold and that fifty cents per foot appears at that time to be sufficient, the compounding rate may be decreased below two percent by agreement of the operating association and the Trustees.

We have formally adopted the entire plan as I have outlined it to you and our attorney is now engaged in the work necessary to the perfecting of the Lot Owners Association. We have gone at it with much thought and we are satisfied that it will guarantee to our lot owners the full meaning of Perpetual Care. If there are others like us, whose fund is too small to represent the amount of ground already sold, I believe they can find in our plan a way to improve their fund slowly and surely, without lessening their income. If you cannot apply from your sales price enough to be immediately sufficient, there is no other way than through compounding a portion of your interest, to keep faith with your lot owners.

A comparatively small initial fund, invested and compound in g at its full interest earnings would in a like time produce an ample fund, but it would yield no annual returns for the care of the sold ground. It may seem queer too, that we should add to our fund an amount from lot purchasers money which would be much less than what we would withdraw from the fund but in this we are following the belief that people are really not much interested in anything that has not east them, something and we earnestly solicit the interest and aid of our lot owners.

We desire that our people shall think of the cemetery as a community affair and cooperate with us in making and keeping it forever beautiful, well cared-for and absolutely permanent.
 

From the publication:
AACS - Proceedings of the 39th Annual Convention
Chicago, Illinois
August 24, 25, 26 and 27, 1925

After twenty-seven years active management as Superintendent of Oak Hill Cemetery, the best I can do is to recall what has been accomplished in that time and to whom the credit is due.

I am a firm believer in evolution in some things and the manner of conducting a cemetery is one. I claim no great credit for myself, but prefer to give it to those with whom I have come in contact during that time. To take over an old established cemetery and work it over to meet present day demands was no light job.

Before beginning my work I took a survey of my surroundings and set about making necessary changes and here is where I feel that much credit is due others. A visit to Cave Hill Cemetery, Louisville, was the first trip made and Mr. Robert Campbell, Superintendent, shall always be remembered for the many courtesies shown me by making suggestions as to changes that were advisable. Next, a visit to Spring Grove, Cincinnati and there I came in contact with William Salway, who in turn gave much valuable information as to cemetery management. Between the two, Mr. Campbell and Mr. Salway I hardly know which to give the most credit.
 

After I began digesting what I had learned as to what a cemetery superintendent should be and do, then the size of the job I had assumed began to dawn upon me and evolution set in. Everything from the office to the smallest detail in the yard had to be overhauled. I had much prejudice to overcome as we gradually changed the manner of doing things and we are such creatures of habit that it goes against the grain to make a change, however advisable.

One change was to do away with filling graves in the presence of the family and friends, which was accomplished by patience on our part and reasons for such change. Along with this change we gained approval by better service, such as providing tents for the family and friends during committal service, a lowering device and such. Next, we began restrictions as to monuments and markers on lots, and then we had trouble enough. Years of worry, argument and finally absolute refusal to deviate from a given course convinced our lot owners that such was to be the rule.

In 1905 our association became affiliated with the National Association of Cemetery Superintendents.

At Rochester, New York I met those good fellows that have since become such good advisers, that I shall ever feel under obligations for much friendly advice. Some have gone to their reward, and may it be great—Wm. Stone, Timothy McCarthy and others. Of those living are George M. Painter of Philadelphia, Edward G. Carter and W. N. Rudd of Chicago and many others. These men were always ready to give advice based upon their experience on any subject submitted for their consideration. So thus, we were encouraged in our work, for without such friendly assistance we perhaps would have made more mistakes than we have.

I have submitted for the question box a subject that has caused the writer some annoyance. For a while I was flattered by having a printed form submitted covering every phase of cemetery management imaginable, which I laboriously answered and prided myself on being able to display my knowledge. But after a while the thing became monotonous and I began to think there were some people who needed enlightenment, but my feathers fell when I was informed that my replies were being used by promoters to further their interests in land deals for profit to themselves.

This may be my swan song, as I have gone quite a journey in life, but in spite of a handicap dating back six years, I am in fairly good working condition, but I want you to know that I consider the AACS one of the most unselfish institutions of which I have any knowledge.

Reverting to reforms, the automobile is another. I well remember the first machine that was driven in our cemetery; what a commotion was raised. A near panic was on hand in about two seconds by some old ladies and horses that had passed the voting age, making things lively for a short while. Then, we put a clamp on automobiles. Next we admitted by license and a fee. More trouble. Finally the horse was eliminated and the automobile is at this date supreme. But we have a troublesome problem to meet at times on Memorial Day in particular; we believe we have found a solution.

On last Memorial Day 1625 automobiles were admitted from 7 A. M. to 12 noon at one gate when all vehicles were excluded for the balance of the day. The afternoon is given to exercises of the G. A. R., and the attendance of visitors is on foot only. Our cemetery was established in 1851 and the avenues were ample for that date but since the advent of the auto and the many times multiplied numbers as compared with horse-drawn vehicles, makes it quite necessary to control them in some manner, at times. Admittance at the west or Columbia Street entrance and exit at the south or Virginia Street. One way traffic and signs directing the way, and "No Parking on This Avenue" enforced by officers supplemented by Boy Scouts to the number of about forty solved the problem satisfactorily.

So you see why I believe in evolution, or perhaps some would prefer the word reform.

Our first reform was in the office, such as records, diagrams of lots, much detail, records, etc. Out in the yard avenues were widened, and in some instances rebuilt entirely, much planting of trees and shrubbery and a clearing of trees in burial sections and assuming of tree-planting by ourselves.

From the publication:
AACS - Proceedings of the 39th Annual Convention
Chicago, Illinois
August 24, 25, 26 and 27, 1925

I am somewhat handicapped, perhaps owe you an apology for being down to read a paper, but coming across the border from Canada I stopped in the village of Detroit for a little while and went up town, opened my grip to get out something and sitting down on a street corner a Billy goat came along and ate my paper. I believe that Frank Eurich is somewhat responsible for it, and I have no paper to read. I had to hastily jot down a few memos and I unfortunately have no paper.

When I decided to read this paper at this convention, or rather this subject and the committee asked me what it would be I gave them a subject and they switched it on me a little bit and changed it. I gave them a subject "Dead Horse Finances." It, perhaps, to a cemetery superintendent, seemed a little gruesome to talk about anything dead and they switched it on me and made it "Cemetery Finances."

Cemetery finances might mean a great many things. It might mean lot selling campaigns, investment of perpetual care funds or the allotment of various classes of labor or the purchase of new grounds and the setting aside of so much money annually for the purchase of extensions, etc., etc. That has been covered in a great many ways.

My talk this morning is not going to be particularly on cemetery finances generally, but what my subject really intended to be—dead horse finances.

John Bright, great British parliamentarian, whenever a question was raised in the House of Commons that had been dealt with and had been voted into oblivion many a time was brought up by some new member, John Bright usually said "Oh, that is dead horse, gone, forgotten, voted on many a time and passed up."

I am going to say a few words on delinquent finances, finances that we have given up hope of ever collecting. This question does not apply to new cemeteries that have been started right under the perpetual care plan. The cemetery that I represent was started in 1848. Of course those of you that were at Hamilton will realize that Woodland Cemetery, the new one on the bay front, will not have the problem of the collection of dead horse finances that we have in this old cemetery.

I know that these questions have been discussed from every angle. I am only a young cub at the game, although I was a member of our Cemetery Commission for many years previous to becoming the Superintendent and you all know that cemetery board members or cemetery commissioners have but a very meager knowledge of the actual cemetery problems. They attend board meetings, the secretary or superintendent introduces his report and they have a very superficial knowledge of what really is the cemetery superintendent's problem and I know that these questions have been discussed from every angle.

I was only in the office six months before I found a state of affairs that rather astounded me. I will admit we all have our strong points in every sphere of life on certain things. One man will be able to accomplish great things in a certain sphere, along a certain line. Another man will supersede him and he will have strong points on entirely different lines and make a success of something else that the other chap had perhaps forgotten or, rather, was not strong on. So we all have our strong features.

I realize my predecessor, who was one of the best cemetery men, Mr. F. H. Rutherford, took hold of an old practically medieval cemetery, with the various grades and copings and fences and iron and tripods and wood and glass bottles by the million and everything else and devoted the most of his time to the outside grounds and made a magnificent cemetery out of an old practically rural burial ground, even though we have 120,000 population in our city. But when you concentrate on one particular thing naturally other things suffer.

When I succeeded Mr. Rutherford I did not have very much to do, as it were, on the outside grounds, but could devote the majority of my attention to the office. No individual is at fault, neither a superintendent, office staff, commission or a board, but rather a system that had grown up in practice for many years.

The question I found was that thousands—we have 11,000 lots in our cemetery, apart from our single graves—we had about 3,000 cards that we were sending out for annual care. Those that were square and honest came and paid; those that did not want to pay never came near the office. Naturally, while we checked it up against the lot, many lots had no card as far as the financial end of it was concerned, no card at all.

I said to my board "Is it fair to permit or allow or compel some people to pay and let many other people get away with it without paying at all? Something must be done to try and collect some of this old money."

I used to see a woman come in, one, two, yes a dozen of them, when carnations were $1.00 a dozen and roses $1.00 a dozen, drive up in their motor cars and want to know "where is the gardener? Where is the sub-gardener? How is it that this is not done on my lot and this on my lot?" I'd go over the card and say "Madam, do you know you have not paid any care since 1914, and you want the service of a gardener and you complain about it and you complain about the ant hills. I can't tell the ants what lot to go on. You complain about the condition of the graves. If you don't pay your care you will get no service in this cemetery. You can come up here when carnations and roses are $1.00 a dozen and place them on your lot, but we don't get a cent of care and we pay our men 50¢ an hour and we care for your lot and have got it charged up against you."

True, we have the same rule that the majority of you have that no interment can take place in a lot until the care dues are paid, but you have got to wait until somebody kicks in and you may go before they do, and your successor may not be as strenuous as you to collect it.

I had a younger man appointed on our board by the City Council.  He was in the wholesale grocery business, a shrewd young financier, and he used to say to me "What are our assets?"

I said "You get them. You get our buildings. You get our supplies, tools and everything, an inventory in the annual statement. You know what our assets are."

"Oh, but I mean our assets, our bills receivable."

I said "Forget it. They are receivable after you have got them. You will see them in the report on the right side or the statement after we get them. There is no such thing as bills receivable because very few people are paying."

He said "What kind or a business do we run? We ought to have assets showing our bills receivable."

He pressed and pressed and kept on every meeting for about a year for these bills receivable. I said "Frank, forget it. If I show you an account of our bills receivable in this cemetery it will make your nose bleed." But he insisted upon the bills receivable, and I got busy and gave him some bills receivable. No, what I did was this:  I arranged it for an annual report in one of my annual reports, and after it was printed and was not bound, still in the printer's hands, I asked him to strike me off a certain number or copies, and I went to the Chairman of our Finance Committee and the Chairman of our Board, Mr. Peebles, who, by the way, visited my office a day or two previous to the convention and asked me to convey his best wishes to the members of the Association—our former Chairman who, by the way, is not now our Chairman—he was elected to the City Council, and had to resign, because our by-laws don't permit an elective member in the City Council to act on our board and I took it down to the Chairman and read it to him. This was the statement:

"ANNUAL CARE AND DELINQUENT LOT OWNERS"

I have frequently been asked to compile a list of our assets, i. e., monies due for annual care, of from three to twenty years or more.

I have not as yet been able to complete this list, owing to the many lots tor which no card exists. This work, which is long and tedious, owing to the imperfect records kept during the early years of the Cemetery, necessitates a great deal of research, but is steadily going forward.

As far as we have proceeded we find there is due the Cemetery Board $22,643.13 for annual care, which consists of 188,365 square feet of ground, which, if placed in Perpetual Care would mean an additional $65,927.85. And it is safe to say that the unlisted lots when completed will add an additional 50 percent of the above figures (a report of which will be made later when the report is completed), with means that there is due the Cemetery Board for delinquent annual care about $30,000.00, and if placed in Perpetual Care an additional $90,000.00 or a total of $120,000.00.

Taking into consideration that many of these lots are filled, and the owners passed away, others left the city, descendants refusing to acknowledge obligations, etc., etc. only a small percentage of this is collectable.

When I showed that to the Chairman and the Chairman of the Finance Committee, they said "Don't put that in your report. We don't want the public to know who are paying that there are a lot of other fellows not paying or they will stop paying." They said "Cut it out." 

I mailed it to the board members, but this young smart business man insisted upon having a complete report of the assets. I kept telling him to forget it, but he insisted upon the assets and I gave him a final report when it was completed.

February, 1925

To the Board of Management of the Hamilton Cemeteries:

Gentlemen:

I have frequently been asked to prepare a resume of indebtedness to the Hamilton Cemetery, or "Asset", i. e. if all lots were paid up, as far as Annual Care was concerned and the same placed in Perpetual Care.

At the end of 1923 a part report was presented and the "Assets" were so large it was thought unwise to reproduce the same in the Annual Report. At that time only part was shown as there were many old lots for which no card existed.

In this Report all Lots in the Cemetery are listed and tabulated which shows an enormous amount of money so called "outstanding".

Eventually about ten to fifteen percent or this will be collectable; hence while a copy is prepared, I feel it would be very unwise to make it public, as it would be misunderstood and many who are now paying and those who have a further tendency to pay up later may defer payment on the plea, with so large an "Asset" in addition to the Perpetual Care sinking fund, there is already ample funds to carry on the Cemetery for the rest of time.

There are all told 10,660 plots in the Hamilton Cemetery of which 6,446 are in Perpetual Care and 4,214 not. Of the 4,214 not in Perpetual Care; 3,261 are not paying at all while 955 are paying some regularly and some occasionally.

Of the 3,261 who are not paying at all, 1,561 are two grave lots of 60 square feet each or a total of 93,600 sq. ft. They owe $25.00 each back care or a total of $39,025.00 and if placed in Perpetual Care would mean an additional $32,781.00.

The rest of those not paying 1700, own four grave lots 120 sq ft. each, owe $50.00 each for back care or a total of $85,000 and if placed in Perpetual Care 204,000 sq. ft. would mean an additional $71,400.

Of the 955 that are paying if these were to pay up the Annual Care to date at an average of $2.00 each per year would mean $19,100.00 and if placed in Perpetual Care would mean a further sum of $29,610.00 or a general grand total of
39,025.00
32,781.00
85,000.00
71,400.00
19,100.00
29,610.00
-------------
 $276,916.00

All of which is respectfully submitted,
S. L. Landers, Secretary

I said to my board "It is going to be an absolute impossibility to collect but a very, very small proportion of that fund. If you members of this board will give me a free hand and I will use it very reasonably, and cooperate with me, and give me your endorsement, I will get a pretty good proportion of that dead horse finance, if you will back me up."

You see, we care for all lots in our cemetery, whether they are paid for or not, that is, whether care is paid for or not; even if they don't pay annual care we care for every lot in the cemetery from the East gate to the West gate and from the North gate to the South gate, and the man that pays does not get a bit better attention than the fellow that does not pay. We feel for humanity's sake, general appearances sake—of course we rob Peter to pay Paul, we take it from the other fellow that does pay and spend it on this fellow, and we don't guarantee, as was spoken of last night, to devote the particular money on that particular lot. We are not bothered with the question of taxation, as municipal cemeteries. We agree to take care of that man's lot in perpetual care, but we don't pledge that that money will be spent particularly on that lot, but devoted to trees, shrubs, roads, administration and the general care of the cemetery.

The first thing I said to my board was "Our rules are somewhat antiquated. Revise your rules according to certain suggestions and I will get the money." The first thing we did—people used to walk in there and order a monument. The first few months I was in there I watched the girl. The monument men came in and ordered a foundation and the girl would get the card out, give the foreman the order and the foundation was ordered. People would come in and want various work done, transfer a lot from father to son or friend to friend, if there were no burials in it and everything was done without any consideration as to the actual status of the lot.

We had the rules changed. No transfer could be made, no flowers could be planted; we would not do any work for them; nothing for nothing. We said "You are not paying us anything and we will give you no consideration and no favors until you do pay." We made certain restrictions that no transfer could be granted on a lot upon which the perpetual care was not paid.

I said to my board, "Under the new system we compel people to pay the perpetual care at the time of the purchase of the lot. Now is it unfair to make that rule retroactive and make the old lot owners, when they come up for burial, pay the perpetual care on the old lot? If Bill Smith comes up and says I am a blacksmith or shoemaker—unfortunately my wife died; I want to buy a lot, we don't ask him any questions. We sell him a lot under the new system with the perpetual care added to it. He asks no questions and pays it. Is it any more unfair to make it retroactive and if Bill Smith or John Smith or Pete Jones or somebody—by the way, Mr. Jones, we have them there, too—if Mr. Jones comes up and wants to bury we say “Yes, you have an old lot, but you have to pay the perpetual care on your lot and the back care before you can bury in that lot."

My board said to me "Sh, sh, you can't do anything like that. The deeds don't call for that. That is illegal. You can't do it. How can you make a non pay perpetual care on a lot when he bought it under the old system of annual care? You can't do it."

When it was referred to our corporation counsel he said "Tut, tut, tut, no, no, don't start anything like that. You are going to get into lawsuits. You are going to have trouble. It is illegal."

It reminded me—we had a political campaign on in a town that was called Berlin, but was changed to Kitchener during the war, up in Ontario. We had an independent political campaign on the same as your late recent friend LaFolette. We had a political campaign against the two old parties, and I happened to be with the independent party and we were discussing the question of method and various questions came up. One fellow suggested this and' another chap suggested that. One fellow said something and then another man got up and said "Oh yes, hold on a minute, but that is illegal."

Sitting in that same room was, not an elderly man, of German descent, and old Henry Stultz had been in a great many political campaigns with the old parties. As soon as that fellow said "This is illegal," Henry got up and said "Vas is illegal. Nothing is illegal," meaning anything you can get away with in reason is not illegal.

I told my board and corporation counsel, "illegal nothing. Leave it to me. If you will give me the cooperation I will get away with it. Put that in your rules that at the time of an interment in an old lot the perpetual care on that old lot must be paid."

The furthest I could get them to go was that it should be paid, and they revised the rules and said that at the time of an interment in the old lot the perpetual care should be paid. I said "If that is as far as you go I am an opportunist, all right. Let it go at that." They passed it and we revised the rules. But I soon forgot the should and I made it must immediately.  I sent out my card with my annual care, and this card went out with it, with the annual care cards or bills the following year to cemetery lot owners:

"This is your notice for the care of your lot for 1925. This account is really due in advance; when you received your first notice in May.
As a result of many non-payments we were compelled to borrow the money to pay the workmen during the season.
An immediate response will be appreciated.
This account can be paid at the City Treasurer's office, City Hall, if accompanied by the enclosed bill.

Very truly yours,
Board of Managers of Hamilton Cemetery,
S. L. Landers, Secy-Supt

"To Cemetery Lot Owners under "ANNUAL CARE"
You have often been reminded that commuting and paying a lump sum places your lot in PERPETUAL CARE and gives you a perpetual care deed.

"I will some day" has no doubt oft been your thought—
WHY NOT NOW?
Especially since the new ruling, that all old lots under Annual Care must be planed in Perpetual Care at either the time of an interment, disinterment, or the placing of a monument.
Phone the Cemetery Office: Regent 1320 for information.
S. L. LANDERS, Secretary"

On the bills that I sent out in red type, I had a panel inserted in red type which said "all lots under annual care must be placed in perpetual care at the time of an interment." The result was—you know, there are two ways of killing a chicken. One way is to simply lay him down on a block and knock his block off. Another way is, you can taka that chicken and smooth the feathers up and down one way and humor him to death and—jerk it and break his neck.

I said to my board, "Leave it to me. I will get the money and I will do it very, very carefully." You might be astounded' to know that in three years we have had absolutely no difficulty in collecting our perpetual care at the time of interment. We have had a little argument. I remember the worst two cases I had—one was the police lieutenant and one a lieutenant in the fire department, who kicked and were not going to pay.

I will tell you one thing—the only instance in which it works an injustice is the man who paid religiously and regularly his annual care in advance; as soon as he got his bill his check came, or they paid it at the city hall, at the city treasurer's department, or at the cemetery. It worked somewhat of a little injustice to those people who paid regularly, but they were few and far between.

I had people say to me "Do you mean to tell me that I can't bury in my lot and you refuse to let me bury if I don't pay this perpetual care?"

I said "No, I would not say that." At the same time I meant it all the time. "No, I would not think of saying that you can't bury in your lot and that we are going to prohibit you from burying." I knew that they would not get out to get a compulsory order or a restraining order from the judge, restraining us from interfering with them, because they usually want to bury the next day or two days after and before they could get a restraining or a compulsory order it would take some time. "No, I would not think of saying anything of that description. Of course, if you insist on burying and will not pay, that is different. But now look here, you don't want any special privileges over all the other citizens, do you? We have had so many thousand burials since the rule has gone into force and everybody met it without any discussion. Do you want any special favors? You will thank me in six months or a year because I compelled you to pay for perpetual care. Haven't you been thinking every time you got the bill that you ought to put it in perpetual care?" "Well, yes, ____” "Well come on, don't make two bites of a cherry. Let’s clean it up. Why stick at this little perpetual care? I'll admit at the time of a funeral there are funeral expenses and everything."

The main object was, we didn't care so much about the past annual care—our cemetery was practically sold out—we wanted to clean up that dead horse finance, so the old annual care was difficult to collect. You know yourselves, everyone or you, that when it gets down to second and third generations and grand nephews and grand nieces and brothers-in-law it is hard to collect, even from the first generation. Sons as a rule refuse to pay. We made all sorts of rebates on the old annual care in order to get the perpetual care. If a man came in and owed $70 or $40 or $50 annual care in arrears—like the women for bargains; they are out this morning—a lot of people like to get something for nothing. If you tell a man "You owe $70 back or $40 back care; I will tell you what we will do. We will rebate that to 50%."

It all depends upon the circumstances. If it is a son we make him pay the biggest portion. We make him pay half. If it is a second or third cousin or friend or a society or something we almost cut the entire back care off. But get the lots into perpetual care, because we knew if we could get that into our sinking fund it would mean for all time looking after that lot.

Then we had this abandoned lot act passed. I think the state of New York, the state of Iowa and the state of Wisconsin have this abandoned lot act. We had this abandoned lot act passed.  I think the state of New York, the state of Iowa and the state of Wisconsin have this abandoned lot act.  We had this abandoned lot act passed.

An Act to Amend the Cemetery Act

His Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:

1.    This Act may be cited as The Cemetery Amendment Act, 192.3.

2.    Section 23 of The Cemetery Act is amended by adding thereto the following subsection:
(2) The owner of a cemetery may after having advertised once a week for three successive weeks in a newspaper approved by the local board, for relatives of the person in whose name an abandoned cemetery lot stands (where such abandonment has existed for at least five years) and where such lot is not claimed and any dues or charges with respect thereto are not paid within six months after the last publication of such notice, the owner, upon the expiration of the said period may apply to the Judge of the County or District Court and the Judge upon such application and upon proof of the facts and of the publication of such notice and of the non-payment of such dues and charges and upon such other evidence as he may deem necessary may make an order authorizing the owner to repossess and sell the unoccupied part of such abandoned lot and apply the proceeds of such sale for the perpetual care of the occupied part of such lot .
(a) This section shall apply to every cemetery owned, controlled or managed under the authority of any general or special Act.

3.    Section 24 of The Cemetery Act as amended by section 4 of The Cemetery Amendment Act, 1921, is further amended by adding thereto the following subsection:
(3) The council of every county shall appoint one or more local inspectors who shall have the duties and powers within the municipality of inspectors appointed by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council under the 'provisions of section l0a.

4.    This Act shall come into force on the day upon which it receives the Royal Assent.

That is a state or a provincial law.

Legal decisions perhaps were against some of those things, but with the act to back us up and the use of common law on the other questions—I was speaking a moment ago of them—or the "gift of gab", and if you are able to handle people—a man may be a civil engineer, a landscape artist, a horticulturalist and understand the finer arts of cemetery work, but if he does not know how to handle the people and how to induce the people along certain lines, he is lacking as a cemetery superintendent, and if you have the persuasive, persevering argument you can collect the majority of these finances.

Now I would like to tell you about how much money we have collected in those two or three years that we have had this in effect. It won't take me a minute to read these right over for comparison. Before these questions were introduced from 1915 to 1919, there were 507 old lots placed in perpetual care, 47,215 square feet, with an income of $16,521.25. The following five years, after the introduction of this system, and killing the chicken in the usual way, we put 1574 lots in perpetual care, or an increase of 1067, an increase of 102,285 square feet with an increase in revenue of $37,024.41. The first six months of the current year we put 273 additional lots in perpetual care, 22,362 square feet, with $7,831.10 increase in income. During the month of July we put 54 lots in perpetual care with a revenue of $1,535.10. During the month of August, just before leaving I found that the rate was carrying on just the same, and if this continues with the addition that after the six months have expired of the several thousand lots we advertised under that act, which we have the power to resell, and I already have power of attorney from a great marry families, not to publish their names and allowing me to sell—it simply means a great proportion of this old finance will be collectible and will go into our general fund.

Now I don't know it all. I am not like the old Quaker that said to his wife "The whole world is queer but me and thee and sometimes even thee is a little bit queer." I don't know it all, but this I do know, that our facts and our figures and our results show that the methods adopted will collect and get us some of that old dead horse finance.

I have a picture that I brought back from France, and I saw it in actual happening in France, when an ammunition column was going up and shells were coming over and fell in among the batteries and the ammunition columns, that a horse had one leg shot off and ran down the road on three legs. I actually saw that, when an old battery man came back and put his arm around the horse's neck stopped for a while and said "Good bye, old pal." The horse was about gone, and the boys up the road said "Come on, Bill, come on, Bill." He put his arm around the horse's neck and said "Good bye, old pal," and then left him.

With these circumstances and conditions we can go into our vault and put our hands on our dusty old books that have been lying there a good many years and say to the old dead horse finances, "Good bye, old pal."

From the publication:
AACS - Proceedings of the 39th Annual Convention
Chicago, Illinois
August 24, 25, 26 and 27, 1925

The success of a new cemetery depends upon its location and the way it is designed.

Adopt rules and regulations, have them strictly observed and follow the modern plan, for it secures economy and attractiveness. Perpetual care should be provided for. One easily makes costly mistakes. The first step is to select grounds suitable for a cemetery, using precaution not to get ground with too much stone, or that which is low or too near the city. A thorough test should be made before deciding on any particular spot. The size of grounds should be according to population and surrounding places. It pays to purchase all the land you may need in years to come, as interested land holders know how to get a price for what could be bought for two-thirds less when first purchased.

Employ practical help, pay good wages and expect good results. Not many weeks ago I was requested to call and see a new cemetery whose owners had paid a snug amount to get it started. Upon looking around I discovered four men laying out lots in a field with stumps, stories, weeds and ruts (also enjoying good cigars). This work was started by a supposed first class engineer and to my surprise I found the drives as usual in the best part of the grounds. It is a common occurrence to see the mistakes of others and not our own. We do not care to conflict with the many so-called landscape engineers, few of them take advantage of natural beauty. Practical men should see at a glance what to do and how to go about it. Get a lawn or section in use at once, which will help curtail the expense. Beautifying the grounds, making lakes, waterfalls, etc., may be carried on when nothing urgent is on hand. Do not make your lawns small have them large, say from two to three acres in size. Where a smaller cemetery is needed, it will look better to have it in small sections, say one to one and a half acres to each section. Curves are always attractive; have them liberally displayed. When done take measure and stake opposite side for width of drive, which should be no less than eighteen feet, if you do make them smaller, the public will at once say it is a question of dollars, not beauty. When grading allow sufficient fall to carry the water to proper place. Be careful in grading. By all means get the ground smooth and shaped before sowing the grass seed. Grading is a permanent thing and nothing looks worse than a poorly graded place. In doing this use tools best suited for the soil. We at first work the scoop, which is drawn by two horses and carries eight cubic feet. When proper places are filled in we follow with a scraper eight feet long. This is a simple grading device, which does the work to perfection. It is simply an old-fashioned road scraper, governed by two men and one driver. With it we can accomplish more in one day than six men would in one week.

When finished harrow the sections thoroughly, pulverizing the soil to receive the seed. Lay your border with sod ten feet wide. Select some calm hour for sowing, after which apply the best bone fertilizer to be had. By all means abolish manure if you wish to have a nice clean lawn. Manure is a good fertilizer if plowed under, but great care should be taken not to use it for top dressing. Use nothing but Kentucky blue grass, as it gives the prettiest effect. When seeded, harrow again after which roll it with a light land, roller, and in a few weeks when the grass has appeared roll it again. When finished stake out lots to suit location and purchaser. Encourage the purchase of large lots, as they are the secret of a pretty cemetery. By all means do so, on your best sites. If your demand is greater for small lots select some spot where they will not be too conspicuous. Make up your mind to display stone yards on them. Allow nothing but good solid stone work; no patent arrangement should be allowed, as they are not in harmony with a modern cemetery. Keep your place clean, allow no outsider to put in foundation work or set markers. As to planting evergreens, trees, shrubs, etc., use precaution. Do not try to get too much in one spot. Avoid too close planting. Do not conceive the idea that you can succeed by not allowing plants on graves or allowing no mounds. This is too premature, our successors in years to come may accomplish this, but with the present competition surrounding every cemetery one has to use great care in the way things should be governed. Encourage cut flowers, as they are less troublesome and pay better than anything from the greenhouse.

Every cemetery should have its own greenhouses and grow plants and cut-flowers for the accommodation of lot holders. This gives pleasure to the lot holders, as they like to stroll through a greenhouse and appreciate it if properly cared for. Keep it clean. Do not grow anything that has no value. Plants of interest are what we want such as Palms, Orchids, Carnations, Roses, Violets, Pansies, Forget-me-nots, Specimen Ferns, Smilax and Bedding Plants, with a few other good flowering bulbs, as these are the standard varieties. The one in command should have full charge of employing, discharging, buying and paying all bills, and if anything is wrong he is responsible for it.

Have your men who attend to the burials provided with proper garments, such as men should wear. Do not have them appear like tramps, wearing unsightly looking clothes, as if to scare the mourner. Everything should be cheerful.

From the publication:
AACS - Proceedings of the 9th Annual Convention
Richmond, VA
September 18, 19 and 20, 1895

The theoretical system for the management of cemetery employees is a very important feature towards success of a cemetery.

Employees should be cautioned, and be compelled to show great respect and affection to bereaved families, who through loss of their dear ones are compelled to visit the cemetery.

Where employees are rude and harsh, it places great sensitiveness to such families and their friends, and naturally creates public comment and complaint to the management of such cemeteries, and therefore cemeteries are very liable to lose patronage, through advice of their own lot owners to their friends, to seek other burial spots in adjacent cemeteries.

It therefore seems important in taking the first step towards good management to train the employees, especially such men as are in change of interments to be courteous and spare no pains in pleasing the families at such times.

Cemeteries of large acreage, where interments are numerous and improvements are necessary to supply the required demand, a large force of men is required. The superintendent at Woodlawn, has the entire control of selecting and engaging his men, and will therefore speak of his own experience.

Theory may be well applied on a general basis; but it seems to me, that the same applied to large and small cemeteries, may not prove entirely sufficient, and therefore I deem it necessary to apply a certain amount of practical basis, as experience or conditions may require.

At Woodlawn the improving and maintaining the grounds is entirely in the hands of the superintendent, and he thinks a very important factor in managing employees successfully, is to detail a proper system of branches for the various departments required, which should be in charge of a competent foreman. Each foreman in charge of his gang of men is held accountable for the expected and required work of his men. Each foreman is provided with a time-book to mark the time of his force, and on leaving work each day, he must deliver his time-book to the superintendent, from which the superintendent enters the time on his general book, and there from the payrolls are made. The entire employees have to answer roll call at 6:45 a.m. in the presence of the superintendent, who then directs each foreman to his respective work. As the superintendent is present at roll call and constantly on the grounds, no misuse or favoritism of any form can be shown on the part of the foreman in timing his men.

The following department forces are required: Gravediggers, Maintenance, Improvement, Mowing, Gardening, Repair, Stable and Police Forces.

The Gravedigger force, under a foreman and assistant, with horse carts, are required to open graves, attend funerals, excavate foundations and remove all surplus earth immediately. Such force is uniformed by the cemetery with black cheviot suits and hats to be worn at funerals, also with water proof coats and leggings and protected during stormy weather when at work with small grave tents. The above force are selected men, among the oldest employees, and are strictly cautioned to perform their work, in the most quiet and respectful way.

The Maintenance force, under a foreman, is required to keep roads and paths in proper order.

The Improvement force is under a competent foreman with teams in grading new sections.

The Mowing force under a foreman consists of lawn mowers, sickles and shears who mow the grass uniformly over the entire grounds during the season.

The Gardening force, under a competent gardener, is in charge of the bequest lots and the planting of flowers, trees and shrubs.

The Repair force consists of a blacksmith, carpenter and engineer, who build carts, sharpen tools and general repairing, also the shoeing of horses and oxen and the running of steam boilers.

The Stable force consists of stableman and assistants, who are in charge of the stock and must meet funerals that come by train with hearse and removals within the cemetery.

Since we have our own stock for teams and carts, we do not hire much, only in case of necessity. Certain men are selected who have charge of their teams and carts.

A Police force is organized and uniformed, who protect the grounds and give general information to lot owners and visitors. These men are selected from the general force, taking the most intelligent and as they are well acquainted with the grounds can render good assistance. You will observe that by having various departments and each in charge of a foreman with time-book, accurate account can be made and given for charging up payrolls to the various accounts.

The secret of managing a large force of men successfully is to treat them right, pay fair wages, and always show them your strict authority. Experience shows by such treatment, labor troubles have been avoided and any number of men can be obtained when wanted.

From the publication:
AACS - Proceedings of the 8th Annual Convention
Philadelphia, PA
September 11, 12 and 13, 1894

The Committee on program has asked me to discuss the management of a modern cemetery, but if I confine myself to telling how we manage Lakewood, in Minneapolis, I feel that I will be better able to offer something which will be worthy of the attention of the members of the National Association. If, while talking about Lakewood, I am able to make suggestions that will be useful to gentlemen who are interested in the management of modern cemeteries the purpose of this paper will be fulfilled.

Lakewood is conducted on what is known as the mutual plan, and every lot owner is entitled to a vote at the annual election of trustees. All lots are sold with a provision for perpetual care, one-fifth of the receipts from these sales being placed in the hands of a trust company for that purpose. It seems to me, however, that the proper way to create this fund is to estimate the amount per foot which will be required at interest to maintain the grounds, and set it aside for each foot of ground sold, instead of figuring a percentage of sales, as is the rule at Lakewood.

The management is vested in nine trustees, three of whom are elected annually. An executive committee of three is appointed by the president to manage the finances, arid have general supervision of ail cemetery work. This committee has all the power of a full board and our expenditures must be approved by at least one member of it.

The superintendent has a monthly report blank which contains a statement of receipts and expenditures for the month, and for the year-to-date, a copy of the trial balance for the past month, and a recapitulation or balance for the year-to-date. All accounts of money transactions are kept in the city office, together with a set of plats, records of deeds, and lot and interment records. At the cemetery is kept a daily interment record, giving name, age, social state, nativity, place and date of death, place and date of burial and name of undertakers officiating, also, duplicate sets of plats and interment and lot owner's records. Our books show in itemized form all sources of income and expense, and we are able at any time, by referring to them, to know what departments yield a profit. We also itemize our maintenance account daily, keeping an accurate record of the time on each kind of work.

Our sources of income are eight in number, and they may be named in this order: Sale of lots, burial fees, single grave fees, special care of flowers, building foundations, setting monuments, vault charges and box making.

Of course, the lot sales are the principal source of income. Prices range from fifty cents to one dollar and fifty cents per square foot, according to location, the average price as per sales for the past two years being about seventy cents. In prosperous times, it should be said however, this average would be much higher.

In a cemetery conducted on the mutual plan, as is Lakewood, the price need be set only high enough to pay running expenses, erect and maintain proper buildings and secure the amount per foot that is necessary to guarantee perpetual care. The prices in some cemeteries are greater than with us, but the prices of preparing the ground originally is also greater. Before offering any part of a section for sale we grade and plat the entire section, put in heavy cast iron corner stones for each lot, and make the price cover the whole. I have heard of cemeteries where there was a special charge for grading and another charge for posts; and, indeed, until a few years ago that was the practice at Lakewood. I think that the plan we are now pursuing is decidedly the better.

The superintendent at Lakewood has a small index book, which he carries in his pocket, and which contains, in order, a statement of every lot sold and unsold in the cemetery, an alphabetical index of lot owners, and considerable other information of value. This book is used in the sale of lots, and we find it much more convenient than carrying plats around with us. When a person decides to buy a lot we issue him a sale ticket giving date, number of lot, price, etc. This ticket is taken to the city office, where the contracts are signed and the cash handled. When I assumed control of Lakewood it was the rule to make no burials until lots had been fully paid for, but I was not long in seeing that such a rule was keeping away many deserving people who otherwise would have been our patrons. Accordingly I induced the trustees to try the contract system, and I am sure that it has been a success. Our usual terms are one-third down, and the balance divided into monthly or quarterly payments which draw six percent interest. Such a plan makes it easy for a man in moderate circumstances to buy a desirable lot. We have a printed form which this class of purchasers sign. Under it we are empowered, in case payments are not made promptly, to remove all monumental work and any bodies which may be buried in the lots, to lots equaling in value the money that has been paid, after deducting the removal expenses.

Our charges for burial and this includes opening, closing and sodding graves, and re-sodding when the dirt settles, are four dollars for persons under twelve years of age, and five dollars for persons twelve years or over. This is probably as cheap as the work can be done without loss, although I have in mind cemeteries where the charges are less. Whether their services are the same as ours or not I cannot say.

In winter all bodies are deposited in the receiving tomb, and for this no charge is made, unless they are removed for burial to other cemeteries, or remain in the vault after June 1st. from which date a charge is made of two dollars per month per body. At the time of deposit in the tomb we make a charge to lot owners of the price of burial, which pays for the burial in the spring. To persons who are not lot owners we make a charge of the price of a single grave, which amount is credited in the spring, if a lot is purchased, or pays for a single grave. If a body is removed from our grounds for burial the full amount of the deposit is retained.

During the summer months few bodies are placed in the receiving tomb, and those few we require to be sealed in zinc-lined boxes, as is the rule with contagious diseases.

For single graves we charge up to twelve years of age, twelve dollars; twelve years of age and over, fifteen dollars. This includes opening closing and sodding the grave; and in case a lot is purchased, the amount less the burial fee is credited. We allow no individual mounds in the single grave section, but instead make the burials in a long tier, the width being the length of two graves foot to foot, with a four foot walk at the head depressed four inches. Our single grave section receives the same care in every way that is given the other parts of the grounds.

For special care of flowers, watering, etc., we charge $1.50 for each grave or vase for the season. This item is a source of some profit to the association, and of course the more flowers that are under care the better the grounds look.  Planting is not allowed on individual lots, except on graves and in vases.

All foundations and other underground work are done by the association.  Charges for foundations are: twenty cubic feet, or less, thirty-five cents per foot; over twenty cubic feet thirty cents. We require foundations to be laid under all work larger than 6 x 12 inches. That the association should do all work of this sort I consider quite important, for contractors will not do it properly, unless an inspector is constantly with them. In this connection I will speak of the setting of monuments, for the association does the entire monument setting in Lakewood, except in small cases. This requires one good man, accustomed to handling ropes and to directing men, but the other help can be common labor. By setting our monuments we are saved a great deal of annoyance, and realize a profit besides. Contractors allowed in cemeteries to do such work are chronic borrowers. They want ropes, blocks, planks, bars and numerous other things, in a great many cases forgetting to return them. The result is that when you need them a grand hunt is in order.  Contractors also seem to take a delight in hitching guy ropes to trees and in many ways they are great nuisances in a well regulated cemetery.

Nearly all of the pine boxes used in Lakewood is furnished by the association. As many of our funerals are arranged by telephone, this is a great convenience to us and to the undertaker. It saves the latter a trip from the city with a box while we can take the box direct to the grave and put men to work, knowing that we have the proper dimensions. Our box account last year paid for nearly all the lumber that was used at the cemetery, and had a credit of about two hundred dollars besides. We buy the sides and ends sawed to size and saw the tops and bottoms on the grounds. "Rainy day work" is what we call box making, for whenever it rains hard enough to interfere with the regular routine, the teamsters and other employees who are paid by the month, turn in to make boxes.

There are minor sources of income, not mentioned in this paper, but it is scarcely worth while taking up your time to name them.

The common laborers in the grounds are directly under a foreman who looks to the superintendent for instructions. He hires and discharges his own men, and I think this is the best plan, for when men know that a foreman has absolute authority over them their respect for him will increase and the character of their work will improve. The mechanics, watchmen and other assistants are hired by the superintendent, who looks after them in person. All work is itemized daily, so that at any time we can know exactly what any piece of work is costing us.

We have no special set of men for grave digging, or mowing, but accustom the employees to all kinds of labor, in this way being prepared for any emergency.

The hours for keeping the grounds open are 7:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. during the summer months; late in the fall and during the winter the gates are closed at 5:30 or 6 o'clock in the evening.

As is the case in many cemeteries, we have as yet been unable to bring about all of the reforms suggested by the association members. But we are slowly working toward improved conditions and hope to do better in the future. I think that you will find that where a large city cemetery is behind the times, it is more frequently the fault of the lot owners, than of the cemetery management, for every important reform is contested inch by inch.

It is quite possible that in this somewhat hurried account of how business is done at Lakewood I have told little that is new. The principal good coming from these annual meetings is the exchange of ideas that they encourage; each member being invited to bring the best that he has, and exhibit it for the benefit of his neighbor, to the end that the neighbor, if he sees fit may profit by it or offer suggestions that may be a source of profit to others. It is in this spirit that I came before you today, hoping, that if I am not able to be of any special service to you in what I have said you may be of service to me in the discussions that are to follow.

From the publication:
AACS - Proceedings of the 8th Annual Convention
Philadelphia, PA
September 11, 12 and 13, 1894

There seems to be at present a great awakening allover the United States on the question of road construction and maintenance. With this awakening, there has been launched upon the reading public by newspapers and tracts almost as much ignorance or knowledge misapplied as real knowledge. This has led to the employment of men who have neither the technical skill nor the practical appreciation for the subject in hand. Now whether it is always best to economize on the first cost of all engineering, namely the salary of the engineer, is a question open to debate. Some practical men, no doubt, can dispense with a civil engineer. Yet to the economist as well as to the practical man, the civil engineer can be of a great help and service. Therefore my first note of warning is employ a civil engineer to do your engineering work on roads. It will pay at the finish.

In all arts as well as sciences there apparently seems a conflict between the theoretical and practical sides of all questions: On the question of roads the art has so well blended in the science that there is very little, practically speaking, difference between them. To thoroughly understand all sides of the question we must of necessity be acquainted with many things, essential and non-essential. We hope tonight to give, however, rather a running summary of what might be termed the best essentials of road making in their application to all roads. In order to make ourselves a trifle clear on that subject, we might say a word on the non-essential. Much stress has been laid on the requirement that the descending grade shall not exceed angle of repose of the wheel but had we only two iron rails with freight cars the question would be comparatively speaking, an easy one for solution. But look what we have on any street or road, variation in the width of every tire, different sizes of the wheels and axles, state of lubrication and amount of load, which, together with wet, dry or frosty condition of the surface of the road prevent even an average solution of the problem. Experiments on traction therefore for this reason must give way before practical and actual experience.

In our opening sentence, we discussed the first essential, namely, the employment of competent engineers. The other essentials naturally group themselves under three heads: 1st, Laying out of the Road; 2nd, its Construction; 3rd, its Maintenance.

Laying out of the Road

Most of laying out of the road properly belong to the field. Before starting out on a survey, it would be best to thoroughly understand just what amount of money is appropriated and the character of the road to be built. A stone covered road can stand a heavier grade than a dirt one. A paved gutter can carry off water quicker than a dirt one.

A few hints from railroads may not come here amiss. Branch Railroads carry greater grades with fewer facilities than the Main lines. Most of our highways were laid out along property lines and we cannot always regulate the traffic as on a railroad. Yet nevertheless for any series of road, they should be laid out in a system, and the proper grades should be fixed accordingly. 

If directness is wanted, get a straight line. Often a curved road will answer the purpose of a straight one and make up for its increase in length by its appropriateness and the lessening of its grades. In the matter of curves, never go below a fifty-foot radius, equalize the radii of compound curves as much as possible, put a tangent between reverse curves; these are about the only things of practical importance with regard to line questions.

Grades

In all cases, fix a maximum grade. As we have just said, a scientific solution of this question is beyond us. Hence we must seek experience and observation. Men naturally walk slowly up hill and quickly down hill while horses do the reverse. Consequently it would seem that the grade that would admit of the highest speed down hill would be the proper one to select. A grade of 1 in 30 for mixed traffic is about as near a solution as can be reached to this problem. A grade of one in twenty may do but one in thirty is nearer the average.

Also it is not always the traffic that will determine your grades. Remember your drainage all depends on your grade. A grade of one in twenty is apt to cause considerable damage in a heavy rain storm.

Avoid level stretches as there should be sufficient fall to carry off all surface water quickly otherwise, soft muddy spots will abound. As we have just cited a maximum grade we likewise have a minimum one. For paved gutter, 0.2 percent per 100 and 1 in 120 for unpaved, are the grades, and these grades should be limits in such cases.

Compensate on all curves. These might all seem trifles at first yet they never cost any more when put in effect, and in the end, decrease the cost of maintenance.

Drainage

Drainage can next claim our attention. Too much importance cannot be attached to this subject. The worst enemies to out door structures are frost and water. If we draw away the latter, we can render the former ineffective. With the absence of water, we have less mud and also less dust as the stones having no chance to loosen, are not apt to break up into dirt and fragments.

Drainage naturally falls under two heads, surface and sub-drainage. Sub-drainage as we shall see later on is not absolutely necessary except in very wet soils, for a stone covered road; but on clay and earth road sub-drainage is absolutely indispensable. The crown, although it maybe steep, yet cannot possibly get rid of all the water into the side ditches. The remainder must gradually evaporate under the action of sun and wind. Hence the liability of frost. The French or blind drains are the best for this purpose and should always be located below the frost line. Most of the authorities agree that 3" unglazed tiles with loose collars with a covering to sub-grade of gravel, small stones, road metal or broken bricks are the best means for such drains. Trees as you all know grow as much under ground as overhead with the difference that instead of seeking the light as the branches naturally do, the roots drift towards moisture. The trees must be gotten rid of as they will continually block the drains. Keep your tiles to a uniform grade with the proper outlets open and then leave the rest to Heaven for you can do no more.

Surface drainage must be provided in every case. This is partly affected by crowning the road, so as to throw the water into the side ditches or drains. Beyond merely mentioning this, so as to bring it under its proper head we will leave this for a time only to refer to later on. Bridges and culverts which naturally fall under this heading would demand too much space and time for our short paper.

Road Surface

The road next claims our attention. Contractors don't like to remove old stumps for nothing, and sometimes, if things can be covered up, so much the better. This is the reason of convenience and not sense as it eventually appears at the end. The base of all masonry rests below the frost line. In road construction this cannot always be done. The metal portion, if possible, should never rest on the ordinary surface as, the top soil is generally too porous and never compacted. Hence excavate about one foot below the natural surface and remove all stumps, brush, vegetable matter and rocks. Fill the resulting holes with suitable material, tamp and bring the surface to a proper grade by rolling.  This surface should exactly correspond to the section of the metal portion. If on excavating treacherous or unsuitable material is found, it should be removed immediately and proper means substituted.

Road Bed

All authorities seem to agree on two points; the convexity of the road and the width of the metal portion. This convexity should always be greater or equal in grade to the longitudinal grade of the road, so as to avoid longitudinal flow of water. This cannot always be, for the greater the convexity, the more the tendency will be to drive in the centre which will soon wear the surface into ruts. Hence we must compromise. One in thirty for a metal road and one in twenty for dirt, for owing to its porosity, will fulfill most requirements.

On the width the multiple of 8 is best as this width gives ample play of all wagons and carriages.

What we have given before applies to all roads. Under the subject of road structure we will only take up, in a rather hasty sketch, what is really the best to satisfy all traffic. The Macadam Telford Road seems to satisfy these conditions best.

The Macadam Telford road is made up of two distinct portions, a uniform foundation of large stones which likewise act as a blind drain, and a superstructure of smaller stones acting as a durable water tight roof. Now, this distinction ought to be clearly made and thoroughly understood. A foundation and a superstructure, the former is never expected to wear out which the latter is expected to eventually.

The foundation, acting also as blind drain, should be porous but not pervious to water. It should never exceed 8" in depth for beyond this it is not possible to get a good bond. The foundation stones should be any tough durable stone about 8" in depth and 6 to 8" in width. They should be closely laid by hand on their broadest edge lengthwise across the road. All projecting points should be broken off, and the interstices filled with stone chips wedged by a hammer until the foundation presents an even surface of 8" in depth.

Upon this surface, the superstructure rests. The lower portion of this wearing coat should be of hard durable trap rock fragments whose longest dimensions should be able to, pass a 2½" ring. Machine broken stone is preferable as the edges of the fragments are apt to be sharper, and the screenings are the best for the top dressings. No gravel or round fragments should be tolerated, for even if it is possible to secure a bond with such, there is always the probability that the stones will eventually roll and work loose. The first layer should be 2½" thick and thoroughly rolled if possible. Another layer 1½" in depth of fragments 1" in diameter rests upon the first layer. After, being well watered a cover of fine trap rock screenings is added and rolled into the road as a binder until the surface becomes a hard water proof covering. It is absolutely necessary to keep the road well sprinkled under the action of the roller. The steam roller per inch run approaches the nearest, to the heaviest load per inch run of the vehicles and is preferred for this reason above horse roller. It should weigh not less than 5 tons. With regard to the rolling of binder the proper time to stop is when the fragments are apt to be crushed under the weight without being pressed into the road surface while for the other courses, the stones should not creep before the roller.

Maintenance

Having now got possession of your road give it a name, put up a few signboards so as to tell the people where it is, and on this board, likewise place a few numbers signifying the miles from some starting point. This is a great convenience and help. The maintenance of the roads seems to be a stumbling block to most systems. To some, the word maintenance, means in most cases, to clean out the side ditches, throw the refuse in the middle of the road and trust the rest to heaven and the driver. It matters not whether much or little is spent for road repairs, unless the repairing is done under a system, the road and your expense account is going to suffer. The system best adapted is called the continual repair system. Men do not allow a rent to remain in a coat for any length of time especially if the coat is wanted for service. They mend immediately, according to the nursery rhyme "a stitch in time saves nine." So with roads, fill up the ruts, remove the stones and sweep off the dust continually as fast as they are made and your road will always appear well and in good condition. Large amount of repairing should be done in the spring and autumn when there is plenty of rain. Also at that time there should be a good overhauling of the whole drainage system. Inlets and gutters cleaned out, weeds raked out and everything put in shape for the winter snows and rains. Briefly in conclusion or let me summarize a few facts that seem to be of value that we have tried to go over this evening:

1st, Employ an engineer to layout; 2nd, Never exceed a grade of 1 in 30 or go below 1 in 120; 3rd,  Keep all drainage below frost line; 4th, Convexity grade of 1 in 20 to 1 in 30 and for the width of road metal, a multiple of 8; 5th, Stone fragments from 2½" to 1"; 6th, Continual Repairs.

From the publication:
AACS - Proceedings of the 8th Annual Convention
Philadelphia, PA
September 11, 12 and 13, 1894

The necessity and importance of making some provision for the perpetual care of cemeteries is now so fully recognized and appreciated throughout the country that it is gratifying to know that the increasing interest and admirable results already obtained owe very much to the influence and intelligent efforts of this association. Such progress is surely sufficient excuse for our existence and some compensation for the labor and expense in attending these annual conventions.

A burial ground (says a writer) unprotected and neglected, presents a cheerless and sad spectacle. It would seem that the dead who lie in such a place had been strangely forgotten by the living, and that philosophy is cold and repulsive which teaches us that the body being an insensible mass of matter may be buried from our sight and never thought of any more, and so inseparably do we connect the feelings and character of the living with the appearance and condition of the place of their dead that Franklin's saying is applicable, "I only need to visit the burial ground of a community to know the character of the people."  Hence no cemetery or burial ground today is complete or satisfactory which does not show not only evidences of care and respect paid by individuals and families to the memory of their own dead, but evidences also of that respect which the community of the living should ever bear toward the community of the dead.

Now, while I cannot hope to enhance the importance of this subject, it may be well to call attention to the diversity of opinions and of practice that prevails as to the best method of securing perpetual care, and as the charges and application of this vary in different cemeteries, I have no desire to recommend a fixed scale of prices for all cemeteries, or any "best plan." In my opinion each cemetery must be governed by the local conditions and advantages of its section of the country, such as the rate of interest, the cost of labor and materials, condition of the soil, severity of the climate, etc., or the exacting taste of your respective communities. All these and many other considerations will govern somewhat the cost of perpetual care. I might say here that the words "perpetual care" (although as smooth and consoling as a life insurance policy) are too broad and often misleading, and seemingly promise more care than the interest of the fund or money left will admit.

The original intention and meaning of perpetual care in my vicinity included the care of the grass only, and I hear of many disappointments because myrtle graves, watering vases, cleaning headstones, etc., are not included. Of course all these can be provided for by increasing the fund and it would be well to have all such things definitely stated in the bond or contract made between the proprietor and the corporation and thus avoids many misunderstandings in the future.

In my opinion, there are only two or three things connected with a burial lot, the care of which should be included and provided for, viz. the good appearance of the grass and all hardy shrubs and trees, and the cleaning and permanent position of head-stones and monuments. Many other items, some of a perishable existence and doubtful taste, could be readily dispensed with, and we continually discourage perpetuating flower beds (excepting hardy subjects) myrtle graves, vases and the care of hedges, fences, etc.

New cemeteries have no great difficulty in adopting perpetual care, at least for the grass and good appearance of the grounds, but these remarks are intended more for the older cemeteries which it is desirable to rescue from dilapidation and neglect, many lots and ground sold years ago, or before perpetual care was thought of.

To accomplish this, and before appealing to proprietors to leave money for the care of their respective grounds, the cemetery or corporation should do its part and give some assurance of greater neatness and higher keeping of the grounds, and thus secure the confidence and respect of the public.

When perpetual care was adopted in the cemetery under my charge, and when it was understood that dilapidation and neglect would no longer be tolerated, our sales perceptibly increased, and that too to citizens already owning lots in the numerous cemeteries in our vicinity, so that it is very evident that the greater the assurance a cemetery offers against such neglect, not only for our day, but for the future as far as human foresight can suggest, the more surely will it provide what the public demand, the greater will be its success and the higher will what it has to offer for sale be valued.

In all the catalogues and reports kindly sent me by brother superintendents, only one has a printed scale of prices for Perpetual Care. Spring Grove, Cincinnati, although all make an urgent appeal to their lot owners to leave money, the interest of which will be faithfully applied to the care of their respective lots. So for lack of knowledge of its workings and application in other cemeteries, and without any egotism, or comparison with older or wealthier institutions, a brief allusion to its adoption and progress at least, financially, in the cemetery under my charge, may be acceptable.

Swan Point was consecrated in 1847, and perpetual care was not adopted till 1877. During those 30 years many proprietors left money, by will or otherwise, and many more who were able and could have done so, but by their delay and the reverses of fortune they have been prevented from making this provision for themselves and their families. Suffice it to say that since the adoption of perpetual care the amount received in anyone year exceeded the voluntary contributions of the first 30 years.

The increase for each year is as follows:

AMOUNT OF ALL MONIES RECEIVED FROM
        1847 to 1875 inclusive was …………………     $10,219.05
            1876 …………………………………        1,788.00
            1877 …………………………………        3,524.95
            1878 …………………………………      11,037.00
            1879 …………………………………      12,181.94
            1880 …………………………………      13,625.96
            1881 …………………………………      17,522.75
            1882 …………………………………      11,037.00
            1883 …………………………………      15,999.50
            1884 …………………………………      11,790.00
            1885 …………………………………      11,296.00
            1886 …………………………………        9,946.00
            1887 …………………………………      15,461.00
            1888 …………………………………      10,127.00
            1889 …………………………………      12,961.00
            1890 …………………………………      18.004.00
            1891 …………………………………      12,841.00
            1892 …………………………………      10,575.00
                                    --------------
                                                      $209,937.15

The above may encourage many cemeteries contemplating Perpetual Care, although I know from experience how difficult and remote the accumulation of funds of one or two hundred thousand dollars seems on such small beginnings, and without even "a silver lining to every cloud," but don't be discouraged. In the language of statesmen, "the only way to resume is to resume."

About this time a scale of prices was adopted having reference to the care of the grass only. This was headed "Perpetual Care of Lots," and was mailed to the older proprietors as a guide and reminder to place their lots under care, and thus look like the newer sections.

The printing and distribution of this scale of prices was, I think, a mistake, as it deceived many who intended to provide for everything, when by will or otherwise they left only sufficient to care for the grass. The better way would be for the lot owner or his representative making this provision to visit the cemetery, see the condition of his lot; state what he desires to provide for and obtain the proper information from the superintendent, and with all due respect for cemetery officials, he is the proper one to consult.

Scale of prices for perpetual care of grass only:
    100 square feet ……………………..    $ 50
    200 square feet ……………………..    90
    300 square feet ……………………..  120
    400 square feet ……………………..  144
    500 square feet ……………………..  165
    600 square feet ……………………..  186
    700 square feet ……………………..  206
    800 square feet ……………………..  226
    900 square feet ……………………..  245
    1,000 square feet …………………… 264
    1,100 square feet …………………… 282
    1,200 square feet …………………… 300

For lots containing over 1,200 feet, 25¢ per square foot

When the above scale was adopted, some 16 years ago, the basis of our reckoning was 6%. Last year these funds earned only 5% and they are likely to realize still less in the future. So with the rates of interest decreasing and wages, etc., increasing, it may be a question if our scale of prices is not too low, but I will leave this to the convention, and as I said before, each cemetery will be governed by the conditions and advantages of its own section and people.

While the moneys or funds of cemeteries may be under various headings and not always intelligible, I would suggest at least two funds: A perpetual care fund, which has reference to private lots only, and a permanent fund, the interest of which would be sufficient to care for all the property of the cemetery and meet expenses when there is no further income from the sale of land.   This fund should be absolutely fixed and as carefully guarded as the perpetual care fund. The method of its accumulation may vary, but the principal with the yearly additions and interest should be allowed to accumulate for a long number of years or till the land which created them is all sold. I think this fund is of vital importance, but I am anxious to make improvements in my day and so would like to leave its creation to my successor.

In conclusion, gentlemen, our Association must be true to this Gospel of Perpetual Care. We know how pleasant and easy it is to receive people's money, and how uncertain and difficult it is to carry out the obligations assumed, especially in our severe and eccentric climate, but we must keep faith with the people, and secure to our citizens at least a burial place, indicating not only respect for the dead, but which will also be a source of pride and consolation to the living.

From the publication:
AACS - Proceedings of the 7th Annual Convention
Minneapolis, MN
August 22, 23 and 24, 1893

The subject of cemetery roads has been discussed in three papers read at the conventions held at Brooklyn, Boston and Detroit by some of our most experienced members, and hundreds of books have been written by engineers from time to time, on roads generally. Still the subject is open for discussion as a matter of primary importance.
 
We may view it from different standpoints and try to throw new light on the subject according to our various experiences, but we have all to be governed by those well established principles laid down and in use by our predecessors. This paper, though not intended to enlighten our experienced members, is offered as an addition to the records of our Association, to assist the young and new members on entering into our profession, to guide them in the location, construction and surface drainage of roads in cemeteries. It is the result of personal experience and practice, as also an endorsement of the papers already written for the Association mentioned above, and which I would recommend to our young members to read carefully, as they contain many useful hints which are the result of long experience, and prepared by very competent gentlemen.

In the location of roads, the cemetery superintendent has two schools to study from, the landscape engineer and the real estate man. The first is a sentimental character, with more or less of romance in his makeup, who seeks out the most beautiful and romantic routes, with a view of producing the best landscape effects; while the latter is a close observer, studying how he is to lay out his ground so as to get the most money out of it.

For the location of roads, the study of the landscaper is his principal model, but always bearing in mind the influence of this location on the value of lots. We sometimes find a serious mistake made in having too many roads. In this, a great deal of ground is wasted and a great deal of unnecessary expense incurred in construction and maintenance, and the whole plan is unsightly and un-picturesque. The fewer roads the better, consistent with the proper development of the grounds.

As this is not the place to discuss the art of landscaping, we will suppose our superintendent is already familiar with that beautiful study before he attempts to lay out cemetery roads, otherwise he is very apt to blunder in the locations, and ought employ some gentleman of experience to do this work for him, as so much depends on the harmony of the two. In flat or level grounds, locations are easier than in rolling or undulating grounds.
 
We will commence our locations from the entrance. This road should be straight for a few hundred feet, as conveniences will permit, and not less than forty feet wide, and in large and much frequented cemeteries, where a large number of funerals is the rule, fifty feet wide will be an improvement.  A wide road at the entrance, a well-kept lawn on either side with groups of flowers or shrubs and a background of ornamental trees has a very imposing effect. This is the frontispiece to the cemetery, making what is called, a first good impression. After leaving this main avenue the roads should deflect in graceful curves, dividing the grounds into sections, three or four hundred feet wide at their widest points. Smaller sections are a mistake. Short, sharp curves should never be used except to connect two large curves. Regular curves should also be avoided, as they remind us of the railroad and are too mathematical for rural purposes. What the engineer terms a compound curve is generally used in parks and cemeteries. We must also avoid the too frequent changing of direction, as it gives a zigzag and confusing impression. Sometimes a short curve or change is necessary, when we want to produce some agreeable surprise, for effect, in the landscape. But as a general rule the long graceful curve is the best for appearance, and makes the best border for lots.

In studying curves, let us take those that nature furnishes us with, such as the leaves of trees and flowers, the undulation of natural hills, and we have grace and beauty and variety. As we are to produce rural effects, let us study rural models. Valley roads look well, as the ground slopes upward on either side, which is very desirable for lots, and looking down on them from the crest of the hill, the effect is picturesque. There is economy in occupying these all up with roads, though it may not be al ways best for the landscape. To layout roads, having decided where your road is to be located, drive a stake at every one or two hundred feet apart, on the line of the intended route. Having satisfied yourself that these stakes mark the principal points you want to pass through, complete your line with stakes driven twenty or twenty-five feet apart. Look up and down your line from both ends until you are satisfied you have the curve laid down that you intended, and that the stakes are placed at equal distances, for this is important, otherwise the eye will be deceived by irregular distances. The centre line being now complete, measure half the width of the road to the right and left from the stakes, for the sides. You will generally find that some of these side stakes are out of curve. This is caused by not getting the correct right angle distance from the point of tangent, hook along your side lines as you did along your centre line, and by changing a few stakes the curve will be easily adjusted. Some parties recommend the laying out of one side line first. This is a mistake. Engineers layout the centre line first, and they are the best authority. It is easier to study and form a conception of one line than of two. Get one right and the others must follow as parallels. It is impossible to formulate rules to meet all the little difficulties that may arise in locations. But the foregoing general rules may be followed with safety.

With regard to laying out roads with instruments; this may apply in laying out regular curves, such as railroads, etc., but they are practically of no use in laying out cemetery roads. A trained eye and a metallic tapeline are very essential in this work.

CONSTRUCTION

Having located your road, the next step is the grading and construction. The grade of a road is controlled entirely by the surrounding grounds. If the ground is level the grade must follow the surrounding surface with sufficient clay removed to make room for the material of which the road is to be made. The crown or center of the road, when finished, should be on the same level as the surrounding lawn, with an incline on the sides to form water tables or gutters. Flat roads do not look well. A slight roll or curve in the cross section looks best even in walks. Again, flat roads retain the water which collects in little pools, and tend to wear out the road quickly.

In flat, or nearly flat grades, about one or two in a hundred feet, the incline in the cross section should be one-third of an inch to a foot; while in steep grades of about four feet to a hundred, the cross-section should be half an inch to a foot. This increase in the curve of the cross-section is necessary in order to throw the water from heavy rains to the sides, which would otherwise run down the center of the road, making what are called ruts, which soon destroy the surface coating. The reverse of this rule is the practice in street paving and for very good reasons.

In rolling grounds where steep grades are frequent, the grade cannot follow the rule as in flat lawns. After deciding on an easy and judicious grade, the surrounding grounds must be graded down to conform to the roadway, with gracefully sloping borders on either side. Abrupt terraces must be avoided where possible, if lots are to be sold on the road front. If only used for landscape effect or for vaults, then abrupt terraces are ornamental. Abrupt terraces with angular edges are not to be recommended, but rather a gracefully curved slope. As nearly all cemetery grading is done by cemetery men and teams, it will not be necessary to go into the computation of quantities for grading. Sometimes the sub-grade, or clay surface, is shaped to the same curve as the finished roadway is to have. This is perhaps the most economical plan. Again the sub-grade is made flat, and the curved surface is formed by making the stonework higher in the centre and decreasing to the sides.  It is well before putting on the road material, to roll the sub-grade, so as to get it as compact as possible to receive the stone, filling in any hollows or irregularities which usually show on the surface after the rolling. This also gets the sub-grade in uniform condition. Some difference of opinion exists as to the weight of rollers. Those in general use now, for making streets, are not our five-tons and hauled by four horses; steam rollers are considered too heavy except in special cases. Steam rollers can be made any size or weight. I have seen some this season, at the Chicago World's Fair grounds, for rolling walks, and they were not larger than an ordinary sized baby buggy. Experienced men agree that it is better to roll a road frequently, or for an extra length of time, with a light roller, than roll it a few times with a very heavy one.

There are so many kinds of material that enter into the construction of roads, that it is impossible to mention them all here. The principal mode of construction most used in cemeteries, is generally known as the Telford plan. This has been well treated by Mr. Trangs, in his paper read at the convention held at Boston in 1890. There are various ways of treating this plan in the construction of roads; according to the means and necessities of the cemetery. The ordinary mode is to lay a rough paving of stone, from six to ten inches deep, breaking off the rough corners with a hammer, and filling in the holes on the surface with spalls or broken stone until you produce a tolerably even surface. This is the Telford foundation. In first-class roads it is customary to put different layers of broken stone, varying from four inches to a fine crushed stone about the size of ordinary gravel, and rolling each layer well as it is put on. Some of the driving roads in the northern part of New York City were made in this way. This may be too expensive, and is certainly not necessary in cemeteries.

A modified form of the Telford macadam plan will be found to serve all the requirements for cemeteries. A Telford foundation, a coat of macadam from two to three inches in size, about four or six inches thick, and a top dressing of sandy loam and gravel well rolled. Gravel makes the best top dressing. It is to a road what varnish is to a carriage. It gives a fine finish and preserves the undercoating. The whole construction of roads might be expressed in a few words. Secure a good foundation, it is as necessary to a road as a footing course is to a wall and fills a similar office. Take good care of your top dressing by renewing, rolling and sprinkling, and the work is done.

The necessity for heavy material is twofold in some climates. First, to carry heavy traffic and resist wear and tear on thoroughfares or principal roads; and second, to resist the upheavals caused by thawing frost in the early spring. Higher roads might serve the purpose in cemeteries with little traffic, and not much subject to upheavals of frost in spring.

SURFACE DRAINAGE

As the nature of the soil has a great deal to do with the system of drainage to be adopted, it will be subject to changes according to location and circumstances. In sandy and gravelly soils the drainage is simple and inexpensive. The gravel beds acting as an outlet for surface water, while in clay soils it is more difficult and expensive, as the surface water has to be carried away through a regulated system of pipes and inlets. In gravel soil, a system of open catch-basins might be adopted, as described by Mr. Lovering, in his paper read at the Detroit convention, and in use at Mt. Auburn, Boston. In clay soil a graduated system of drain pipe must be laid, connecting with inlets at various distances apart, according to the roadway, and the greatest rainfall of the district. Engineers use formulas for calculating the size of pipes used in drainage in proportion to the average rainfall, and the grade and area of the surrounding surface, but this rule cannot be adopted in cemeteries, as it usually gives a result too small for cemetery purposes. Cemetery pipes have to carry a good deal of debris, such as cut grass, leaves, etc., consequently, due allowance must be made for this. The smallest pipe used should not be less than nine inches, gradually increasing the size according to the distance from the outlet. It is better to err on the side of large pipes, than to have the system choked by using them too small. The difference in price is very little, compared with the labor and annoyance attendant on cleaning away and relaying a blocked system which invariably results from using small pipes.  We have to deal with clay soil here in St. Louis, and a proper drainage system requires a special study. This may apply to other parts of the country. We must always adopt short lines, if possible, if we can get convenient outlets, as pipe laying is expensive and we must be economical consistent with an effective system. The location and size of inlets and the use of pipes and roads depends principally on the grade. In flat grades, they might be dispensed with, or at least, used at long intervals, while in steep grades they are necessary from one to two hundred feet apart. Inlets are usually built of brick or stone, with cement mortar. Sometimes iron castings are made to serve the purpose, but the simplest and most inexpensive I have seen is made of vitrified drain pipe, and which is known in the trade as a "reducer." It is made bell-shaped, and can be made any size to suit circumstances The pipes used here are from twelve to eighteen inches on the inside of the flange, reducing to six or nine inches at the smaller end to connect with the regular line of pipe by means of a T joint or a curve. It is simply an inverted pipe with the flange side turned upward, carrying an iron gratin g that fits inside of the flange. The objection to this inlet is that it has to be placed in a recess off the gutter, to prevent it being broken by heavy carriages, though it will stand some rough usage, and bear considerable weight. Small sizes are useful in draining walks. Some cemeteries use brick inlets with stone caps.  The best design of this class is in use at Spring Grove, Cincinnati. These classes of inlets are too conspicuous and are more objectionable than the ordinary grating. Gratings should be made strong enough to stand ordinary traffic of carriages, say three-fourths of an inch thick and at least two inches apart, to prevent them from being choked up with debris.

Gutters are used a good deal in some cemeteries for surface drainage. Some few use them on all their roads, as they think they are ornamental by marking and preserving the alignment of the roads, and protecting the borders from careless drivers, while preventing washes on steep grades. While I admit the use of them in steep grades, they might be dispensed with on flat grades, as a neatly trimmed grass border or lawn road looks more rural and natural than the artificial gutter. They are usually paved with cobble stone in gravel districts, while in clay districts, where limestone, etc., are generally used, they are paved with thin stone from two to four inches thick, and eight to twelve inches long. Where the stone is carefully dressed, and the paving well done in graceful lines, it is not objectionable, but rather agreeable; but a rough gutter, badly paved, has a very bad effect, and at first sight you wish you never saw it. Another objection to gutters is the expense in construction and keeping them free from weeds. The latter objection is removed if the paving is done on coal cinders and the joints granted with cement. Some recommend salt or lime, but I have found this to fail very often, especially so in wet weather, besides it is expensive if it has to be used over a large area, or for any length of time. Granitoid gutters are now most in use in our parks, and will be soon introduced into cemeteries. 

Gutters in cemeteries and parks are paved from eighteen to twenty-four inches wide on a bed of sand or cinders twelve inches deep, they usually have a dish of two or three inches, according to width. Where cinders can be obtained, they are the best for paving as they do not encourage vegetation as sand does. The cinders at the bottom of the trench might be coarse, but the cinders to receive the paving must be screened from four to six inches in depth.

HITCHING POSTS

A word on hitching posts, as they are a part of the furniture of a roadway; a few of our cemeteries are fortunate enough in having a very select class of patrons, and can afford to dispense with hitching posts altogether. This is best unfortunately the great majority of our cemeteries find them a necessity, and make the mistake of having too many of them and too large in size, which makes them disagreeably conspicuous. The simplest and most appropriate I have seen are in use at Graceland, Chicago. They are made of two-inch gas pipe, about two feet six inches high, with a ring for hitching, on top. The post is leaded into a stone about twelve inches cube, and covered under the surface. Another is a dressed block of stone about twelve inches cube with a ring attached. This can be moved from one part of the road to another and away from the borders.

When at Chicago last year, I asked one of our old experienced members what he thought of the hitching posts used at Graceland, and he answered that he did not notice any. This is just the desirable result. Hitching posts should be as inconspicuous as possible.

From the publication:
AACS - Proceedings of the 6th Annual Convention
Baltimore, MD
September 27, 28 and 29, 1892

Upon receipt of a letter from Bro. Higgins, requesting me to write a paper for this meeting I was at first inclined to refuse, but as he kindly left the subject to be chosen to myself, I decided to make an effort, knowing that you would excuse any shortcomings, as my experience has been brief, as compared with that of a majority of those present.

When the matter of taking charge of a cemetery was first suggested to me, I had been engaged for five years in park work, and was dubious about making the change, fearing that the work would not suit me; but the objectionable features have all disappeared, and I become daily more and more interested in the work.

My first experience was with a close corporation and the cemetery was started to supply a "long felt want."

The ground selected was an eighty-acre piece of rolling land, of which about ten acres were covered with a heavy growth of black oak, ten acres low and unavailable, and the balance very handsome meadow land. After having the entire piece cross-sectioned, they called upon a well known landscape gardener to make a design, which was done, and I proceeded to grade and plat about twenty acres, at an expense of about three thousand dollars.  A chapel and vault were built, costing six thousand dollars.

About the time we were ready for business the "long felt want" had disappeared and no one seemed anxious to die in order to patronize us. I remained there about eleven months, during which time we made about one hundred-thirty burials. The directors were somewhat disappointed at the small amount of business and the correspondingly small income, and had reduced the force to a minimum, which compelled me to neglect numerous things which should have been attended to.

Even in this short time I had learned that it was going to be no easy task to keep the grounds in good shape, especially where the business was run in private interests. The few lot holders we had there, had already proposed some of the wildest schemes imaginable for decorating their lots, and our directors did not like to oppose them too much. I was about discouraged with the outlook, when a proposition was made me to take the position I now occupy.

Lakewood, at this time, had been established nineteen years, during which time the management had been changed but once, the first superintendent having held the position twelve and one-half years, and my predecessor six and one-half years; the assistant-superintendent four years, while the foreman had been in that position from the start. All of these men were removed when I took charge.

As was but natural, they had each a certain following among the lot owners, and some of them were much vexed that the change was made, and made it correspondingly disagreeable for me for some time.

Upon coming here I found three hundred bodies in the vault awaiting interment, and I can assure you it looked to me like a formidable task, but when the time came things seemed to shape themselves about right for me and I got well through the spring work without any serious trouble.

My views as to rules, management of men: etc., differing quite materially from those of my predecessor, caused me some trouble with the men who had previously worked here, and I had quite a struggle to right things to my ways. The rules, existing here previous to my time, were very good, but they had not been strictly enforced, and when I attempted to enforce them it brought a great many people to the front with their grievances and complaints, and kept me in hot water for some time.

In many respects my experience has been very similar to that of Bro. Hamill, as set forth in his paper of last year. I found innumerable rusty wire arches, rusty and broken down seats of all descriptions, and every kind of a utensil that could be thought of to sprinkle with or carry water in. These had to go, and I made a clean sweep of everything that was not fairly presentable. Seats and arches are now forbidden, and the consequence is a much neater looking cemetery, but much more bitterness of feeling against the superintendent, which I hope will die out some day.

At times I feel somewhat downhearted and despondent at the opposition which seems to meet nearly every improvement or change that is suggested, but have secured a box of Dr. Barker's "cheerful pills" and find that they help me wonderfully.

There seems to be a wide difference of opinion among lot owners as to what constitutes a neat looking and well-kept cemetery lot, but by making an effort to meet and talk with them on the subject I can turn a great many of them to my way of thinking. A little reflection convinces nearly all of them that at general system of improvement is necessary, but all are not so ready to believe in its enforcement in their particular case.

The first impulse of a person purchasing a burial lot seems to be to plant something, it makes but little difference what it is, but there must be some planting.

The following from an article written by the late R. M. Copeland, the well-known New England landscape gardener, is to the point on this subject: "It is natural for everyone who has a cemetery lot to show his interest in it by some kind of decoration, and planting trees and shrubs is the simplest and most obvious thing to do. But, when we remember that trees, unless when grouped to give a compound effect, when each tree loses a part of its beauty or effect, to receive something by contrast or harmony with its neighbors, should stand from twenty-five to forty feet apart, it is plain that a lot of fifteen by twenty does not give much chance for trees; consequently, as everyone wishes to plant trees, cemeteries as the lots are sold become too" treesy," too much shade, no intervals of light and grass for contrast; the trees crowd each other to their mutual injury; the shade prevents the growth of shrubs, and thus we lose the many chances for beauty which they offer. Guided by the mistakes that have been made in our older cemeteries, we should try to secure for the future a method of treatment which will forbid all changes of grade, curbing, fences and over-planting. Even the old cemeteries, as they take in new land, can change their vicious practices and approach to the true theory on which they were based; but every new one should be sure to foresee the capabilities of the grounds selected and adopt such plans for laying them out as will insure, in the end, all the naturalness, grace and beauty which result from well directed efforts."

From the above we can judge of the importance of the subject, and how necessary it is to maintain from the start the proper regulations.

I read with a great deal of interest the articles in the MODERN CEMETERY, and heartily agree with most of the writers, but am sorely afraid that it will be a long time before the monument dealers will quietly submit to there being many of Bro. Eurich's model cemeteries. The desire for display predominates too strongly, and the dealers in monumental work can and will encourage large and numerous stones more effectually than we can discourage them.
 

From the publication:
AACS - Proceedings of the 6th Annual Convention
Baltimore, MD
September 27, 28 and 29, 1892

If one could cover the best characteristics in human nature in one word, I presume that word would be GRACIOUSNESS. Shakespeare said: "The King-becoming graces are justice, verity, temperance, stableness, bounty, perseverance, mercy, lowliness, devotion, patience, courage and fortitude" and if we possess these qualities to some degree we shall possess the fundamental requirements for the work in which we are engaged. I want to lay stress here on the fact that in this more than in any other line of work a Superintendent of a Cemetery must possess to a noticeable degree these best elements in human nature.

Graciousness implies broad sympathy and understanding and who other than a Cemetery Superintendent comes mo re often in contact with people when these characteristics are needed. Some one has said, "Graciousness is the outward manifestation of a fine soul. Like the sun it shed its light every day of the year."

I am inclined to believe that the title of a paper such as mine tends to make one theorize on what should be rather than things and human beings as they actually are and for this reason in order to make a practical talk I shall try to discuss some actual happenings that reflect the Superintendent in his daily work. A real interest in one's work is one of the big factors and the two essential fields of human endeavor in which the Superintendent should be efficient are engineering and business. Two or three weeks ago I talked with a very efficient Superintendent who expressed the opinion that a man in charge of a Cemetery should be of a decidedly mechanical turn of mind. My experience of seventeen years cemetery work reinforces his opinion.

The analysis of what constitutes a good Cemetery equipment will I think bear this out. For instance in my own case, the property of the Corporation contains the following: Office and chapel, a crematory; a side track; a pumping station, water-mains and all the necessary hydrants, fountains, etc.; four trucks, two automobiles, 8 or 9 steam and hot water boilers, 8 or 10 electric motors, 5 to 7 gasoline engines; steam roller and spraying outfits; equipment for building roads; equipment for setting all stone work including mausoleums, and it naturally follows with this building and plant that a knowledge of construction is decidedly necessary to the plant maintenance.

I feel quite positive that everyone here agrees that knowledge of civil engineering in its broadest sense should be a requirement of one in charge of cemetery work. The building of roads, changing the contour of land, laying water pipe and drains, concrete work in various forms, comprises the every day work in modern cemeteries. The civil engineer is the forerunner of civilization. He is also the one who hest can lay the foundation for the construction of a cemetery as we like to see it today.

Agriculture and horticulture should form a large part of a Superintendent's knowledge, in such a manner that proper landscape work can be executed and the ultimate effects of young planting be foreseen years ahead. One of the early problems I remember that I had to solve was the elimination of the scale from our many, bay trees and half hardy stock. It was an entirely new field of study for me at that time but fortunately having had some study in chemistry, it helped me accomplish this work. It was done in such a satisfactory manner that its results have lasted for fifteen years or more.

A good business man has always seemed to me to be symbolic of self-reliance. The importance of self-reliance needs little more than mere mention. If a man is afraid to trust his own conclusions and convictions, all his thinking is of no avail and a timid business man is doomed. There are fundamental laws governing business and an attempt on our part to acquire knowledge relating to these is of decided advantage to the corporation for whom we are working. In this as in all fields of human endeavor, thinking is the essential thing. The ability to think is not acquired without effort and unfortunately many shrink from making the effort. In the words of Joseph Johnson, "Thinking is hard work; it is much easier to saw wood."

There have been papers read at these meetings in regard to advertising and salesmanship. In New England particularly, advertising of cemeteries has no place at present but a characteristic desirable in any executive is salesmanship. For instance at Mount Auburn there are at present 297 fences; there are probably twice that number of curbing. For our part we have got to work hard to make these lot owners get our point of view as regards the removal of all enclosures and the best salesmanship is that which makes the other man get your point of view.

Tact is a characteristic certainly valuable in our particular line of work. Tact is defined as "ready power of appreciating and doing what is required by circumstances." Many unusual circumstances occur in the Cemetery man's work where all the tact that he can master is necessary to relieve the situation. I often recall the experience of J. W. Lovering who preceded Mr. Scorgie. A lady insisted on placing a mausoleum on her lot which measured 20' x 20'. Her lot measured 15' x 20'. When Mr. Lovering called the facts of the situation to her attention, her answer was, "I am alone with my dead, there is no one to help me." It was not very long after this instance that Mr. Lovering met with an accident that later caused his death. This was interpreted by the lady as an act of God because the Superintendent would not allow her to place the mausoleum she desired on her lot. There are in all lines of work people who at times apparently lose sight of reason and in the ordinary business a sharp shock or answer may straighten out the matter. It is quite often that unreasonable demands are made upon us and it is at such times, that the Superintendent can be valuable to his organization.

I have often been asked as undoubtedly many of you have as to why we selected this particular line of work. In fact the question was asked me last Friday when I was arranging about some planting on a lot. One sentence answers for me. I find the work decidedly interesting and there is no end of study that one can do to really become proficient in it. I recall the first interview I had with Mr. Prentiss Cummings late President of Mount Auburn Cemetery when I was candidate for the position of Assistant Superintendent. He said he knew of few lines of work which required so much knowledge in the various fields of human activity as that of a cemetery superintendent and I feel sure that you will go a long way among clubs and associations to find in any association men of higher talent or ideal; than such men as James Currie, James C. Scorgie, Edgar King, W. S. Pirie, W. F. Landes, Arthur N. Hobart and many more that I could mention. It is a worthy and honorable work in which we are engaged and decidedly essential to our modern life. Practical work and sentiment enter largely into everyday operations and this reminds me of an appropriate summing up of the primary use of a cemetery made by a friend and lot owner at Mount Auburn. He said "The utilitarian aspect of the interment of human remains is concerned only with an excavation in the earth of sufficient size and depth. All other considerations are matters of sentiment. Respect for the departed, the wish to perpetuate their names in the minds of the living, the desire that the final resting place may be attractively embellished with artistic memorials and be maintained in orderly neatness, are all matters of sentiment. But what would human life be without sentiment? Without question, below that of the beasts. If one acquires a fine lot in a well kept cemetery and derives satisfaction there from, no excuses need be framed, for his act and feelings spring from some of the best elements in human nature. He who honors not the dead is likely to neglect his duty to the living.

The progress of institutions and men is inevitably dependent on ideals and desires for something larger, and better. As the principal motive force in the improvement of the cemetery, the Superintendent should never be satisfied with existing conditions. I always like to have before me the inspiring words of Bishop Brooks "Sad is the day for any man when he becomes absolutely satisfied with the life he is living, the thoughts that he is thinking and the deeds that he is doing, when there ceases to be forever beating at the door of his soul a desire to do something larger which he feels and knows he was meant and intended to do."

From the publication:
AACS - Proceedings of the 38th Annual Convention
Portland, Maine
August 18, 19, 20 and 21, 1924

When I was asked by your President to write a paper for this meeting, it seemed to me that so many subjects have been covered in the past that there is comparatively little new to be said, unless one considered the cemeteries from a new angle.

In thinking over Cemetery problems for the last few years the great changes which have come about in cemetery methods and ideals have been subjects to which I have given a great deal of thought and the paper which I am presenting to you to day is along these lines. Sometimes I think I am dreaming and if I am I want you to dream along with me and look into the future of Cemetery development.

As we compare the earlier Cemeteries with those of today we find many changes have come about. These have been due partly to economic conditions, but also very largely to the taste and ideas of the lot owners and while many Cemetery men have been leaders in these ideas it is also true that the public are demanding even greater changes, and that there are many forces at work which I believe will result in more beautiful cemeteries. As Cemetery men we cannot shut our eyes to these changes in public sentiment or we will be carried off our feet by forces which we cannot control anymore than the winds and the tides.

Economic conditions are making for simpler tastes in Cemetery Memorials and our public is demanding, not merely submitting, to regulations in regard to memorial stones. This will gradually result in fewer stones and in far better stones, each a work of art in a beautiful location.  Here is a problem of cooperation with designers of memorials which must be worked out carefully.

When all is said and done I believe their business will improve rather than otherwise and they will have less competition and greater opportunity to study their work and make finer memorials.

Cremation means easy burial and should be looked upon as merely a preparation of the body for interment. When looked upon that way the sentiment remains, only the body is in a different form while neither earth burial or ashes are pleasant the public seem to be tending toward cremation which will I believe, especially in the East, simplify the Cemetery problem. Trenching will not be necessary and the natural landscape can be preserved.

So much then for a glimpse of some of the things I have been thinking about and which I hope you will take home with you for serious consideration.

What are some of the practical cemetery problems of today and how do they compare with those ten or twenty years ago? Working conditions have changed materially in the last ten years, probably more so than at any previous period in the life of the ordinary cemetery unless possibly during and after the Civil War period.

What of labor costs? Ten years ago for the week ending August 1, there were on our payroll 118 men working 54 hours per week. In 1924 there were 96 men working 47½ hours per week, or a loss of 1822 working hours. Is this because the men work harder and it requires fewer working hours to keep up a constantly increasing area? I hardly think so! Our Cemeteries are growing larger and we all know men do not work any harder than they used to.

Now let us look further into the problem. Since August 1, 1914 we have sold nearly 1,000 new lots besides hundreds of single graves and there have been erected in the cemetery several thousand additional monuments and headstones, everyone of which has added to the labor of maintaining our grounds. With the great reduction in working hours our payroll is over nine hundred dollars more for the week and yet our income for perpetual care on the old lots has not increased. We have accomplished more in fewer working hours.

I have pictured a condition no worse than that in which the average cemetery find's itself and what future labor charges will be few would care to predict. Now what have we done to balance these increased costs? Do we keep our Cemeteries looking as well as ten years ago? And what of the future?

The average Cemetery probably is as well kept as ever and many improvements have been forced upon us which have made work easier and made it possible to keep a pace with the new working conditions.

We have substituted modern equipment in the way of trucks, automobiles and motor lawnmowers and the following table shows the effect upon the cost of perpetual care of the grass.

Cost Per Square Foot
1914……….……. .0126
1915…..……..…. .0121
1916…....………. .0121
1917…..…..……. .0157
1918…..……..…. .0177
1919…....………. .01765
1920…..…..……. .02493
1921…..……..…. .0248
1922…....………. .02315
1923…....………. .02016
1924…..…..……. .022549

The result of these improvements with us has meant that while it averaged .0126 per square foot to give a lot perpetual care in 1913, in 1923 with labor 150% it should have cost .0315 while it actually cost only .0225 or a saving of nearly one cent per square foot and I can definitely say that the Cemetery is kept as well or better today than ever.

We have also eliminated many unnecessary Cemetery groups of summer bedding plants substituting for them hardy shrubs, trees and grass. We are eliminating bothersome terraces or planting them with hardy plants which are easy to care for and we have done away with useless grave walks, substituting grass which greatly improves the appearance of the grounds. We have improved our roads so they require less care and are adapted to automobile traffic and altogether made many improvements which have resulted in the double satisfaction to us, saving work and beautifying the grounds. What is there left to do to these older parts of the grounds? I am afraid not much. Our hope then is that conditions shall not become worse, but better.

What of the future. This opens up many avenues of thought and leads us to think of the past, the present and the future. A class of students in Landscape Gardening recently visited our Cemetery and was told that it was a fine example of a Cemetery, but in a few years would be out-of-date, or words to that effect, because the Cemetery of the future would have only ground markers.

Our old Cemeteries had terraced lots, gravel paths, poor avenues, granite curbs, iron fences, monuments and headstones galore until you get the incongruous mass stone work seen in some of the old Cemeteries in the large cities. Then came the lawn plan, with a reduction in many things, but still too much grading, too many monuments and too much show, not enough of quiet, peace and harmony.

Is it going too far to say the Park Plan is appearing in the horizon and that such a Cemetery will really 'be the most perfect of all? Not a park in the ordinary sense of the word, or a play ground, but a memorial plot of sacred ground where all who enter may be quiet, mediate and think of the lost ones. The memorials here shall be simple, natural boulders, covered with vines and bushes, with plates recording the names of those buried there, grade markers wherever desired and beautiful memorials, erected by contributions from lot holders and in suitable locations to commemorate the dead in that portion of the Cemetery. Such memorials would be carefully designed by the most famous artists and sculptors of the day-each one a gem in itself in a beautiful setting and erected of the finest suitable material, regardless of cost. What an opportunity to design special sections; the whole a harmonious pot with a definite theme beautifully carried out.

Would not such a Cemetery be far more beautiful than the battlefield at Gettysburg, which we saw last year, where the monumental work is often too thick and ugly even though the area is large and the landscape beautiful. Natural landscape will be retained and possibly the day will come when the earth burial is as uncommon as the cremation is today and the necessity of digging graves in difficult ground will be eliminated.

Are we dreamers when we talk of such things? I don't think so. I think we must get this idea into our heads or a new group of Cemetery men, under the direction of the best landscape architects, will come along and build these Cemeteries while we are worrying about it. This is the Cemetery beautiful and we must study the idea and show our public how such a Cemetery may be made possible. How much more satisfactory such a Cemetery will be, nothing depressing but only sacred ground, quiet, peaceful and altogether lovely.

We have all of us studied the difficult problems of laying out Cemeteries to make them beautiful with rolling lawns, trees, shrubs and graceful avenues only to have them ruined with the laying out of lots and erection of memorial work and all our efforts seem to be in vain.

In the old days Cemetery Superintendents always laid out the Cemetery in squares, now we try to do better, but our problem is difficult and the results often discouraging. The park Cemetery will solve many of these problems and we all know the fewer lots in a section the better it looks. We have discarded curbing and fences soon we will discard other useless decorations and gradually approach the ideal.

We must study these problems seriously, intently and practically and develop our various cemeteries along the ideal which we have in mind, ever remembering that we are but servants of the public and that our duty is to crystallize and develop the highest ideals in our Cemeteries.

From the publication:
AACS - Proceedings of the 38th Annual Convention
Portland, Maine
August 18, 19, 20 and 21, 1924

The Landscape Development and improvement of a Cemetery is a continual process, requiring constant study, perseverance, and patience, and there is no landscape problem that deserves more consideration and study. A cemetery may be planned and developed, conforming to the plans of the most capable landscape architects and yet, through the ravages of time, the addition of new features or the removal of old ones, existing conditions are so changed that constant replacements, addition, and re-arrangements are necessary to preserve a pleasing and appropriate landscape effect.

Old trees that have stood out as the prominent features in a given section may have to be removed because of damage by storm or defects due to old age. Many plantations of trees and shrubs may have included certain rapid growing species that were planted for their immediate effect and which it was the intention of the architect to remove, as time developed, the slower growing species. The erection of additional features, such as monuments, mausoleums, and etc., may necessitate additional planting, which would in the absence of such features, be misplaced and undesirable; or again, the exact opposite may be true of some planting have to be removed or rearranged, on account of the creation of new view areas.

This continual development rearrangement, control and maintenance, should all be guided by the same motive, and not show the individual characteristics of each succeeding Superintendent or Sexton. To this end it is imperative that a general plan of the entire property be made at the outset. The preparing of a general plan is also a necessity from the standpoint of economy.

This plan should be prepared by a competent landscape architect, preferably one having made a special study of cemetery landscape and having had experience in their development. Unless the architect is to be retained permanently in an advisory capacity, which is strongly recommended, the preparing of the general plan, is but a part of his work, for the plan should be accompanied by a written report of recommendations to cover a period of years, outlining the possibilities of the future, the motive behind the plan, the order of its development and both general and specific recommendations, relative to the treatment and control of individual lots. A report of this kind in the lands of a competent manager would insure harmony in future developments and if issued in pamphlet form for the benefit of the lot owners, would prove not only of educational value but an asset as a sales factor.

It will be the purpose of this paper to outline a few of the principles of landscape development which should be included in such a report.

The real value of any art may best be measured by the feelings it creates, the emotion it stirs, and the inspiration it offers to those seeing or hearing its expressions. The success or value of our cemeteries (as works or landscape are) may then be measured by the nature of the feelings, the emotions stirred and the inspiration given to our visitors and lot owners while in the atmosphere of the cemetery. What should be the nature of these feelings and emotions or what atmosphere should our cemetery create?

First:

The atmosphere of the presence of God, as evidenced by the feelings of ease, peace, hope, seclusion and righteous inspiration.

Second:

The feeling that an artist has utilized the gifts of nature in adapting them for a special use and purpose in creating a beautiful place in which the living may lay their dead.

Third:

The feelings, emotions and inspirations prompted by the visible evidence of individual tributes to the love, memory and honor of departed Loved Ones, ever mindful of the fact that Death is the Great Equalizer and is not controlled by worldly power or position.

These are the feelings that the landscape architect should endeavor to create in our cemeteries by the method in which he preserves, develops, regulates and controls the elements which make up the cemetery landscape. We are all familiar with the terms "Lawn Plan" and "Memorial Park" as descriptive of what the predominating elements of our modern cemeteries are today. These terms have undoubtedly served their purpose in an educational way but I sincerely hope that their continued use will not prevail or will not be necessary, for through the efforts of this and allied associations I look forward to the day when the word "cemetery" will need no qualifications to convey to the minds of the people a distinct meaning vastly greater than mere lawn areas and park atmosphere.

As a race, we have and are developing certain national characteristics in our literature, music, painting, architecture, etc. This is especially true in our landscape design. Distinctly American landscape design fathered by Andrew Jackson Downing and carried to a high degree of individuality by that noted New England gardner, Fredrich Law Olmsted, has always been characterized by what is known as the naturalistic style of development. Adolph Strauch known as the father of the Lawn Plan Cemetery was the first to successfully apply this natural style to cemetery development. His application of this natural style, although considered at the time an innovation, constituted perhaps the most forward step that has been made in the history of cemetery development.

Although there may be some disagreement as to the degree to which the natural style should control the cemetery to the exclusion of all formal effects, there can be no disagreement about the fact that the development of natural beauty should be the predominant theme in our cemeteries if they are to kindle those feelings of emotion and inspiration which we intend that they should.

For the convenience of discussion, let us consider the following units or elements which make up the cemetery landscape and their relation to the development of an appropriate atmosphere.

1.    Entrance area or approach avenue
2.    Administrative area
3.    Service area
4.    Driveways
5.    Views and special areas
6.    Enclosure
7.    Trees and shrubs
8.    Expressions of sentiment

First: Entrance Area or Approach Avenue

First impressions are the most lasting consequently the impression created by the approach to the cemetery is of vital importance. We cannot turn sharply from a busy street finding ourselves immediately in the heart of a cemetery and feel that we are in a secluded, quiet and peaceful area, at least, not without some shock and subsequent loss of ease. The change being sudden does not permit a restful easy transition from the worldly business atmosphere to the quietude of the cemetery. The principal function of an entrance area or approach avenue should be then to create the feeling of approach to a secluded area of peace and quietness. This may be accomplished in four ways: First, it may be possible to approach the cemetery by way of a city or town boulevard system, tree lined and restricted to pleasure vehicles; second, the use of a natural approach as a ravine, or gully within the grounds itself. Ferncliff Cemetery, of Springfield, Ohio, has an example of such an approach following between a stream and a bluff on and not particularly adopted for burial purposes; third, the purchase and development of a special right of way to the cemetery as has been done with such a pleasing effect at Forest Hill Cemetery, in Boston, MA; fourth, by the actual construction of a short drive within the cemetery grounds itself. This drive should ordinarily be of a winding nature in order to make it appear longer and offer a better opportunity to effectively screen a sudden complete view of the cemetery itself. This entrance or approach area should be treated as such in its landscape development, that is, there should be as far as possible, no spectacular or distracting views on either side, the main view being directly ahead. Consequently, an appropriate treatment would be a tree lined avenue with heavy plantings of shrubbery along the sides.

Second: Administrative Area.

The office building and fits accessories should, for the convenience of the public and the management, be located at or near the entrance. If the approach has been effectively made, the office building and entrance features may be combined and should be of harmonizing architectural design. If, however, the approach has been quite sudden it is advisable to have the office building somewhat separated from the gate or entrance feature so as to create the impression that it is well within the atmosphere of the cemetery, thus perhaps softening the mental feelings of those transacting business therein.
 
Simplicity in design and landscape effects should predominate in this area as it is purely an area created as a necessity and not of special meaning in the landscape itself. Massive and elaborate gateways are not desirable as they produce a harsh feeling of rigid enclosure and lack of freedom. Memorial arches, a pair or group of pillars with suggestive chains, an arbor, or some of the iron gateways of simple design which create the feeling of protection without the harshness of an actual barrier are the best types of entrance features. The architect in designing the entrance features and office building should work in harmony with the landscape designer, especially with regard to the question of views from the office or waiting room.

Views from that part of the office where the public transact their business should not include scenes of burial areas, but should be limited either to distant views or that landscape area immediately surrounding the office as it is undesirable to create the impression of burial in close proximity to the administrative area. Open lawn areas framed with groups and specimens of shade trees and shrubs should constitute the principal landscape elements of this area.

Third: Service Area.

The service area and its buildings should be located and designed purely from the economic standpoint to service and utilization of space least adapted for burial purposes. Although this area should receive consideration in the actual plan of the cemetery it requires no special mention in a written report.

Fourth: Driveways.

The driveways of the cemetery although developed principally for the purpose of service in providing access to the burial areas, constitute nevertheless one of the most important elements of the landscape and may be made one of the most attractive features, if properly designed and constructed. The general scheme of road design has been discussed in many papers given at these conventions and we are all thoroughly familiar with the preferred methods of following the general contour of the ground utilizing the valleys for roadways, eliminating sharp turns, circles and the so-called geometrical projections of the engineer, the proper distance between the driveways, their drainage, relative grade with the surrounding area, elimination of the reverse, curve, etc., etc. These and many other factors, the landscape architect must consider in his arrangement of the general plan.

I will touch on a few of the principles of landscape which might be emphasized in a written report, supplementary to the actual plan or design.

You will recall that we treated our entrance drives, purely as an approach to the cemetery, and therefore limited the view solely to the area of the approach and entrance. We have a somewhat different condition now we have arrived in the cemetery for the driveways being primarily means of access to burial areas, must permit in fact emphasize this feeling of access through actual visibility or views of the burial areas. We will discuss the nature of these views a little later.
 
Sentimentally one road is as important as another, yet there are two influences which must be considered in determining their relative importance from the standpoint of design. First there is the purely mathematical or engineering factor which determines the width of roadways according to the area which they serve and the probable traffic from the standpoint of service. Second, there is the question of which roads should be made the most attractive on account of their location, the area to which they lead, and the views which they afford.

From the standpoint of landscape development those roads which offer the most pleasing general views should be made the most important and prominent. Many of our owners prefer a lot that is in a prominent location, while others prefer secluded spots. Our roadways should reflect with their prominence, the areas to which they lead. Thus a roadway leading to an area developed particularly for its reclusive atmosphere should not entice the visitor by its prominence or natural ease of approach.

Roadways while designed to create a natural easy approach to the burial area, must also create a natural free and easy movement of traffic leading out of the grounds. This is quite important especially in our large cemeteries, which if poorly designed, very often remind one of a maze which is very easily entered but one has an awful time trying to find the way out.

There has been a tendency of recent years to plant a row of trees on either side of the road, thus creating a tree lined avenue or boulevard of every thoroughfare in the cemetery. There are undoubtedly many roads that and improved with this treatment, but were every road thus lined with trees restricting our views to the limit of the roadway, we would leave the cemetery with thoughts only or beautiful drives. Let us create a greater feeling of variety and naturalness in our cemeteries by framing some of our views with groups of trees and shrubs rather than evenly spaced row of trees bordering our roadways.

There has also been a tendency to construct the roadways of light colored, glaring materials, thus magnifying their prominence. This may be desirable in some instances of formal treatment as around the Chapel, but for the most part I think the roadways, should be as inconspicuous as possible, considering their natural prominence from the standpoint of service. Therefore, the roadways should be constructed with materials of subdued color. Tarvia bound macadam with a sweep coat of trap rock screenings being perhaps the best in this locality.

Five: Views and Special Areas.

Views and vistas constitute the principal landscape effect of the cemetery. In general landscape development the large sweeping lawn areas provide our most pleasing views. Unfortunately in our cemeteries, we are greatly limited in the possibilities of creating these views on a large scale because of the predominance of expressions of individual sentiment by means of monuments, head stones, urns and flower beds.

The nature of the development around the administration area, the reservation of special areas, and restrictions governing the erection of monuments, will allow the architect to create some of these larger lawn areas, but for the most part, our views will consist or limited view areas. This is by no means an objectionable feature however, as the smaller the view areas are, the greater their number and variety will be, thus magnifying the extent of the grounds, and its atmosphere of privacy and seclusion.

Nearly every cemetery has one or two particularly beautiful spots, such as ponds, wooded slopes, or artistic buildings, which as natural features or artistic developments constitute the main views about which our roadways are developed. These views must be properly framed in the landscape picture and their beauty gradually unfolded to us as we proceed along the drives. I say gradually unfolded, because the sudden vision of an unexpected scene creates not only a feeling of admiration but also the feeling of surprise with a resultant unconscious suspense and alertness of mind, which is at variance with the feelings of ease and peace that we wish to create. Consequently our views should be presented not by the sudden unfolding of one spectacular view or several minor ones all at once but through a gradual transition from one to another catching a glimpse now and then of some view beyond that promises added attraction as we approach it, but which glimpse is not sufficiently prominent to detract from the complete view then in line of view.

One beautiful spot may be viewed from many angles, each view being as attractive as the other and yet sufficiently different to preclude the feeling of sameness or predominance of any particular feature to the exclusion of the lesser views and features; as our nation has developed certain characteristics of landscape so each cemetery and each section in the cemetery should have its outstanding features and characteristics. This character of the cemetery as a whole should be expressed in the development of the natural beauties characteristic of the grounds which we see unfolded in series of beautiful views and vistas.
 
An individual character may be given to various sections, not only by the way we develop the natural features but also by the way in which we control and regulate the individual expression of the lot owners in a given section. Thus we may develop sections of either a prominent or a reclusive nature, garden theme sections, sections developed particularly for the burial of soldiers or special lodges, avenues or areas developed to private mausoleums, etc., etc., even giving a pleasing individuality and naturalness to the single grave section. The landscape architect should be informed of the probable need of such sections in the cemetery to be developed and in his report include special recommendations for their control and development.

Six: Enclosure.

Whenever possible the enclosure of a cemetery should consist of a natural planting of trees and shrubs and not an artificial barrier of rigid enclosure. Unfortunately the later form of enclosure is in most cases a necessity but can be supplemented with a suitable planting to relieve its harshness. Boundary planting should be made with particular attention given to its sky line. A stiff formal hedge-like planting of either trees or shrubs of the same height is not desirable. Boundary planting controls the views of scenes without the grounds and forms a background for those within. Views without the grounds should he limited to those distant views which impress one with the magnitude of the universe. Views within the grounds should have a background with a varied skyline to convey the feeling of depth and distance.

Seven: Trees and Shrubs.

Trees and shrubs are the material which the landscape artist uses to frame existing and create new views. The placing of this material is purely a matter of study in each individual case to create and frame the most pleasing views, and screen the undesirable with a natural arrangement. I hope to have given you some inspiration that will assist you in your study of the proper arrangement of the trees and shrubs in your cemetery as a means of controlling the views. For assistance in the arrangement of this material for natural effects, I can recommend no better help than a study of nature's own arrangement. In nature, we find our trees and shrubs growing either singly or in groups or in compositions of single specimens and groups combined. When in groups we may find one separate group of a single species or again a group may contain two or more species, one species prevailing in a certain area and gradually being replaced by another species.  When singly we may find a few single specimens scattered within a group of another species or we will find a few specimens growing singly without attachment to any particular group.  When in combination of single specimens and groups, we usually find a clump of four or five and then not far distant a single specimen or two which although separated from the group, are seemingly attached to it.

When trees and shrubs are found growing together the shrubs are usually grouped in the foreground as a sort of border in front of the trees, which arrangement would he characteristic of our border or enclosure planting.

When trees and shrubs are growing more or less detached then the tree is usually in the foreground flanked with one or more groups of shrubs. This arrangement is ideal for use in the burial area with the shrubs serving as background for the monuments and the trees breaking up the views into separate pictures and adding depth to the composition.

Skyline plays an important part in this, nature's arrangement and many really wonderful illusions can be accomplished in our landscape effects by a careful attention to skyline. We can create the appearance of distance or vice versa. We can make undulating ground appear to be level ground or we can level off the steep slope almost at will simply through an interchange of high or low growing species in the foreground or background depending on the effect to be produced.

The question of what to plant: Most of those who are entrusted with the care of a cemetery are more or less familiar with the more common trees and shrubs and their natural habit of growth and these should constitute the majority of our plantings. For reference purposes, and a handy guide in selecting plants for special purposes, I would recommend the text books published by Doubleday Page & Company called "The Complete Garden" by A. D. Taylor, Landscape Architect. As a general rule plants used for backgrounds to monuments should have a dense even foliage and be planted close together or in clumps, while plants used in groups purely for the purpose of separating one area from another should have a less dense foliage and be planted more openly thus increasing the lights and shadows and giving an appearance of extent and depth to the area. Hard wood trees and hardy shrubs should be used almost exclusively, care being taken to provide a continuity of bloom and color.

Eight: Expression of Sentiment.

I cannot agree with some of the landscape architects who would prohibit expression of individual sentiment to the point of excluding all memorials and personal tributes. We cannot afford to make parks and only parks of our cemeteries. Why do we say we develop the cemetery for the living as well as for the dead? Is it merely to present them with a beautiful park or is it to create a beautiful setting in which the living may lay their dead, and show evidence of their love for the departed by the placing of a fitting tribute or memorial at this last resting place. Let us not prohibit these personal expressions of sentiment, but let us so regulate and restrict them that they do not predominate the whole, but become a part of it, thus preserving that feeling of harmony, unity and equality which is such a necessity to the atmosphere of the cemetery.

There are many ways in which the individual may express this personal tribute. Possibly one of the most appropriate, is the planting of trees, shrubs and flowers as memorial, for after all are they not nearest to nature and after having served their purpose and the time comes for their removal, they leave no scar to mar the landscape.

Let us encourage their use as expressions of tribute and so regulate their use that they may become at least in part a unit in the landscape development. Trees and shrubs existing on a lot when sold or originally planned to be placed on the lot would settle the problem in many cases. In others the privilege of addling a few perennial flowers in the shrubbery group would suffice. Again a specimen tree not called for on the original plan but permissible and necessary because of developments within the area would be suitable. Certain lots specified in the general plan might have the privilege of containing an urn filled with vines and flowers. Specific sections or parts of sections might contain limited space for the growing of flowers in beds, either to be planted by the lot owner or the cemetery. Excessive planting of gaudy flower beds as a general privilege however should be prohibited as they constitute only a selfish motive.

One lot owner vainly attempting to outdo the other in mere display, whereas in reality the little violet plant placed on the grave maybe a more worthy expression of sentiment than the most elaborate display of carpet bedding.

The most common expression of a lot owner's tribute is the headstone or marker. These should be restricted to a height not to exceed four inches about the ground level. Markers of this height do not appear as miniature monuments on the horizon when seen from the roadway and yet as we approach each stone it seems to rise up and show distinctly that it marks a grave as it should.
 
The family monument is perhaps the most difficult to control of all the memorials. Primarily these should be restricted to certain locations or lots specified on the general plan. This location should be for the most part well back from the road where the monument will have a background of trees and shrubs to give it a proper setting. The majority of the modern cemeteries have or are making such provisions in their most recent development but the difficulty of regulating or controlling the design and appropriateness of the memorial is still a delicate one and one which in many respects controls the entire atmosphere of the cemetery. With of course, many exceptions the prevailing idea of the public seems to be that a monument is principally a means of perpetuating a name in stone. This is the wrong conception of the true purpose of a real memorial, which should be a work of art on which the name has really little more significance than the name of an artist, penned inconspicuously on the canvas of a great painting. If we would restrict the size of the name on markers, I feel sure that the public would soon develop an appreciation for the real merits of the monument, namely, its artistic qualities purely as a work of art, a memorial not a name card.

In closing, I am suggesting three methods whereby we as Cemetery Superintendents and officials may best cooperate to improve and develop the character of our cemetery (1) Organization; (2) Cooperation; and (3) Education.

1. Organization of local clubs or associations with the objects of interesting the different civic authorities, park boards, and county officials, with the importance of cemeteries in relation to the boulevard system and park systems of the district, and the encouragement of street tree planting on the roads leading to the cemetery.

2. Cooperation with the American Society of Landscape Architects by the appointing of a committee to wait on a similar committee from that association with the purpose in view of arranging for yearly interchange of speakers at our various conventions, whereby we may learn more of the landscape possibilities in our cemeteries, and they may be more fully informed of specific problems of cemetery landscape.

3. Education by means of issuing pamphlets for distribution to the public; the encouragement of special courses of cemetery management, in the landscape departments of our colleges and a similar encouragement of memorial design in architectural institutions.

From the publication:
AACS - Proceedings of the 38th Annual Convention
Portland, Maine
August 18, 19, 20 and 21, 1924

When the officials of your society asked me to address this convention; I was reluctant to accept the honor because I keenly realize how little qualified I am to contribute any information of consequence to such a gathering of experts. And I was more sensible to the contrast that has in the past existed between the idealism that actuates you in your profession, and the commercialism that has wrought such havoc in the art I follow-a contrast that led me to feel I might be a stranger within the gates!

While many of you realize that my personal views and opinions coincide with the most advanced and progressive ideals and objectives of your association, nevertheless I cannot escape the fact that among my several vocations, I am a "stone-man" and that you cannot but invest that term with some bitter reflections. I very much hope, however, that you, will not feel as Emerson did, when he said to some unfortunate victim of his displeasure, '''What you are thunders so loud in my ears that I cannot hear what you say!"

I can perhaps best express my frame of mind in approaching my subject by reciting a little incident I witnessed in Washington a short time ago I went for the first time to the United States Supreme Court. And I heard there a young lawyer who had come out of the West with the absurd notion in his mind that he would show the court how much of the law he knew. In the sublime confidence of his conceit, he plunged into an abstract and involved dissertation on the law. About the time he reached his climax, the late Mr. Justice White leaned over, and rapping his gavel impatiently exclaimed: "Counsel will confine his remarks to a statement of the FACTS, the Court knows the LAW!”  And so I want to assure you, my friends, that I have not come here with the absurd notion that I can teach this court the law! (There are some people you know who think you know enough about the law anyhow!) Indeed I feel that I have been asked to bring the proverbial coals to New Castle and it isn't going to take you long to find out that I am not a lecturer even if I confine my remarks to a statement of the fact.

It may be true that I have written thousands of columns in magazines, newspapers and in some books on art in general and the art of the cemetery and the monument in particular; but that is no evidence that I am an authority, because like a great many writers I have lived in safety behind a barrage of words while the editors were out on the firing line catching all the bullets. Lecturing is quite another proposition. You've got to come out in the open and go over the top with real ideas, not mere language. And so I feel that Mr. Dooley was a great philosopher when he said, "It's not so bad, Hinnisi, to have people size ye' up wrong, it's whin they git yer noomber that yer in dainger, me bye!" (Laughter)

Now, I have been asked to talk about "Individual Lot Planting as Related to Memorials and the Trend in Cemetery Art." I am sure you do not expect me to essay an abstract or technical discussion of planting and horticulture, to dwell upon the elements of effect and their application because the technique of planting is part of your profession. I will approach that phase of the subject purely as a layman, an artist layman perhaps. And so far as the art of the monument is concerned, let me assure you that I am not going to inflict upon you one of those cut and dried histories of Memorial Art that start with Cleopatra and wind up somewhere around Theda Bara! (Laughter)

No, I want to reach out and beyond that sort of thing, if I can. I want to talk to you a little while about the mission of beauty in our cemeteries. I want to start with the fundamental idea that the cemetery is a vital civic institution with a vital mission of the LIVING, not alone the dead! That the cemetery is not a mere utility, that beauty is not the mere adornment of a utility; and that the monument is something infinitely more than a mere vehicle of commerce!

I want to put over one dominant thought, that it is our mission and the mission of beauty in our cemeteries to so fuse and direct art sentiment and reverence that our cemeteries will not only reflect, but that they will play a part in shaping the moral and spiritual aspirations of the community! I want to do this because I believe that it is through beauty and beauty alone, whether it be in art or religion that man will ever penetrate the veil of that eternal mystery "where God in Man is one with Man in God!"

And so my theme is the quest of beauty; my text is more art and less stone; and my topics will be the function of planting the function of regulations governing stone-work and the function of architectural design in the achievement of our objective. My arguments will be built on the one premise that the great and only obstacle to the quest of beauty in our cemeteries is the congestion of stone-work and that the congestion of stone-work is not only a detriment to the cemetery beautiful but that it is a menace to the art of the monument as well. In my helpless way, I will try to draw my arguments from the slides.

(At this point the lights were extinguished and Mr. Leland's discussion of the slides could not be recorded by the convention stenographer. The lecturer spoke extemporaneously throughout his address and no notes being available, a digest of the topics covered is here given.)

DIGEST OF SLIDE DISCUSSION

The sixty or more views were grouped into three divisions,-General Planting for the Cemetery, Individual Lot Planting, and slides illustrating Current Tendencies in the Art of the Monument.

In the first group Mr. Leland showed several views illustrating vistas in the Harrisburg Cemetery. Describing the roadway of wildwood that leads to one entrance of the cemetery he made an appeal for more natural beauty and less man-made art, for "more God and less Man in our cemeteries”.  By way of contrast, he followed this appeal with a slide showing an old section of the Harrisburg Cemetery immediately beyond the wild-wooded road. Complimenting Mr. Barnes for his remarkable achievements in relieving the congestion of stonework in this older part of the grounds, Mr. Leland said that the natural beauty of the Harrisburg cemetery had gained for the superintendent. Mr. Barnes, a well earned reputation as a naturalist and nature lover and that the congestion of stone which he inherited from a previous generation had given him also somewhat of a reputation as an "anti-stoneman" contrasting the old sections of the grounds with the new lawn-plan areas.
 

Mr. Leland touched upon the elements of effect in cemetery landscapes, attributing the major principles to the constructive work of the Association of American Cemetery Superintendents. Contrasting the European and American cemeteries, with a series of slides, he extolled the achievements of the American lawn plan, closing this phase of his discussion with a slide which paid tribute to the memory of Adolph Strauch, the centennial of whose birth had just passed:

In Memoriam
Adolph Strauch
August 30, 1822
April 25, 1883

Father of the American Lawn Plan Cemetery; his vision, ideals and achievements have exercised an international influence and his life will ever be a source of inspiration to all men in his field who sense the larger mission of their calling.

The second group of slides, on Individual Lot Planting, opened with a series of views selected to illustrate the point that the lawn-plan alone was not sufficient to insure a beautiful cemetery and to relieve inevitable stone-work, that the lawn-plan was a means and not an end The views contrasted lawn-plan sections in which the monuments were relieved and un-relieved by individual lot plantings. Mr. Leland supplemented his argument with a slide quoting the late James Currie as follows:

“. . . .Deciduous and evergreen shrubs; dwarf conifers liberally and judiciously interspersed, and artistically arranged are invaluable accessories in disguising or softening the bald and often harsh effect of obtrusive stone structures, and enhancing the beauty and harmony of some beautiful and artistically designed monument."
The late James Currie
Courtesy of "Park & Cemetery"

Followed then a series of slides illustrating the efficacy of individual lot planting in relieving congestion of stone-work and in beautifying plots.  The subjects ranged from simple headstones to imposing mausoleums.  The symbolism of planting and examples of good composition in harmonizing the planting with the memorial were shown. Before and after effects were illustrated by numerous slides. Mr. Leland appealed for the adequate endowment of planting on individual lots maintaining that foresighted designers of memorials today were advising their clients to include proper planting and endowment in the total appropriation for a memorial.  With the beautiful Olmstead plot in Harrisburg Cemetery as an example, he showed how the resourceful designer and architect can cooperate with the cemetery authorities in reclaiming and utilizing steep embankments for burial plots of singular beauty, a far more intelligent expenditure of money and labor than applies to the average mausoleum, he said. Mr. Leland advocated a movement to demand much larger plots surrounding mausoleums, maintaining that it was poor taste and poor judgment for lot owners to expend large sums for stone and little or nothing for plots, and that the results were no less harmful to the cemetery than they are to the builders of mausoleums.  He illustrated the unhappy effects resulting from the "tenement row" placing of such structures, arguing for more isolation and the placing of such buildings against natural screens such as bills and mass plantings.  Among the many other topics included in this group of slides Mr. Leland considered several methods by which the designer of memorials can save a beautiful vista in the cemetery.

Coming to the third and last group, the lecturer showed slides illustrating the consequences of laxity in the regulation of stone-work and their effect upon both the cemetery and the art of the monument. He showed a slide quoting the following opinion from the writings of the late James Scorgie.
 
"Forty years ago, it looked like an endless conflict between the forces of selfishness, ignorance and prejudice, and those of culture and regulation. I can see not only a vast improvement, but a public opinion behind that improvement that insures for permanence."
-The late James C. Scorgie
Courtesy of "Cemetery Handbook"

With logical arguments he appealed for more and better regulations governing stone-work,-not less, and he illustrated the desirability of such rules from the designer's point of view. Briefly touching upon the controversial "grass-marker" Mr. Leland maintained that the objective of the grade marker was beyond all criticism and that the only objection was one of personal taste. He expressed preference for the marker p1aced not more than four inches above grade, explaining that his criticism of the grade-marker was that it lacked definition around the edges in consequence of overgrowing grass. He illustrated his argument with slides but qualified his opinion by observing that the subordination of the marker was so vital that either method had much in its favor. By means of numerous slides he showed the efficacy of certain rules and regulations restricting stone-work notably in the area of monuments, the use of ledgers and kindred subjects. He explained a new rule that Woodlawn Cemetery in New York has recently adopted, one that regulated the superficial area of a monument. This rule is to be considered in a special article in PARK & CEMETERY. Mr. Leland also showed various methods employed by designer in attaining individuality of design through adaptation. He closed his forty minutes of discussion with a review of current tendencies in design, placing emphasis upon the so-called formal garden themes.  (Lights turned on)

I am afraid that I have rather superficially covered the subject. In conclusion I would like to suggest just one more thought. People often say to me. "Leland, I don’t see how you can like your business, this business of designing tombstones all the time!" And I daresay in your work you frequently hear similar facetious remarks of this kind. Now I am frank to tell you I do not like the "monument business", the "business" of selling monuments. I do not love a work that brings me in constant association with sorrow and suffering. No, I do not like the "monument business!"  But thank God in common with a great many of my contemporaries, I can and I do love the ART that makes it possible for me to transform a rough hewn block of stone into a thing of significance, soul and beauty! I do love the Art of the Monument!

And you men and you women - you cannot love the funeral aspects of your profession,-however little contact many of you may have with this phase of your work, - you cannot love this association with grief, sorrow and suffering. But you can and you do love the larger mission of your cal1ing!  -The service that makes it possible for you to create beauty and tranquility out of chaos and despair!  -You can and you do love the work, the service that through the inspiration of your great association makes it possible, in the words of Mr. Currie, not only to reflect but to shape the moral and spiritual aspirations of the community. You CAN LOVE this, the larger mission of your calling!

From the publication:
AACS - Proceedings of the 37th Annual Convention
Harrisburg, PA
August 20, 21, 22 and 23, 1923

This is a paper on Cemetery management prepared and read by me at a meeting of the New England Cemetery Association in Boston, Mass., in 1912 which I have been asked to revise and present to this convention and which in an unguarded moment I consented to do, gratified and pleased, of course, that my thoughts then expressed were considered worthy of repetition. But when I looked it over with a view to making any desirable changes applicable to a National gathering of men engaged in the same work which occupied most of my time and thought for many years, and in the light of eleven years of further experience and observation I find little that I care to revise; rather would I speak more emphatically concerning the somewhat radical methods then advocated and executed by me in the matter of restoration and after care of neglected lot areas. I would ask you however to bear in mind that the conditions and methods indicated are based upon New England conditions and may not prove adaptable in our more southern latitudes, realizing as I do that each and every part of our great country has its own problems which can only be solved by a knowledge and study of local conditions.

The Century Dictionary says that a Cemetery is "A place set apart for interments; a graveyard; specifically, a burial ground not attached to any church; a necropolis." Without doubt a satisfactory definition to the average mind, but who of us, engaged in the active and practical care and administration of Cemeteries will say that the real effort required of us in the discharge of our duties consists in any considerable degree in directing the actual excavation of the ground and the placing therein of the remains of a deceased person; or even the physical preparation, care and adornment of areas in question, necessary and important though this be. Not one of us, I venture to say.

But rather will you, I think, agree with me that our deepest thought and greatest anxieties are given to the financial and managerial questions. While the family affairs, characteristics and conditions of mind of our lot owners require a degree of skill, thought, energy and diplomacy, which exhausts our bodies and minds, whitens our hair and furrows our brow.

Some one has irreverently said that we have much to do with skeletons; Yes indeed we have, the skeleton of the family, many first brought to the light of day while endeavoring to determine who owns or who shall "boss" the Cemetery Lot; who shall, or who shall not, be buried therein, or removed there from, after the death of the original owner.

We must also sometimes explain why it is that each and every lot cannot have the grass cut and all other necessary care work done on the day before the family happens to visit the cemetery, accompanied by relatives from a distance who have been led to suppose that their particular lot was always in perfect condition, even though they had neglected to give the order for its care, and of course, you must not say this in the presence of "Auntie" (who, by the way, is advancing in years and has most of the available cash in the family.) Why, in midsummer, the grass is not green, although we have not been favored with a particle of atmospheric moisture for many weeks. Why the grass does not show a luxurious growth under the trees. Why you permitted the erection on an adjoining lot of such a monumental monstrosity and you listen to an outpouring of words in ecstatic praise of their own "Rock Face" creation.

You are finally enlightened by the information that "out West where I live they do things better," and through it all you are supposed to give your whole attention to the cultivation of a smile upon your face which can be classed as "Cherubic" and "Apologetic," otherwise you are informed that "I shall certainly write to the Mayor" or to the Chairman of your Board of Trustees, as the case may be, or it may be that they will decide that it is best to call attention to the alleged condition of affairs through the medium of the newspapers.

At this point your foreman gives you the delightful information that one of the pair of new horses you purchased, and in which you feel such pride, "will not pull the hat off your head," and that the driver is “no good anyhow”.  Never mind; you must lie calm, so over to the new work mount the seat, take the reins, talk to the horses and enjoy the sensation which comes of seeing them pull out the load in good shape, only to be met a few minutes later by your Supervisor of Interments who informs you that some undertaker has forgotten to bring the burial permit (which he has probably not yet asked the Board of Health to issue) but promises to send it out in the morning, "Shall I let him by?" he asks. After an investigation of the facts you wearily answer, "Yes, but don't do it again."

The bell in the tower signals that you are wanted at the office. On reaching it you find a bereaved widower who wishes to purchase a two-grave lot, no more, "just a place to lay her, and another for me when I am called." You complete the sale, and if he is a young man you withdraw from sale the adjoining lot, well knowing that within a year or so he will, while on a visit to the cemetery, express his regret that he did not get a larger lot. You suddenly discover that the adjoining one is still unsold. He is greatly pleased and buys it, soon after he will be accompanied on his periodical visits, which become less and less frequent, by another lady. Again the cherubic smile appears upon your face and you are so glad that the adjoining lot remained unsold for nearly two years.

You are pleased with yourself and fall to studying out some new improvement and estimating its cost, your door opens and you are confronted by a large, red-necked "Manufacturer of Artistic Memorials," who bluntly asks why it is that he can't do more business at your cemetery, and tells you that "so and so" are getting most of the orders for new work. He accuses you of giving the, other fellow the tips, and intimates that he can pay as large a commission for business sent his way as the other fellow is paying you. You indignantly deny the allegation and inform him that his presence and language are obtrusive and objectionable. Out he goes in a "huff" and you hear him mutter through his teeth that he will "see about this." “I will have your scalp yet.”

A few days later your Chairman of Trustees very quietly asks you about it. You explain the matter fully, and he says, "All right but be careful, you must keep these fellows quiet, for some day some one will believe what these fellows say about you."

I am sure, however, that you will agree with me that a good Cemetery Superintendent needs to know more things than does a man engaged in any other line of activity with which we are familiar, and that while it has its troubles and annoyances, it also has many compensations and rewards, furnishing as the position does so many opportunities to render a service and to do a kindness to our fellow beings, and at a time when such service is highly appreciated, and bring to us many life long friends, which after all is the greatest reward to get in this life.

And then you think of the satisfaction derived from the effort expended as we take hold of a block of land in its crude state, hostile and rebellious and watch it yielding day by day to our well directed labors until it finally lies before us a beautiful area of undulating lawn, subdivided into lots; and we complete the picture by adding at suitable places the choice bits of trees and plants, and enjoy that greatest of life's pleasures, the delight of seeing things grow, and then the more sordid, material side as we figure the amount of money our corporation receives from its sale, many times the cost of purchase and development.

Suppose you are called upon to take charge of a cemetery, or several of them, in which there exists, as is frequently the case, a considerable area of "old part" and you start in to clean it up and put it in shape. My experience is that there is but one right way to go about it, and that is to make a clean, through job of it. If you cannot do it all the first season, do what you can in a complete manner. Pull out all surplus granite posts; that is, all but the four corner bounds; and store them away for some future use, pull up the corner ones and with a heavy breaking hammer break off about one foot of the bottom end and reset them flush with the surface of the ground so that the lawn mowers may be run over them without striking; straighten and clean monuments, tablets and grave markets. Remove surplus trees and over-grown shrubs, prune those left, dig or trench over the entire surface to the full loam depth, re-grade, working out all possible terraces, sod edges and around monuments and trees, fertilize with any good commercial fertilizer. If the loam is poor and hungry, work in a good liberal quantity of well rotted manure. Clean up, re-grade and resurface your avenues and paths and provide for surface drainage when necessary, then seed the whole with such grasses as you have found by experience to be best adapted to the specific situation. The cost of such work is not great when compared to the results obtained.

I am sure that some of you will ask, "What will you do with lots in such an area for which no care provision has been made?" My answer is, "Do them just the same, because if you don't, you will find that, left as they are now, they will seriously interfere not only with the proper grading of the whole tract, but if left uncared for they invariably produce weed seed which will inoculate those adjoining and eventually cause you as much or more work as will be found necessary to put and keep them in order, in addition to the nullification of your efforts to keep the others in good order.

Then again, are we not under a moral obligation to give a reasonable amount of care to any lot sold?  Assuming that lots are now sold only with a Perpetual Care provision, the entire process of which is under our control, and we adjust it by investing a certain part of the purchase money in interest bearing securities, the income of which bears the expense of the care of the particular lot in question, are those people who purchased their lots before we made such provision and conditions in any way to be blamed because the care of theirs has not been provided for? Would they not have been willing, yes glad to have had us lay aside a part of their purchase money for this purpose? Would they not have peen willing to have paid more, than they did for their lots if the purchase contract had carried with it a care provision? I feel sure they would. When you sum it all up the situation as I see it is this:

Relatively a few years ago we learned from our experience that we ought to get more money for our lots and that we ought to lay aside a certain part of it for Perpetual Care. And ever since that time we have been trying to induce the owners of lots purchased prior to that time to endow their lots by the payment of a certain amount of money mutually agreed upon, varying in volume according to the opinion of the officials of the various cemeteries and in this commendable effort we have generally met with success, which success in itself proves to my mind that they would have made this provision at the time of the original purchase had we asked it. Understand me, I would not abate this effort in any degree but we still have those with us who cannot now make this provision. In many instances the family has become extinct; in others, reverses have come and they cannot procure the money. It is true that in most cases they have only paid a fraction of the price we would now ask for the same lot but they paid us all we asked and would have paid us more if we had demanded it. Hence, if we used bad judgment and made a poor bargain for ourselves; I think we should take our medicine.

Whence originated this whole subject of Perpetual Care? Not with the owners of lots, neither was it brought about by legislative requirements subsequent to an aroused public opinion which has been the cause of many public improvements. No! We did it and I am convinced that it is one of the best things we have ever done.

Let me ask. What will you do with these lots ultimately care for them or not? They are on your hands and will never be moved away. That they are a burden to us and a menace to the welfare of our cemeteries and our lot owners, I think you will admit. Being a menace, I am sure that you will eventually care for them. My advice is DO IT NOW. May I not borrow a well known advertising slogan "Eventually, Why not now?" The satisfaction of pleasing those who are too poor to pay for it is great, and this is the class of people who most frequently visit the cemetery and who feel the loss of their dead most keenly. We have upon a large monument this sentiment engraved upon a polished granite surface," The best part of the record of every man's life is what he has done for others." The thought thus expressed is one we should cultivate and keep before us constantly while engaged in our work. Our doing for those who cannot do for themselves will bring to us our greatest reward. And besides, I firmly believe that if we remove from our cemeteries every foot of neglected, uncared for land we will make them so much more attractive than they would be if these areas were left undone that we will be able to sell our new land for a much higher price, so much higher that we will make money out of our efforts. I believe it because that has been the result of my own experience and observation.

With advancing years of experience and observation I am becoming more and more convinced that the most attractive and desirable cemetery is the one that consists largely of well-made and well-kept lawns, avenues, paths and trees with most if not all of t he ornamental plantings placed in the public or administrative areas, that is, do not yourself, or permit or encourage in your lot owners the planting of beds, graves or borders of lots or lot sections more than compelled to do. The old custom of weeping willows or syringas on the lots with two beds of scarlet geraniums in the front border is a thing of the past. Few if any now want such plantings.

You will in any section find angles and spaces of unsold land into which you may properly and effective plant hardy growths of flowering shrubs or herbaceous plants, as well as the dwarf and slow growing broad leaf and coniferous evergreens. By all means, however, avoid an epidemic of “shrub fever”. Often have we been advised to "make judicious plantings of flowering shrubs?”  I would advise a careful attention to the meaning of the word "judicious" to the end that it may not be interpreted as meaning "promiscuous," as I fear has too often been the case.

On the deciduous shrub proposition we really have two flowering seasons here in New England: Spring and Fall. It is useless in a cemetery to try to make more out of it. We have read and been told much about the desirable effects of foliage all summer and colored bark and fruit effects all winter. These are all very well in large group plantings in parks, and for some large border plantings on the boundaries of cemeteries but I do not approve their use in internal cemetery areas or between or near lots. They are overgrown and cumbersome in a very few years and provide an attractive place for harboring injurious insects as well as for the depositing of rubbish of all kinds.

I like a freer use of the spring flowering bulbs those that will live on and increase and thrive for years. How the crocus, scillas narcissus von sion, poeticus and trumpets in their several varieties do brighten things up and with so little thought and care and don't forget the hardly lilies and peonies.
 
You can always find desirable locations of them especially along the outer edges of group or border plantings of deciduous and broad leaved rhododendrons and azaleas.  They furnish a most attractive display and at a season when they will be abundantly appreciated.  I also find great satisfaction in plantings of our native ferns in shady, moist places. Their cost is trifling, as they can generally be had for the labor of collecting.

Yes, we surely have abundant cause to be grateful for the opportunity which our occupation and position in life have given to us.

From the publication:
AACS - Proceedings of the 37th Annual Convention
Harrisburg, PA
August 20, 21, 22 and 23, 1923

It would seem to approach the realm of presumption on my part if I were to come before an association like this with the purpose of presenting anything new in the matter of research or invention in cemetery work.  To an association of thirty-five years standing holding an annual convention for study and discussion there must surely be for you, nothing new under the sun in the matter of cemetery development.

When I found the task of this subject assigned me and went apart to spend a few vacation hours in meditation, I discovered that literally interpreted, it called for an attempt to do what had been done many times over in the previous sessions of your conventions. It was so hard to find a starting point that I felt very much in the position that Pat found his friend Mike, after a few years sojourn in this country. They came out from the "auld sod" together. Both of them had been thoroughly trained in the religious faith of the church. Soon after their arrival in this land, circumstances parted them and each started to work his way in the new world. Pat remained true to the faith of his fathers but Mike fell on evil ways and drifted into infidelity and unbelief. In the course of time, the Death Angel reaped and Mike was cut off. His last request was that word be sent to his friend Pat, who hastened to him but only in time to find his old companion laid out in his best suit of clothes in his coffin ready for burial. As he gazed upon the face of his friend his emotion burst into exclamation. "Poor Mike! He didn't believe in God and he didn't believe in the devil. Poor Mike! He didn't believe in heaven and he didn't believe in hell. Poor Mike! He is all dressed up and has no where to go".

I found the subject as outlined on the program, so large and with so many ramifications anyone of which would be worthy the time of a special paper that I am taking the liberty of making the terminal facilities of this paper easier by confining myself to the subject of Modern Cemetery Making Some Reflex Influences and Observations."

What I say will be from the standpoint of one outside the office of Superintendent yet of one who is sympathetically interested in the work of your Association. This interest has been intensified by an extended experience associated as a stockholder and director in the development and management of at least two City cemeteries and also in the work of reorganizing several neglected rural cemeteries. I am also encouraged in addressing you by the thought that the chief function of a paper at a convention like this is not so much the presentation of new and unheard of material as it is to provide a fulcrum around which fruitful discussion may revolve.

A few observations of the reflex influence of your work may serve to hearten any of you who are met by serious discouragement in your work and perhaps are debating in your own mind as to whether what you are doing in the world is really worth while.  I would like to assure you with more than ordinary emphasis that the work that you are doing through the auspices of this Association of American Superintendents is worthy a place among the fine-arts in the realm of education. The work which this association is accomplishing and has already accomplished in conserving and improving the landscape and in the encouragement of rural art is of the highest value in promoting aesthetic culture throughout the land.

And I want also to assure you that yours would still be a worthy work if you accomplished nothing more than what you have already accomplished by developing your park system of cemeteries, in providing places of refuge for the preservation of bird life. At the annual rate of destruction of our natural groves and woods for the purpose merely of material gain, the cemetery parks dotted over the countryside are timely substitutes for these in supplying important places of refuge for the encouragement of bird migration and reproduction; those indispensable friends of mankind which not only add joy to life by their presence but are such a large economic asset in the destruction of insect pests. Yours is a twofold opportunity in this respect. You are not only developing cemetery parks that are sanctuaries for the repose of the honored dead, but incidentally these parks are also sanctuaries of the living plumage so necessary to our well being.

Another reflex of the work your association is doing is seen in the matter of rural community betterment and is associated with the work of reorganizing neglected burial grounds, and it appears to me that there is a splendid opportunity in your association to conduct a special work along this line with a special department giving expert direction and supervision to this particular work.

That the character of a community and its cemetery often bear a close relation to each other might at first thought seem a strained statement; but in a life's work spent toward the end of community uplift and rural betterment, the speaker has found that the spiritual, moral and social status of a community frequently reflects itself in the local cemetery. A personal reminiscence will serve as an illustration. Some years ago while serving in one of our home mission fields. I was assigned a territory about fifty miles square. I was proceeding for the first time toward a small village settlement at the extreme of the field to conduct Sunday Evening Worship and take a preliminary survey. Speeding along on horse-back through wooded trails, I suddenly emerged into the open with the village close in sight. I turned onto a by-path which made a short cut from the main trail into the town when suddenly my horse stumbled and I was thrown from the saddle. I recovered myself and my horse and looking for an explanation I saw where the path had broken away into some loose soil. A sweep of the eye disclosed in the gloaming sunset a half-fenced enclosure, a few irregular mounds and fewer still, reclining headstones. The loose soil into which my horse stumbled was a freshly filled grave. The whole area was a commons overrun by the cattle and the swine of the village. This was the village cemetery, the sanctuary for the burial of their dead. As these facts dawned upon me, forebodings of the work to be done took possession of my being and what I afterwards discovered of leadership in that place justified my forebodings.

I will present to you four types of character which were the most influential in shaping the life of that community and whose character was reflected in their cemetery. The first type represented its professional leadership. At my first service in the little neglected chapel of this village, a grimy individual with germy hands and dope-set eyes acted as chief official and passed his hat for the offering. At the conclusion of the service, he introduced himself as the village doctor. His mentality may be judged from this conversation. He was voluntarily discussing the recent death of a patient in technical terms that I feared neither he nor I understood. I said to him, "Doctor, I do not quite understand. Could you tell me in plain English the exact cause of her death?" "Well," he said, "to sum it all up, she died from the complete loss of the power of life." I told him that I quite understood him now.

The second type represented the educational leadership in the person of the village teacher. She was a tall, angular, stoical, maiden who had already been responsible for educating two generations and who was still doing the same things always in the same way and whose habit of reading never extended beyond the text books she daily handled before the class.

A firm of two brothers represented the industrial type of leadership. They owned the only industry in the form of a planing mill. It was equipped with a worn out engine and a planer. It took two hours to get up steam enough to operate and after running for two hours, they were compelled to shut down again in order to get a fresh head of steam for another start.

The last represents the moral type of that community. When I was about to leave the chapel after my first Sunday evening visit a young man who was lingering about the church door approached me and hesitatingly said, "Say, Parson, can you baptize and bury people?" I answered that I was ordained for that mission. "Well", he replied, "I want to get married." I performed that service for him the following week. It was just a month later when the same young man was waiting for me again at the chapel door. "Well Jack," I said, "What is on your mind this time? And quite unabashed, he inquired, "Say, Parson when can you plan to baptize our baby?" Thus a decadent community reflected itself in its neglected cemetery.

In organizing a work of rural uplift in a community of this type, the social worker can usually find a starting point for a universal appeal toward cooperative effort in the matter of the improvement of the local cemetery and I know of communities which have been awakened to many lines of helpful activity through the forming of a cemetery association.

That there is a need for work in many places along the line of cemetery reorganization can plainly be seen by a casual survey of the whole field of cemetery operation. For the purpose of this survey, cemeteries might be classed under four heads:
 
1. Business corporations having an eye to dividend production.
2. Association controlled and non-dividend.
3. Municipally controlled.
4. Church controlled.

Someone has observed that these might further be classified under organized, reorganized and disorganized. Some are examples of good management while others are samples of quiescent non-management. Many municipally controlled cemeteries especially in larger centers are well managed while in some of the townships, they are the victims in management of the worst roustabout the town shelters. The tendency to lift these from the realm of political management by transferring them to non-political associations seems to lead to a better and more economic administration.

Many church owned cemeteries, likewise, are under good management while the neglect of many others is coincident with the decline of the rural church. These might best be improved through the forming of a community association. Many of these cemeteries decline because of the presence of a well organized city cemetery within easy reach. The advantage of perpetual care is causing many removals that will eventually deplete them and their usefulness will cease.

To reorganize or make modern any existing cemetery is a matter of varied approach. In attempting this process, one immediately meets a variety of obstacles including indifference to higher ideals, prejudice against any change, political antagonism, legal difficulties, lack of finances, or experienced management or proper records, etc. All these must be overcome with patience according to the local circumstances. To aid this end, an educational propaganda must be instituted to arouse a public consciousness favorable to the change.

Next, a study of the laws of the particular state must be in order that a properly organized association may be formed and the lands of old cemeteries legally transferred.

The problem of finance usually looms up very large. The success of this must depend on the initiative of the leaders. The permanent revenue usually comes from the sale of lots supplemented by municipal grants and other means. It is necessary also to establish a permanent up-keep fund if permanency is to be assured. This may not be such a difficult problem as appears on the surface. In dealing with this problem recently, the writer knows of a community where a number of citizens came voluntarily and pledged in bequests from $100 to $1000 each, toward such a fund. A complete canvass will provide for this fund a start toward a fair endowment. Another possibility for aid toward this fund would be to educate lot holders to invest in this fund a goodly percent of the amount they would otherwise spend for monuments. An important point to make clear and insist upon is that bequests for this fund are not to be used solely for individual graves but should go into a common fund for upkeep of the whole cemetery.

The problem of management for a superintendent is of final importance. If no one with previous experience is available for this office, then someone with foresight and hindsight and the ability and desire to learn must be chosen and given every needed encouragement and help for the task. By such an effort, a strong organization through patience and devotion may eventually come to pass.

Before concluding, I would like to have said some things on "The Making of a Modern Cemetery" as a scientific process of modern art but, as I stated at the beginning of this paper there are so many departments that the work of these is best presented by the specialists who are working in these departments. I venture the observation, however, that the type of cemetery which best works out this ideal is a business corporation based on strict business administration. Successful business competition demands the highest type of efficient management and careful development from every standpoint.

I conclude by again assuring you as an observer from the outside, that the work you are doing through your association fills a large place in the nation's welfare.
 

From the publication:
AACS - Proceedings of the 35th Annual Convention
Detroit, Michigan
September 13, 14 and 15, 1921

In discussing the subject assigned "The Importance of Landscape Engineering Work in Planning Cemeteries" it is not my pleasure to dwell upon the artistic side of the question. I shall not speak of the magnolia grandiflora whose myriad blossoms twinkle in their setting of green as star lights in a velvet sky, of an air redolent with the perfume of many blossoms, or resonant with the song of sweet-voiced birds. Nor, shall I attempt to carry you in word-built boats along the banks of crystal waters, where the wave lips are dimpled into kisses for the lilies on the shore. But rather, I shall dwell upon the subject of producing the beautiful, long, green foliage which your stockholders long to behold upon the date of the annual dividend-Landscape Engineering-with the purpose of producing a businesslike, clean cut paying proposition without frills or fancy work agreeable to the eye of the public.

In the not too far distant future we must better correlate the work of the Landscape Artist and the Landscape Engineer, or recognize in them two utterly distinct professions, performing diversified missions in the field of cemetery development. The present translation of the two professions defined by nothing other than the great majority of their own works shows the two terms to be as widely indifferent as day is from night. With the Landscape Artist who plans for beauty alone, who creates a picture with the same spirit that his brother enjoys when he lays colors upon canvas, there is no criticism held, provided his work be done under conditions favorable to this type of treatment. When the appearance is paramount and means unlimited for the purpose, it is most assuredly the mission of this artist to allow his artistic sense every latitude and produce, to the best of his ability, a monument to his art.

In the planning of the cemetery, his artistic trend must, on the contrary, be constantly tempered by knowledge and experience in actual cemetery operation built on a foundation of engineering, training. There are limitations in the search for the artistic which must be recognized to a greater extent in cemetery building. These limitations are three-the cost or construction, the cost of operation and the cost of maintenance. Each step in cemetery planning must be weighed carefully in the balance, by all three standards, before a decision is reached. It must be remembered that construction cost is but the first cost, that certain short cuts which appear feasible to the cemetery designer and which on the spur of the moment are desirable, due to the pressure created by lack of time or finance, often sway the judgment to unwise decisions for which operation and maintenance must pay many times during the life of the cemetery.

Construction is the first step and a slippery one. During the construction period, the landscape engineer must be continually alert to reaching proper adjustments between the construction cost, the operating cost and the maintenance cost. For only during the construction period can the desired savings be affected at a minimum of expense.

Too frequently do we hear the boast that a new cemetery was placed on a sales basis in an incredibly short time and at unusually low costs. These figures are usually based on acres graded, rather than on yards of earth removed on lineal feet of roadway, completed without mention of sub grade conditions or specifications on material and method of placing. Drains also are often considered as outlets for storm water through the catch basins, although the drain laid to collect the soil water after a short study of strata and incline would produce dryer burial ground and a better labor condition at an initial cost quite favorable by comparison. First cost and speed in construction are desirable. Both must be given full weight, especially during a time when completion of burial ground means a return on a large expenditure, but never must the cost of operation and maintenance be forgotten. Thinking in the abstract, dreaming of effects and guessing at results will not bring the answer. Real study, plans based on actual conditions and available records of past cemetery operations are the only safe guides.

In modern practice the initial action in planning the cemetery is the topographical survey, usually worked out with care and precision. The second step, to which many of our modern cemeteries bear mute witness, is the location of roadways on the topographic map obtained, with an utter disregard for any of the information thereon. Perfect circles rapidly appear straight, broad avenues intersect contour lines with reckless abandon. All energies are bent on producing a fancy map, regardless of the mounting prices of steam shovel and scraper operation. Thousands of yards of earth are moved to fit this beautiful plat but seldom do pencil and paper make contact to determine the amount of earthwork involved in the choice of several routes.

In selection of roadways another vital element is frequently forgotten namely the trend of travel within the cemetery's limits. Ton miles mean money for road upkeep just as surely as they mean money for truck and auto upkeep. Cemetery employees must use these roadways for transportation their time and the wear and tear of cemetery equipment is an expense. The construction of long sections at right angles to each other prevents the continuation of radial drives and defeats direct travel. While roadways should, in the main, be curved, they should approach the radial plan from the cemetery entrance in the same scheme that modern city planning recognizes as good practice for main thoroughfares into the business section.

On every industrial project under consideration today, whether it be the maintenance of an automobile factory, the construction of a building or the operation of a cemetery we must consciously or unconsciously make provision for those intangible costs known as "Overhead and Contingency". The contractor adds a certain percent to his bid precedes it with these items and presents his figure for doing the work. The Cemetery Superintendent, wrestling with the cost of "Perpetual Care", lays aside his actuary tables unit costs and integral calculus and puts down a figure which he thinks will cover "the rest of it". "The rest of it" means our aforesaid items, persistent overhead and contingency. He knows his roadways, park spaces, drains, buildings, transportation and a dozen other items must be paid for from cemetery profits that directly they do not earn one cent. That is overhead. He knows that when he set that mausoleum under the big tree, some day someone must settle for the damage done when the tree blew down. He knows that when he bought the poorly designed catch basin grating, which will some day slip out of place and break an ankle, he set a trap for a damage suit. He knows that when the sharp turn was placed at the foot of the steep roadway grade he built a scenic setting for an auto accident. These are some of the constituents of "Contingency".

Neither of these items can be entirely eliminated. Every business must carry their cost; but the measure of that cost is usually the measure of the success of the business under association. The Cemetery Superintendent with his zealous care and careful observation cannot undo all these errors within reasonable cost or human ingenuity. The theories of the efficiency engineer can but in small measure assist in alleviating bed rock circumstance. The time to reduce the cost of Overhead and Contingency begins with a vengeance the day the cemetery is planned and dwindles away to nothing on the day the cemetery is abandoned forever.

In conclusion, let us ever keep in mind, when planning the cemetery, that it is a business proposition as well as a picture. That the grounds planned with an eye to operation and maintenance cost must in time, have the better financial condition to preserve appearance. From the moment that plans are begun, we must never forget that overhead is a factor in maintenance, whether the project be considered on the perpetual care basis or individual upkeep and that moneys spent on overhead are never visible.

The complete design of the cemetery cannot be left to the artist alone. While every element of cemetery construction must be considered from the standpoint of beauty and aesthetic value, the weight of construction, operation and maintenance must be found and recognized at the time of beginning.

From the publication:
AACS - Proceedings of the 35th Annual Convention
Detroit, Michigan
September 13, 14 and 15, 1921

A pioneer in the development of the present day cemetery, Mr. A. W. Hobert, former superintendent of Lakewood, Minneapolis, at the time of his death a year ago last March left innumerable of those signs which mark the genius. For 31 years Mr. Hobert devoted his best energies to Lakewood and the esteem in which that cemetery is held today is due almost entirely to his efforts, his imagination and far-sighted methods of management.

Following in the footsteps of one who has been so unanimously successful is a task indeed. The indelible marks of Mr. Hobert's keen individuality are apparent to one who has watched the progress which Lakewood has made and I confess that I imagined myself a second Atlas, bearing the weight of the world on my shoulders when I took over the management of the cemetery last year. This feeling so strong during the first few weeks gradually changed into one of gratitude that I was given the opportunity to carry on the work of a man who, in my mind at least, bore the stamp of master.

To those who are unacquainted with the accomplishments of Mr. Hobert at Lakewood, it might be helpful to have outlined the cardinal features of his labors. Geniuses, I have noticed, always leave one feat or example that elevates them above the mass of ordinary struggling mortals. And so it was with Mr. Hobert and I believe the work which I am about to describe will prove the assertion.

When Mr. Hobert made his first appearance at Lakewood, the cemetery was little more than a woods, poorly landscaped and even more poorly managed. The tract comprised something more than 170 acres, but some portions of this were unsuitable for use. Mr. Hobert's first move was to put the institution on a paying basis, which was indeed no small task and thereafter he devoted himself to rebuilding that part of the cemetery which already had been laid out. His efforts even today are visible, for his skill in landscape gardening changed the appearance of the older portion of the tract from one of mediocrity to one of perfection.

Mr. Hobert, I believe, was one of the first superintendents to recognize the beauty of the lawn-plan and also one of the first to strenuously advocate this system of gardening. His first mission in the early days was one of education rather than achievement, and Lakewood now prides itself on having the greater portion of its land under the lawn plan. Mr. Hobert also insisted that good roads played no unimportant part in the proper development of a present-day's cemetery. As a result, Lakewood now has the highest form of Tarvia roads throughout-roads which I am certain cannot be surpassed any place in the country.

Probably the greatest single monument to Mr. Hobert's farsightedness in the matter of permanent improvements is the mortuary chapel which was completed in November, 1910. Lakewood, as you may know is as near a public institution as possible; that is, money-making is not its primary object. With this in mind, it is possible that Mr. Hobert had a freer rein than numerous superintendents in the country, but the chapel erected at an initial cost of $150,000 and which could not be duplicated for twice that amount today certainly justified that expense. Permanency, sanitation and beauty, the three architectural requisites, are embodied in the chapel. Permanency is found in the granite foundations and walls; sanitation in that each part of the interior can easily be kept clean and beauty in the exquisite mosaic mural decorations which cannot be surpassed on this side of the Atlantic.

The materials entering into the construction of the chapel were of the most imperishable nature. The walls are of reddish gray granite, the dome and roof of Gustavino tile with an outer covering of Spanish wall tile embedded in elastic cement. The interior is a most interesting and valuable example of the mosaic artists' work, the walls, ceiling and dome being designed and executed in Venetian mosaic, imported for the purpose and set by Italians of great ability. These decorations are set off by a harmonious combination of marbles in floor, wainscoting and stairs. A retiring room for ladies and a robing space for the minister are provided and a private chamber on the main floor allows the family of the deceased to remain as secluded as in a home and yet have within full view, the body and the officiating clergyman. The chapel proper is connected with the crematory by a hydraulic lift.

Another important achievement of Mr. Hobert was reclaiming 40 acres of swamp land in the Southwest corner of the tract, which until a few years before his death had remained practically useless. In reclaiming the land Mr. Hobert dug one portion lower than the surrounding land, threw the earth thus accumulated on the nearest adjoining portion of the cemetery and thus in one stroke added a lake to the other landscape charms of Lakewood and availed for practical usage a considerable portion of land.

I spent five years under the tutorship, if it might be called tutorship of Mr. Hobert, and my one ambition is to carry out the plans of development which he many times, previous to his death, outlined to me. At the same time, I hope to put into actuality some of my own ideas. In the past year I have constructed a thoroughly modern garage and stable, entirely removed from the cemetery, and I am now at work in wrecking the old greenhouses and replacing them in thoroughly modern fashion. I will have 75,000 square feet of glass in the new greenhouses.

Lakewood has natural advantages which I do not believe have been worked to their fullest extent, and in addition to following the policy of Mr. Hobert in a general way, I am making an honest endeavor to put the cemetery on a par with any now existing in the United States. The facilities for such an accomplishment are within my grasp, the directors of the institution are farsighted business men and with reasonably intelligent management, I am confident that the task which I have laid out for myself is not an impossible one.

From the publication:
AACS - Proceedings of the 35th Annual Convention
Detroit, Michigan
September 13, 14 and 15, 1921

The built-in cost of providing an interment space includes digging and filling the grave, but it also includes other cemetery administration services.

Some companies add a "recording fee" independent of opening-and-closing. On example is a three-tiered recording fee, escalating in cost $ depending on the intricacy level of the research needed before opening (and closing) a grave.

In a 100+ year-old cemetery a lot can happen over the years besides deaths: divorces, marriages, adoptions, un-adoptions, bequeathals, un-bequeathals, name-changes, location transfer, rule changes... so before cemetery managers meet with a family all research has to be completed; hence, the "recording fee".

Opening-and-closing also includes the attendant services and accessories: installing the burial container, setting up the lowering device, setting up and taking down whatever form of shelter the cemetery uses, chairs, any little ameneties like bottled water, kleenex, etc. In the case of bigger, heavier containers many cemeteries charge an additional fee to install the container.

These two words "Perpetual Care" seem to be differently construed in various localities, according to my observations. Some Cemeteries, which were started years ago and operated on a stock issue plan, felt it necessary to expend as little as possible on the general improvements and maintenance of said Cemeteries, in order that the dividends on the stock issued might be of such proportions annually, as to more than satisfy the holders of said stock. Under ordinary circumstances, Cemeteries of this kind were good paying propositions for the stockholders only, but like unto the golden goose, their days, or rather years, were numbered, for very obvious reasons. Many of the unsightly Cemeteries, which have been to a great extent the cause of more or less antagonistic legislation in my opinion, would never have been created had not the lure of the substantial dividend been the paramount factor. Other cemeteries of the same kind realize that the change in times, customs and expectations, etc. of the public made necessary changes in methods also, and they established a system called “Perpetual Care" under which, as far as I can discern, the lot owners or purchasers are being called upon to provide for the better care of the Cemeteries in general, in order that the dividends which have obtained for many years may not be materially lessened. Of course, in cases of this kind, perpetual care is not so represented to the lot owners, whose plots undoubtedly receive care commensurate with the amount paid but the fact remains that the more lot owners who provide care of this kind, the better the appearance of' the Cemeteries without increased costs to the various Corporations operating them.

Other Cemeteries conducted along different lines by Corporations that are satisfied with modest profits or dividends, feel that the good appearance of well kept grounds is of just as much concern to the management as to those whose beloved ones are buried there. They therefore, are willing to curtail the larger dividends, to a more or less degree and "cast their bread upon the waters" as it were, fully realizing that well maintained places of burial are the ones that attract the buying public.

Then again, there are those Cemeteries, from the operation of which no person or set of persons derives any financial benefit and Cemeteries of this kind endeavor at all times, to give such care to their entire grounds, without additional charge to the lot owners, as will cause the communities in which they are located, to feel proud of their existence. Cemeteries of this kind, and in fact all others, which have existed for a number of years, find included among their lot owners, many who have met with such reverses as to preclude the payment of even small annual charges for the care of their individual lets, and the civic pride of these corporations prevents a state of dilapidation to exist, even though they are not remunerated for the small expense required to prevent the prevalence of unsightly conditions.

To be sure, no Cemetery can afford to maintain the individual plots in absolutely perfect condition, including the frequent cutting of the grass, watering, fertilizing, re-grading and seeding or sodding together with the maintenance of the monumental work etc., without an extra charge therefore. Even if a prohibitive purchase price is placed upon the lots offered for sale, the conditions which might arise in the future could not be humanly anticipated, by reason of the great difference in ideas and tastes, regarding styles and sizes of monuments, mausoleums, floral decoration, etc. Hence the effort on the part of many Cemeteries to convince their lot owners of the wisdom of making such arrangements with the various corporations, as will insure the keeping of their plots and the appurtenances, in perfect order in perpetuity, and we now come to another phase of "Perpetual Care".

In this connection, I have had a little experience and my observations prove that a Cemetery which is indifferently maintained generally is not the one which makes-forward strides in securing perpetual care endowments. Some persons will argue that if a Cemetery is too well kept as a whole, at the expense of the corporation, the incentive for the lot owner to provide for perpetual care is removed, and that the number of deposits therefore will be decidedly less than in those Cemeteries, where a very marked contrast between the endowed lots and those not similarly provided for, it permitted to exist.

This, in my opinion, is a decidedly mistaken opinion, for the simple reason, that before a lot owner will even consider the idea of presenting to the Cemetery a sum of money for perpetual care he must have confidence and trust in the management of that corporation. Gentlemen, I assure you that this confidence and trust is begotten in no other way, than by the demonstrated attitude of the corporation, regarding its organization, maintenance, and last but not least, its consideration of the interests of its lot owners.

Having secured the confidence of the lot owner to the extent of considering seriously the matter of perpetual care, it is necessary for the Cemetery to estimate, in each case, the amount needed to provide for the proper, perpetual care of the lot. After having learned the exact wishes of the lot owner, as to the desired care that is, or will be expected, it seems to me to be absolutely imperative by reason of varying conditions and individual requirements and tastes, that these estimates should be made by someone, who from practical experience, is in a position to compute the cost per annum to the Cemetery for caring for the plots, including the maintenance of any monumental work, re-sodding, fertilizing, etc., and the annual expense of any floral decoration which might be specified.

All estimates should be made in duplicate and properly filed for future reference, and no agreement to give a plot proper perpetual care should be entered upon, unless the estimated amount needed, is deposited. Accepting amounts less than those needed, in order to oblige the lot owner or depositor, or to show gains in the general fund left for this purpose, only leads to future trouble and dissatisfaction. When a deposit has been made for the care of a lot, the next thing of most importance is the quality of the service rendered in return, m order that the confidence of the depositor may not be destroyed.

In justice alike to the party of the first part and the party of the second part, the need for detailed cost keeping, charges, etc., is self-evident.

When the deposit has been made for the care of a lot, a special ledger account should be opened therefore, showing date of deposit, lot number, section number, name of depositor amount paid, amount of annual interest allowed, and a notation should be made of just what the Cemetery has agreed to do for the amount paid, in accordance with the estimate, which has been previously made.

The foreman in charge of the department should be given this information in duplicate and thereafter the plot should be designated and considered as Account No. ____. From the moment the lot is endowed, all items of expense of any kind should be recorded and checked.

Whenever, in the course of events, the plot is given attention a time slip dated, showing the amount of labor, materials etc., employed should be made out by the foreman in charge, and these time slips should be left at the office daily.

After said slips are received at the office, they should be checked up in order to determine whether or not the total number of hours of labor for which the company must pay the men assigned to the perpetual care work on that day, is accounted for by the time slips referred to, and the items should be posted in a day book.

To record fractional parts of an hour of labor, would not only involve an immense amount of extra work and detail, but would include no allowance for the time lost by the men going from one plot to another, neither would the Cemetery be compensated for the cost of the tools and other items of overhead expense.

The total number of hours charged against the care of these lots daily, should therefore never be less than those paid for by the Cemetery, neither should the total exceed the cost, by so large a margin that the overhead expense including all items, which can be honestly included under this head, cannot be reasonably accounted for by the difference.

The charges for the day book account should be posted monthly into the ledger account bearing the same number, and at the end of the year, all of the accounts should be totaled and balanced. No hesitancy should be exhibited in showing these accounts, at any time to the lot owners, if so requested.

The working out of this kind of a system is a task which requires considerable time and thought on the part of the management and it means also the instruction and education of the various foremen, before success can be achieved.

At the Cemetery, with which I have the pleasure of being connected, we believe we have in operation a system along the lines above mentioned, which causes this department to be handled in a manner that is apparently meeting with the unqualified approval of the lot owners, as well as the Trustees of the Cemetery.

This statement is corroborated, I believe, by the fact that we have now 3750 individual accounts for the care of which about $2,500,000 has been deposited by lot owners.
Local conditions vary so much, that I would not presume to say to you, that the system employed at Green Wood Cemetery, is the only correct system, and is the one which should be used by all Cemeteries throughout the country.

Efficiency Engineers, in which class I do not claim to be included, would no doubt, be able to forward to each member, by mail, for a certain consideration, the complete formula for a system which would prove absolutely accurate and efficient in all Cemeteries alike throughout the country, irrespective of size, financial conditions, local conditions, or in fact, any and all of the conditions, which exist in the various sections of the country to worry the Trustees, to say nothing of the Superintendents, here assembled.

One of the greatest factors in the development and retention of the confidence and support of the lot owners, is the keeping of these perpetual care records in such a definite and open manner, that the lot owners' themselves can readily understand them.

When a perpetual care system is developed to a considerable size, and many lots have been endowed, the unreasonable or "cranky" depositor, who feels that he is not being justly treated, is bound to appeal and the fact that the Cemetery can demonstrate exactly how the interest in each case has been expended, and on what dates the different items of expense were actually incurred, is the very best means of pacifying persons of this kind, and of preventing the often threatened law suit.

I have tried to outline• in a manner which you can readily understand, the principles which are to my mind uppermost in the successful administration of a perpetual care system or department.

The exact method of handling the time slips, ledgers, etc. in my opinion are best devised by the various individual superintendents, in accordance with the conditions under which they must labor.

In conclusion, allow we to say that there is one danger ever present and which should be borne in mind by all of us, and that is the fact, proven to me by personal experience in the past, that too much system can be employed, and in order to maintain "too much system", overhead expenses become top-heavy, and to the average mind bewildering, thus defeating the real object for which designed.

From the publication:
AACS - Proceedings of the 35th Annual Convention held at Detroit, Michigan
September 13, 14 and 15, 1921

As one of the newer members of this Association, and with memories still fresh in mind of the education gained from the Conventions of the last few years which it has been his privilege to attend, and of previous conventions about which it was his privilege to read, the writer has been nursing the hope that he might again, in attending this convention, come as a student who is permitted to pursue a post graduate course in the profession of his choice and receive instructions from teachers of long and active experience in the courses which lead to an understanding of better methods, better and more complete equipment, and newer applications. As a human sponge, if you please, absorbing all the good things given out by others and hoping to retain them until such time as his own problems might call them into use.

However, we can learn that the plans and devices of men are never certain, and often, what we have accepted as facts prove to be but visions and without foundation.

Thus were we impressed when our good friend, upon whom was imposed the chairmanship of this Convention Committee, asked for a contribution to this program, even though extending to the writer the privilege of selecting his own subject.

At the same time this (favor) was extended, we observed an article which appeared in the Public Press reciting a request made by a leading magazine publisher in which Mr. Roger W. Babson was asked to write, detailing some line of business or experimentation which had not been thoroughly tried out and traced to a successful conclusion.

In comparison, it seems that the various questions with which the Superintendent deals have been as thoroughly covered at one time or another in the history of this Association as have other lines of business and experimentation in the rest of the business world.

For this reason may we be permitted to digress from dealing with any subject, singly, but rather to touch upon several little things which enter into the work of caring for a cemetery.

In the discharge of the manifold duties of the Cemetery Superintendent and in variety of equipment needed in his work there are several things which might be referred to as Little Essentials. Many of these which we will mention are, on doubt, employed by all Superintendents, and all are perhaps employed by some; many little conveniences which when once adopted and used are considered by the user as indispensable.

These are being added to as conditions in various sections and at various times require and as methods improve in the general conduct of business.

Changes may seem to be taking place very slowly, yet, always abreast with the times and one need not have been connected with the work for many years in order to note marked improvements.

Road building, sewer construction, grading, concrete mixing and other lines of work have called into use a new and extensive line of power equipment.

The power lawn mower is fast coming into favor where areas of unobstructed lawn permit its use, and it may be safe to say that its introduction into the Cemetery will have its influence toward the elimination of obstructive mounds and raised markers in Cemeteries where these obstructions still exist.

The little edger, or trimmer, for cutting closely around monuments and trees, or on borders where the lawnmower fails to reach, taking the place of shears or sickle is one of our best time savers.
For many years the dump cart had its place as an indispensable tool in the Cemetery but has been displaced by the dump wagon, and for much of the work the dump wagon has now given way to truck and trailers.

The trailer will also, in a general way, displace the wheel-barrow taking the place of that long used tool by the side of the excavation and the soil or debris will be conveyed directly to the dumping grounds, and the driveways will no longer be marred by particles of clay or suffer loss of material through shoveling from their surface.

To how many other uses trailers may be put, and how much time will be saved in handling material we will not attempt to enumerate.

Protection of the lawn at the time of a burial has long since been taken care of by the use of the earth-cabinet placed by the side of the grave, keeping the earth which is to be used for refilling in a neat and compact form and leaving the lawn unsoiled after the burial has been completed. This cabinet was introduced to this Association by means of an illustrated talk given by one of its members several years ago, and we believe has now come into very general use.

The canopy with side enclosures protecting patrons against the heat of the sun or against cold winds and storm, or used as a means of giving privacy to those who are laying away their dead; this, with the heavy ground covering of matting or other suitable material to be used when the ground is cold or damp provides a means of safety and comfort and has become a Cemetery necessity.

The lowering device, adding dignity to the burial service by its slow and noiseless operation and if desired, permitting the casket to rest in view of relatives and friends of the deceased, thereby saving them the severe nervous shock which we have all many times witnessed when the casket was lowered from sight by means of straps, accompanied by their addending noises, and handled by pall-bearers unfit because of age or lack of experience.

Grave decorations or linings which may be more or less elaborate with settings of ferns and palms and other hot house plants, or a simple covering of the earth with boughs and draperies which hide the walls of the grave; but whether the lining be elaborate or simple, much has been done toward softening the harshness of the old time mode of burial and your people are permanently impressed and their minds are eased by the beauty of the picture.

The public is being educated in recent years to expect the best in service and is pleased to pay a reasonable amount for it.

Debris baskets placed convenient to the avenues for the deposit of papers and withered bouquets and partially hidden by low plantings are not conspicuous and do much toward keeping the grounds free from those unsightly objects which would otherwise be blown about to lodge in the shrubbery or to litter drives and lawns. Lot owners with scarcely an exception take pride in helping to keep the grounds clean and instead of throwing trash upon the avenues will go out of their way to use the baskets.

Tomato cans, milk bottles, and the old china pitcher as receptacles for flowers have been replaced by the double cylindrical bouquet holder which is set into the grave or at its foot the top level with the sod, out of the way of the lawn mower, and when not in use is also not in sight.

Still fresh in our minds is a very minute description of the uses and advantages or the alarm and telephone system as operated in not a few Cemeteries. By their use communications are quickly established between the office and workmen on the grounds: attendants are notified of the approach of the funeral cortege and know from the signal where to meet it. The Superintendent, if out on the grounds, may be called or he may readily get in touch with any workman to whom he wishes to deliver a message through a signal from the bell and the use of the phone.

The advantages of this equipment can be fully appreciate even in Cemeteries which do not cover large areas.

We may not be predicting too much, perhaps, in the presumption that future equipment for this purpose will be minus the troublesome wires which if strung on trees are sometimes grounded by the winds, but radio stations will be installed and workmen will be equipped with vast pocket editions of the wireless phone.

Numerous other articles of equipment which might well be classed with essentials could be mentioned, not the least of which from point of time and frequent service are the pick and shovel. Little need be said except their having been used since the burial of the Patriarchs, and the probability that they will not be displaced so long as immigration laws permit the landing of men to use them.

Turning now to the office, we find in. a steel sectional cabinet all the paraphernalia for quick reference and for permanent and compact record, Use of the card system of indexing deeds and interments facilitates locating lots and graves, plans of lots drawn to a scale, and showing location of all graves, memorials and trees make it possible to give exact information and to transact business with dispatch. This is especially appreciated by the patron when he is waiting for information on the phone, or when planning for an interment and manifests a nervous anxiety to avoid delay that he may the sooner return to his family and home. Duplicate plats for the owner of the lot may quickly be traced and plans for the future use of the lot be indicated.

Printed forms upon which all orders are received, uniform in size for convenient filing; the autograph, making duplicate copies for office and grounds. Filing cases for standing orders such as Special and Perpetual care. Cost sheets, distributing time for various items of labor, and last but of much interest to the Superintendent, a cabinet for his literature, his books on subjects of horticulture and landscape gardening, Rules and Regulations, which are always convenient for reference, Convention reports, and the Superintendents Digest, which comes to our desk every month, "Park and Cemetery".

From the publication:
AACS - Proceedings of the 35th Annual Convention held at Detroit, Michigan
September 13, 14 and 15, 1921

Cemeteries render certain services which may be divided into two classes: First, those for which direct charges are made, such as providing burial lots and opening graves; second, those for which no direct charge is made, as for instance, maintaining avenues, shelters and office facilities. Inasmuch as the cost of furnishing and maintaining avenues and buildings is provided for in different ways by the various cemeteries, this paper will treat of those services for which direct charges are usually made. Everyone on whom the responsibility of superintending a cemetery rests has certainly been confronted, and probably will continue to be, with the difficulty of adjusting charges to meet the ever increasing costs. To some the difficulty of securing sufficient labor and a fair output has been perhaps more urgent than that of securing sufficient funds to pay those they have. The output per man per hour has generally decreased as the number of hours’ labor per day increased. The actual cost of operations must be known to intelligently fix the proper charges for these operations.

For a concrete case, perhaps foundations for monuments furnish a good example. If labor costs were 15 cents per cubic foot and material costs 17 cents per cubic foot and profit or overhead was 8 cents, foundations were built for 40 cents a cubic foot. When labor advances to 45 cents and material to 40 cents and profit and overhead is still 25 percent, the sum of labor and material costs the charge per cubic foot should be $1.06. The cost of foundation includes excavating and removing earth, very frequently three handlings, to say nothing of wheeling and teaming. The size of the foundation is in very many cases so small that extra material must be excavated, to give a man room to work, and then replaced and the surface re-sodded. The sand, stone and cement must be wheeled sometimes fifty or more yards. Where the headstones are set by outsiders, no matter how carefully, there is inevitably more or less repair necessary to the lawn surfaces. The high costs of monumental work is doing more to reduce the size of monuments and headstones than all the cemetery superintendent's advice and counsel to lot owners ever could. Sometimes the maker of a two by one headstone will compare the cost of a cemetery foundation, containing about twelve cubic feet, with the cubic yard price of mass concrete in engineering work requiring thousands of cubic yards. But let not his comparison or the unthinking lot owner's amazement at "such a terrible price" deter the superintendent from figuring all the elements of cost when readjusting his foundation prices to a higher level.

The charges for opening graves are so largely a matter of labor. whether in the field or in the office that the percent of increase paid grave diggers for this labor applied to former charges is somewhere near the proper charge. However, in many cemeteries the interment charge formerly included besides the labor of digging, filling and removing surplus earth, the use of the lowering device, the laying of board walks, covering with evergreen and even the use of tent and chapel. Whether it is wise to continue to give all these extras under one charge or whether it would be better to make some, or all of these, the matter of extra charges, rests with the particular cemetery. In a cemetery catering to all classes, it does not seem fair to make those who do not want these extras pay for them. The trend of the times seems to be away from the good old table d'hote to the a la carte method, and perhaps this simile may be a bit strange, yet it is well for cemeteries to observe the operation of natural economic changes that are going on.

The charge for flowers, planting, grading, watering annual care and such matters are all to be figured on the same basis; namely the charges must meet the costs of doing the work and doing it according to the standard previously established by the cemetery. There is a certain human tendency to trust that soon the time will come when things will right themselves and by keeping along and slighting the work that somehow one will get by until that time. But it seems a wrong thing to do where annual charges are made that may be revised as occasion requires. In the matter of annual care some cemeteries must find themselves in a quandary. For instance, in an old cemetery which is now selling lots only with Perpetual Care, many of the old lots were sold without Perpetual Care. Some of these old lots were under annual care, but many were absolutely uncared for. For the general appearance of the cemetery these uncared for lots have been fixed up and grass cut, without any payment by the lot owners to the cemetery. The annual care received may be small, if the cost is materially increased as it should be; some of those who have paid for years will probably refuse to continue. Then the cemetery will have so many more lots to care for without direct return, or it may give up caring for all lots which do not pay. The result will bring a generally unkempt appearance which no amount of care lavished on new and Perpetual Care lots can overcome. In a case of this sort and probably many have somewhat similar problems, that are peculiar to cemeteries, it seems better to continue to keep up the general appearance of the cemetery even though the expense has to be charged to new lots or overhead. There is another point that constantly comes up in connection with these old lots and that is this: the present proprietors of these lots are usually numbered in the great middle class; they have not received the immense profits that have accrued to the operators in foodstuffs, merchandise and manufacturing enterprises not the 200% to 300% increase in wages of many workers. In fact, times are pretty hard with them in many old communities and they have much difficulty to live and clothe themselves. Whether it is charity to accept $5.00 where $15.00 should be charged or good business to take $5.00 rather than nothing is for each one to decide for himself.

The increased costs of labor have a very varying effect upon the price of new lots, depending upon the amount of labor necessary to bring the reserves or newly purchased land into shape for lots. Those who have adopted the excellent accounting system, embodies in the paper read at Buffalo by the late A.W. Hobart (an able man whose kindly presence and big heart we all miss), will have little difficulty in setting down a base price per square feet. Unfortunately, some must dig out the cost of the land and estimate the carrying charges, look up the cost of drains and avenue construction and compute and estimate the grading charges to be applied to the net area available for burial lots. Few must include the cost of blasting and excavating rock, but all these things must be considered and figured into the new selling price.

How many know the percent of gross area of a forty-acre tract that will be available for sale? More care than some have exercised in the past is necessary in accurately compiling all the elements of cost because the amounts involved are much greater than formerly; because one must be sure to have his balance on the right side of the ledger and because that has generally characterized their operation and no charge of profiteering brought against them because of a superintendent’s easy-going guessing instead of knowing.

Perpetual Care is the specific performance by the cemetery of a contract made by and between it and the lot owner, the consideration being a sum of money paid to the cemetery by the lot owner with the proviso that the cemetery will use the income forever to care for the graves on the lot and such other care as may be stated in the contract. Some Perpetual Care contracts thus limit the liability of the cemetery to the amount of work the income will pay for and others guarantee to do the specific things enumerated. Though there is a very marked difference in the legal aspect of these two forms of Perpetual Care contracts, the practical difference in a going cemetery is not so marked, for this reason: If a cemetery does not continue to maintain the same general appearance of care as formerly, the confidence of the public will be weakened and when confidence and trust go, the decline of that cemetery starts.

The amount of Perpetual Care endowment any lot requires is determined by two factors, both variables. First - the cost of doing the work and second - the rate of interest that the fund will yield. The yield must be sufficient to include the expenses of administering the fund and the actual losses to which all large funds are subjected. Of the variation in the cost of doing the work every superintendent is aware. The difference in the interest rates on money is also apparent to the readers of newspapers, to say nothing of those who are carrying overdue mortgages. There appears to be no fixed relation between these two variables, because they are each subject to different influences. For instance, restricted immigration has been a very strong factor in the wages of common labor and its influence on money rates is rather remote. Furthermore, the income received from conservative investments and the wage paid labor is different in the different localities.

In 1893 a superintendent states in our proceedings that a fund established sixteen years earlier on a basis of a yield of 6% earned in 1892 five percent and was likely to earn less in the future. So the question of the proper amount necessary to take Perpetual Care is not a new one with this Association. There is no rational formula that can be employed. Just as an engineer in designing a structure uses the latest data he can secure on the strength of materials, not the empirical formula he used five, ten or twenty years ago for similar structure, so those entrusted with the designing of Perpetual Care funds should consider the stresses and strains which the present times have developed in the Perpetual Care structure.

One old conservative practice in some places was to figure a yield of 3% on these funds this at the time the return was from 3¾% to 4% from state and municipal bonds. What rate of yield or what conservative figure less than the real rate at which bonds may now be purchased shall now be figured. I hazard a guess that 4½% would be a fairly conservative figure on which to base the estimate for Perpetual Care. The present yield of liberty bonds is better than 5½% and the yield of municipal bonds twenty years ago was 4%.

Suppose it cost $3.00 a year to take Perpetual Care of a lot containing 150 square feet under pre-war conditions, and $100.00 was the amount required for the endowment of the lot. Let us assume that it cost $7.50 to do the same work today, then on a 4½% estimated yield, the endowment should be $166.67 or an increase of two-thirds in the endowment. Of course these figures probably do not agree with any particular cemetery but the principle seems a reasonable one to adopt. It may be said that the rate in twenty years will be back to the old figures and it is unsafe to figure 4½% on a perpetual investment. An answer to such statement is that when money rates drop to such figure the costs of doing the work will probably likewise drop.

But what about the lots now under perpetual care which cost perhaps two and a half times as much as the income from the endowment fund estimated at 3 percent? Certainly a going cemetery must fulfill its contracts; the grass must be cut and the settled graves raised. In the language of the day it is up against a tough proposition. To be sure in the conservative practice of estimating assumed, there is probably a return on the original $100.00 investment of $4.00 instead of $3.00, and if the bonds mature now fixed principal of $100.00 may be reinvested to yield $5.50 in absolutely safe obligations of the national government. But even under such conditions there is a deficit of $2.00 on each $100.00 of the endowment. In some cemeteries, probably a good many, more work is done on the perpetual care lots than is called for in the contract-for instance, the care of grass alone may be specified in the contract for perpetual care and one or more myrtle graves may be cared for. This care of myrtle graves may be a matter of annual charge or additional endowment.

But suppose there is no chance for any such relief, then revenue from operation must be sufficiently increased to take care of this deficit. To be sure when the lots are all sold and only a very small income is obtained from operations the income from the perpetual care fund is practically all the fund available to care for the cemetery; then there will be no means to raise revenue needed to make up a deficit if present conditions then obtain. In case of the continued duration of these conditions the only thing to do is to make a systematic addition to the endowment fund by devoting a sufficient amount from future lot sales to make the endowment fund such amount as will yield enough to fulfill the contracts at the time the last lot is sold. These accretions will naturally diminish the amount necessary to raise yearly from the operating income.

Here is what Timothy McCarthy said twenty-seven years ago at Minneapolis: "In conclusion, gentlemen, our Association must be true to this Gospel of Perpetual Care. We know how pleasant and easy it is to receive people's money, and how uncertain and difficult it is to carry out the obligations assumed, especially in our severe and eccentric climate, but we must keep faith with the people, and secure to our citizens at least a burial place, indicating not only respect for the dead, but which will also be a source of pride and consolation to the living."

From the publication:
AACS - Proceedings of the 34th Annual Convention held at Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
September 7, 8, 9 and 10, 1920

On July 14th I received a very nice letter from my old friend, Mr. Salway, Chairman of the Convention Committee, requesting me to write a paper for this convention, stating at the same time that I had the exceptional privilege of selecting my own subject. This was very kind of him.

If I did not know Mr. Salway for so many years, since 1888, I would have taken him for an Irishman; he used so much of what we call the "Blarney" in that letter. After some study to find a subject not entirely thrashed out, I decided to write something about the shortest and quickest method of communication between the office and the officers and men through the grounds.

This subject applies only to large cemeteries having extensive grounds and a large number of funerals, where communication is more or less difficult and takes much time.

At our Cemetery, Calvary, St. Louis, we have over 3,000 funerals a year, or about an average of ten a day; on some days, especially during the winter and early spring months we have over twenty a day. During the Influenza epidemic last fall and winter, the average was over thirty a day, with very few men to attend to them, as nearly all the labor was requisitioned by the Government for the army or in the factories.

Undertakers in ordering the graves do not always order all the extra work they require; they leave this for later consideration, or when they are able to have a more detailed understanding with the family, for instance, lining graves, erecting tents, etc., which are usually hurried orders, especially if the weather is wet or threatening rain. These late orders give considerable trouble, as the men must be notified as soon as possible; this condition necessitates quick communication with the grounds.

In our grounds near the center on a hill we have a Bell-tower built of brick, sixty-five feet high. The bell is fixed stationary at the apex of the tower; it is struck by a large hammer on the outside. This hammer is operated by an electric bell-ringing machine, set in motion by an electric battery at one of our gates a half mile from the bell-tower. The gate-keeper rings the signals by pressing on a button connected with a wire to the bell-tower.

The signals are expressed by strokes and pauses; for instance, if the Superintendent is wanted, one stroke on the bell calls his attention. If the Chaplain is wanted, two strokes calls his attention. If the foreman is wanted one stroke a short pause followed by two strokes calls his attention and so on for officers and men, each has his signal.

When the Sexton has to locate graves for funerals he calls the foreman on the bell who listens for the next signals: the sexton indicates by signals the number of men he wants and the different stations at which they are to meet him. We have eight stations through the grounds at which the grave-diggers are to meet the sexton. For instance, if the sexton has two graves to locate in the vicinity of station five; two taps are sounded for the men and five for the station. If he wants to locate three graves in the vicinity of station seven, three taps are given for the men and seven for the station, etc.

Connected with these bell signals we have sixteen telephone stations, the telephones are locked in a box attached to a post or a tree. Officers have to carry duplicate keys for the boxes so as to communicate with the office when necessary. These phones are private and not connected with the public phones of the city. They are supplied with electric power from the same batteries that serve for ringing the bell.

The signals are repeated at each gate by a repeating tapper, through the telephone wires, so that the office can know if any mistake is made by the party ringing the bell. There is a regular telephone exchange at the gate where the batteries are located and where the bell signals are given.

When an officer is notified by a bell signal he goes to the nearest telephone and gets in communication with the office to find out for what he is called; this saves a great deal of time and expedites the work on hand.

When the foreman calls the roll at seven o'clock in the morning and one o'clock in the afternoon, he appoints six grave-diggers to answer the next calls for men on the bell. When the first call is sounded No. 1 answers the call and No. 2 knows he is the next to be called, so he is listening for that call, and so on with No. 3 and 4. We can see from this the great importance of the bell signals; they serve as a language to facilitate rapid communication between the office and the grounds.

When the funeral of an adult arrives at the gate it is announced by four taps on the bell, followed by the number of the section that the interment is to be made in.

When the funeral of a child arrives, three taps are given, followed by the number of the section that the interment is to be made in. This notifies the grave diggers of the funeral and section that they are called on to attend.

One of my motives for selecting this subject was to invite discussion, as other large cemeteries have systems of communications, which might be an improvement on ours. A repetition of the discussion will prove useful to new members, and may have some interest for older members.

From the publication:
“AACS - Proceedings of the 33rd Annual Convention held at Cincinnati, OH"
September 24, 25 and 26, 1919

The sad lessons learned through making serious and expensive blunders are generally impressed on one's mind so forcibly as to never be forgotten. While the educational value of knowledge so gained is frequently great, the cost is excessive.

It has seemed to the writer that perhaps notes of a few of the many blunders which he has made, or of the results of which he has had knowledge during some seventeen years of cemetery work, might be of interest and of possible value to the younger men in this association.

Perhaps the greatest, the most inexcusable and the most criminal blunder which a cemetery manager can make is in overlooking any possible chance for errors or omissions in the records d lots and graves and the data regarding interments. No interment should be allowed in any cemetery until a complete and perfect system of recording has been provided for and the proper books, indexes and plats are in the superintendent's office. The most perfect system possible, however, will not secure perfect results without continuous, careful work by the superintendent. The plat system is the foundation of all good work in cemetery recording, but the results from this system may be sadly lacking in accuracy if the lot corners are not permanently marked, if the measurements are inaccurate, or the platting is carelessly done. It should be an invariable rule that each record shall be made complete while the matter is in hand and not be left to a later and more convenient time. It is an equally important rule, that as frequently as once each week, every entry relating to lots or interments made since the last checking, every distance and measurement and every plat of a grave should be carefully checked and verified to the most minute detail. Clerical errors occur with the most careful and constant and careful checking is the price to be paid for accuracy. In this connection will properly come a reference to duplicate records. This is the age of carbon copies. It is a matter of slight trouble and expense to duplicate by impression paper the consecutive record of interments, and if the copy is kept in a different location from the original, the superintendent and his lot owners will have abundant cause for thankfulness in case of the accidental destruction of one set of records.

Perhaps the next most important point is the preparation of full and well considered plans for the entire cemetery before the first shovel full of dirt is handled. Here it pays to make haste slowly and to expend money freely. Every dollar carefully expended and many apparently wasted in this way will in later years be returned many fold in the saving of expense of development and maintenance, besides the added beauty and harmony of all the parts. There are too many patchwork quilt cemeteries in the land now. Let us not help to make any more of them.

Just a word upon a tender subject long years of careful work by an intelligent man in a cemetery will teach him much; good reading will help greatly; attendance at these conventions and visits to the leading cemeteries all over the country will do more for him; but he will still be in the primary class as compared with the men who make the laying out of cemeteries a profession, and have a large number of successful works of this kind to their credit. We should let no small feeling of fear or petty jealousy restrain us, but when work of this kind is to hand, call for demand, if necessary the advice and assistance of the best man who can be had.

In the new cemetery, lack of funds may prevent good work in the laying out, grading and planting of the first sections, a desire to secure lot buyers and interments may lead to a laxity in the enforcement of rules and regulations, consequently, in nearly all cemeteries, the earlier sections are the most unsightly, while as funds accumulate and the cemetery becomes more popular, the general work, as well as individual lot improvements are better. The early work has been done, and the first sales made near the entrance and every visitor forever after is compelled to pass through the most unsightly part of the grounds. By all means let us begin at the back instead of the front, or at least reserve from sale a large tract around the entrance and extending well into the grounds.

All rules must be general in their application and must be uniformly enforced otherwise they are void if contested. A firm and impartial enforcement of the rules may save much future trouble. A mistake in point was one where the allowing of a lot owner to cut down a small and unimportant tree, came near making it impossible to prevent another lot owner from cutting down a two foot oak and carting it home for firewood.

A neglect to keep careful plats of every sewer and water pipe, with all levels, connections and junction points; and sizes and. materials of which they are constructed, is a mistake no matter how unimportant or temporary the work may be.

Marks for the base lines of all surveys should be made permanent, if possible, and bearings taken and recorded, so that they may be replaced if destroyed or tampered with.

The superintendent who has not at his disposal a transit level and rod and is not reasonably familiar with their use is to be pitied. It is not a serious task for an intelligent man to post himself so as to be able to do all necessary surveying and platting for his cemetery and his work will generally be much more accurate and satisfactory than that of the ordinary surveyor. Not long ago, the writer, in visiting a large cemetery, noticed that a cloth tape-line was in use and on asking why they did not use a steel one was told that they were too expensive. This reminds one of the old story of the carpenter seen walking rapidly down the street with his hands widespread and arms extended at full length above his head. Upon being questioned by a friend who met him he said, "Don't bother me-got the measure of a door-going to make a frame." Those cloth tape measurements and the carpenter’s “measure of a door” are each a little open to suspicion.

The writer does not claim to have exhausted the subject of mistakes or even to have made a beginning on the mistakes he himself has made, but there is one that he proposes not to make, which is to read a long paper before this association. It will also be noted that he has not quoted any poetry.

From the publication:
AACS - Proceedings of the16th Annual Convention
Held at Boston, MA
August 19, 20, 21 and 22, 1902

From time immemorial respect for the dead has been one of the dominant virtues of the higher types of civilized people. In the earliest pages of history we read the beautiful story of the purchase of the cave of Machpelah by the patriarch, Abraham and the dedication thereof as a family burial place, where he deposited the loved form of Sarah his long time helpmate and sharer of his weal and woe, and where later on his own remains were tenderly laid away by his sons; Isaac and Ishmael.

During recent years this respect has been shown more and more strongly in the establishment and maintenance of the modern cemetery, where those dearly loved in life may be laid away for their long rest in a quiet, well cared for place, where the mourning relatives and friends may visit the graves of their departed, feeling safe in the assurance, that come what may, the beauty and sanctity of the spot will be preserved for all time.

Frequently the desire to show respect for the dead leads people to expend large sums of money in providing elaborate caskets and other funeral trappings, numerous carriages, and expensive floral pieces, and perhaps their feelings are relieved by such expenditure; all this is but transitory, the funeral cortege comes and goes, the casket is consigned to the grave soon to molder and decay, and the flowers fade and are removed from sight. Next a fine monument is erected and a marker placed at the grave, and the friends feel that they have done all that mortal man could do to perpetuate the memory of and show respect for the departed. But in the majority of cases the most important item of all has not been considered at all, i.e. the provisions for perpetual care of lot, monuments, etc.

Does the corporation controlling the cemetery in which the burial was made provide a fund for this purpose? Or is it controlled by a close corporation, or individual owner, whose only aim is to declare large dividends, and when the land is all sold abandon the grounds? Private ownership of cemeteries is not conducive to the best results as to permanency, and if permitted at all, should be under strict laws, and in what better way can our legislators show respect and reverence for the dead than by enacting such laws as will require the establishment of a permanent care fund in every cemetery.

In our own city we have two deplorable illustrations of the old style, go-as-you-please cemeteries that were run for revenue only until they were squeezed dry, since which time they have been abandoned entirely and have become the scenes of vandalism which beggar description. Similar cases will be found in nearly every city in the country and in many of the smaller towns and villages. It is a pleasure to note, however, that the people are awakening to a realizing sense of the condition of things and in many places are endeavoring to reclaim the abandoned burial plots.

In respect to the dead, and justice to their descendants, provision should be made which will in the future preclude any possibility of a repetition of the above mentioned conditions. It should be required of the lot owner that all work of a permanent nature placed in a cemetery be constructed in the most durable manner possible, and no improvements of a perishable nature permitted. Granite and marble monuments and markers set upon solid foundations, and metal vases should be about the extent of artificial adornments permitted.

But the matter of paramount consideration is the permanent care fund. How or when this shall be provided is not so important, if it be made certain that by the time the land is all sold and the business of the cemetery has ceased to be profitable, that then an income will be available, sufficient to keep the property in good condition. There are different plans of providing for the permanent care fund. One is to set aside a certain percentage of the receipts from the sale of lots, another to set aside a certain fixed sum per square foot of land sold. Either plan is good and can be readily and comfortably adopted by a cemetery well established, with a large income, but in case of a young cemetery where the income is yet small, there is a great temptation to put off the day when a portion of the income shall be set aside for permanent care and to use all the income for other purposes.

This, no doubt, is mainly the reason why so many cemeteries are still without proper provision for the future.

The writer has a plan in mind which he would like to have discussed, namely: to set aside a portion of the ground of the cemetery the proceeds from the sale of which constitute a permanent care fund. Suppose, for instance, one-fifth of the cemetery in quantity and quality to be set aside, why would not this secure the same result as to set aside one fifth of the cash proceeds of lot sales? It may be urged as an objection that the management would sell the four-fifths and let the remainder go to the last. This could not result in damage to the fund, as the last one-fifth would in all probability bring larger prices than the portion sold earlier. The beauty of this plan is that it makes it easy to do the right thing. Not every cemetery can spare a portion of its cash income, but there are none than cannot, even in the beginning dedicate for this purpose a portion of its ground. There should be immediate legislation in all states, requiring provision to be made for permanent care of all cemeteries, old and new, and if the option were given of setting aside ground ill stead of money it would meet with little or no opposition. Another important advantage of this plan would be in applying it to cemeteries which had disposed of a large proportion of' their lands, say two-thirds or three fourths. It would be impossible to reach the money received from sold lands, but the one-fifth of the land would still be available and could be subjected to an arrangement of this kind. .

In closing I would say that while to our society is due most of the credit for the improved condition of cemeteries throughout the country, there still remains much to do, and we must continue the work so well begun till we have effected still greater reforms.

From the publication:
AACS - Proceedings of the16th Annual Convention
Held at Boston, MA
August 19, 20, 21 and 22, 1902

I have been asked by one of your committee to say a: few words relative to the relationship of undertakers to cemeteries; and being desirous to be plainly understood I have committed to writing what has occurred to me, and with your kind indulgence will read the same, hoping that in case you do not agree with me, that you will take the "will for the deed," and understand that these expressions are the thoughts of one and not of many, among whom so much diversity of opinion is likely to exist.

Gentlemen, I realize the task I have before me, and know that the whole thing is a hard problem to solve, but I have given it some thought and hope that no one will chide me for speaking my mind.

Different states have different laws and the same with cemeteries, which have different rules and regulations. It is an easy matter for an undertaker to enter a cemetery with which he is familiar, but such is not the case when one enters a strange cemetery. But before we proceed any further; let's see what the law of this Commonwealth is regarding the appointment of undertakers.

Section 44 of Chapter 78 of the Revised Laws of this Commonwealth says:

"The boards of health of cities and towns shall annually, on or before the first day of May, license a suitable number of undertakers who can read and write the English language. Such license shall be issued upon such terms and conditions as the board of health may prescribe and may be revoked at any time by the board if its terms or conditions of any requirements of the law relative thereto have been violated by the undertaker. An undertaker who has been so licensed may act in any city or town."

Now that is the law under which the various boards of health issue to an undertaker his license, and he is duty bound to exercise due care, or his license will be revoked and the business which possibly he has been years in building up, will have to suffer. I am not finding fault with that law, because it is also a protection to anyone who conducts his business properly. But how is it with the gentlemen who serve in the capacity of Superintendents? They are appointed by a cemetery commission and are required to live up to certain rules and regulations made by that commission. Therefore, gentlemen, I wish you to clearly understand me, that while not complaining of the rigidness of the rules by which we are governed, I think that those in charge of cemeteries should use a great deal of leniency toward him, with whom he comes in contact so frequently, namely the undertaker.

It is well known that families have peculiar ideas relative to services at the grave. I can call to mind a case where a family had a quartette standing on the lot singing, while the remains were being removed from the hearse, and during the lowering into the grave. The mourners formed a procession which moved down the path some distance to the lot, and as the remains passed from their sight they returned to the carriages and were driven away, the quartette still singing. There have been other cases where the family remained on the lot while the grave was being filled, and a quartette singing until the last sod was placed on the grave. Many other cases occur to me, one in particular, when the family expressed the wish that the casket should be placed upon the bier and remain there until the carriages containing the relatives and friends had driven by, and the interment left entirely with the undertaker, who was expected to see that the same care and tenderness toward the departed was exercised as if it was his own. The above facts are mentioned to show that, as I first stated, the peculiar ideas of the family notwithstanding those in charge of the cemetery, must be respected and their plans carried out and if they are not, the undertaker is often censured.

Now one word in connection with those associated with the cemetery whose duty it is to open and close the graves. While it may seem a little hard, still I am strongly of the opinion that those men doing that work should be required to dress more neatly while in the presence of the mourners, and not as is common, appear like the regular laborers of the cemetery. It should be the bounden duty of the Superintendent of Interments to attend entirely to the lowering of the remains into the grave, and absolutely refuse to allow strangers, not accustomed to such work to interfere in so important and solemn an undertaking. And let me here state why I have formed this opinion. A case occurred to. me where I spoke to the Superintendent as to the manner of lowering the remains into the grave, and he feeling that I was exceeding my authority was quite indignant and did what he thought proper, and met with a serious accident, which virtually reflected upon me and yet I was entirely blameless. If pall bearers accompany the remains, as is often the case, their duties should cease at once upon arriving at the lot, and the responsibility should fall upon experienced and competent men who are familiar with that duty. There is a question which arises here and is often asked: Where does the undertaker's authority cease? I maintain that his duty is completed the moment the remains have been received by the men employed in the cemetery, and I contend that he has performed his part, and anything which may occur after that devolves upon the cemetery authorities. It is claimed by some superintendents that as the funeral procession enters the cemetery, it then becomes their duty to take charge of the same, while others feel that they are not responsible until the remains are lowered into the grave. I suppose it would be almost impossible to fully agree upon all these points, but I have thought that it was well to present them for your consideration.

Another, and what I consider a very important feature, comes to mind, and that is in regard to ordering graves for interments. I certainly believe that it is the duty of the family and not the undertaker to attend to this. First, because oftentimes the representative of the family may not be thoroughly familiar with the lot and although having received his instructions where the body shall be placed, from the relatives, sometimes makes a mistake, and then the undertaker comes in for reproval. Probably many instances can be cited where mistakes of this kind have occurred and owners were positive that the right directions were given. Telegrams are sometimes sent, saying that the interment should be at the right or left, and it is afterwards discovered that a mistake has been made which it is then too late to rectify. This has been done by reason of those giving the directions, by standing in different positions and not at the time giving the matter serious thought, yet having in mind that you or I were perfectly familiar with the exact location intended.

One word about brick graves; I believe that the price received for the same, varying from $23 to $26 and upwards, ought to cover the entire expense without extra charge for the use of the evergreen or boughs. These things are for the interest of the cemetery, and certainly would stand to its credit if attention were given to it, as the cost is trifling and would undoubtedly be appreciated by many families. This to my knowledge is done in some cemeteries and not in others. It also comes to me as a suggestion, that if a tent for use in stormy weather be provided, for which a nominal, charge could be made, it would meet with the approval of the relatives and friends. These are also found in some, but not in all cemeteries. All things like these carry with them a great deal of weight and certainly attract people to such cemeteries, when they wish to purchase a lot.

And now, gentlemen, comes what I consider a very important matter, and one which should be carefully weighed in all its bearings. I say very important because it refers to some of the financial matters connected with our vocation. It ought to be the duty of the cemetery officials, when an order is given for opening a grave or tomb, to request of the party a deposit for the interment fee. I never could see why this should devolve upon the undertaker. He does not own any part of the cemetery and why should he be called upon to pay, say a fee ranging from $5.00 to $30.00 and upward for something in which he is not immediately interested, and then be called upon to wait, perhaps a year or more before his accounts are settled. When a new lot is sold, payment is demanded before an interment can be made yet the interment fee is entirely overlooked, and often when the matter is spoken of, the reply will be, "The undertaker will make the payment" when he arrives at the cemetery. I claim that when the interment fee is demanded of the undertaker, some one is exceeding his authority, and doing something which he has no more right to do than an undertaker has in attempting to have a bill of his goods charged to the cemetery. It may seem somewhat singular, but those familiar with what an undertaker has and does go through must realize that they are very often imposed upon. Parties will go to the cemetery, order the opening of a grave and will be informed that the expense of the same will be met by the undertaker, and first he knows of it is when confronted with a bill upon his entrance there, while the owners will drive by and go to the station and say nothing to anyone leaving the file unpaid, when the entire expense has already been paid, except the interment fee which they have stated they would attend to themselves. I. trust that the time is not far distant when this manner of doing business will be absolutely ignored by the undertakers and that they will refuse to meet the demands for these fees without an order from those interested, that the same will be paid; and I now reiterate what I have said before, that I believe the cemetery officials have no legal right to charge the undertaker one single cent, without his knowledge or order. Think this matter over carefully, gentlemen and judge for your selves whether I am right or not.

I believe that there is one little item that I have overlooked and of which I meant to have spoken when I referred to the appearance of the men employed to assist at the grave. It is this: There should be a little more care exercised in the handling of the straps in lowering the body into the grave, I feel assured that none but competent and experienced men should be allowed to handle the casket containing the remains. The work is of great importance and should anything occur, serious results might come there from.

Gentlemen, I think I have fairly reviewed our case. I have tried to be impartial and confine myself entirely to facts and there is not an instance which I have cited but which has come under my personal observation. My remarks may have to some seemed rather brusque, but I have only tried to make myself plain, as my sole object has been to give you as nearly as possible the undertaker's, side of the story while at the same time show you, to some extent, how the cemetery officials should, in order to harmonize, make some changes in the present mode of doing some of the work. What I have tried to do is to give you plain, unvarnished facts, without touching the feelings of anyone and I hope I have succeeded in trying to be just as well as generous.

There is always an opportunity for advancement, and it is certainly the aim of every business man, while trying to advance his own interests to extend at the same time his hand toward his fellow man, with a fraternity of feeling which will bind us together. I thank you for your close attention and only regret that a better selection has not been made to present the undertaker's side of the case. I feel assured that even if the suggestions made by me are not all carried out, that they will not be entirely overlooked, and some benefit will come from them. For the Association I have none but the kindliest feelings and hope that they may succeed in all their undertakings, and realize that unanimity of feeling which should prevail with us all.

From the publication:
AACS - Proceedings of the16th Annual Convention
Held at Boston, MA
August 19, 20, 21 and 22, 1902

The modern cemetery! What does it mean? It means everything pos¬sible to lighten the grief of those who are called upon to part with some dear one. How is this brought about? It is brought about by keeping the grounds neat and attractive, clean avenues, well kept lawns and lots, trees and shrubs, in variety, flower beds here and there, and a superintendent who is in touch with everyone, easy to approach, sympathetic in nature, courteous at all times. Let these conditions be brought about, and we have what a modern cemetery should be.

When the dead has been laid to rest in its bed of mother earth, and the greensward has been replaced, and tender hands have arranged the flowers on nature's carpet, and the friends depart, they feel as if the modern cemetery had robbed death of half its horrors.

Compare the graveyards of the past with the cemeteries of today and mark the progress. An extract from American Gardening says: The tendency of the times is to make the cemetery a park, rather than a marble yard. Ghosts have vanished with old fashioned headstones, with skull and cross bones and poetic epitaphs.

Today, our cemeteries are called gardens of the dead, and the work is still going on in the direction of beautifying grounds that are now beautiful. And for this reason, our Association was formed. Those who have attended our conventions have certainly been benefited. Whatever one's occupa¬tion, he will never make a success unless he loves his work. The superinten¬dent should understand the construction of avenues and lawns should know the name and nature of trees, shrubs and flowers and not be obliged to ask any man in his employ. He can only learn this by practice and study. Books and papers are always in his reach, touching upon every subject of interest to him. We read of some experiment tried, or some idea advanced, just what we wanted to know, and we at once avail ourselves of the courtesy of our un¬known friend. The catalogues issued by leading seeds-men are full of valu¬able information. The mouthpiece of our Association, the PARK AND CEME¬TERY, has enlightened us on many a subject and has done much toward educating the superintendent in the better discharge of his duties. It is still in its infancy. Long may it live and flourish, and continue to instruct us and those who may follow in our work.

Let me read an extract from Downing's Essays, and see what a master mind said nearly fifty years ago. "One of the most remarkable illustrations of the popular taste, in this country, is to be found in the rise and progress of our rural cemeteries. Twenty years ago, nothing better than a common graveyard, filled with high grass and a chance sprinkling of weeds and this¬tles, was to be found in the Union. If there were one or two exceptions like the burial ground at New Haven, where a few willow trees broke the mon¬otony of the scene, they existed only to prove the rule more completely. Eighteen years ago, in 1831, Mount Auburn, about six miles from Poston, was made a rural cemetery. It was then a charming natural site, finely varied in surface, containing about 80 acres of land, and admirably clothed by groups and masses of native forest trees. It was tastefully laid out, monu¬ments were built, and the whole highly embellished. No sooner was atten¬tion generally roused to the charms of this first American cemetery than the idea took the public mind by storm. Travelers made pilgrimages to the Athens of New England, solely to see the realization of their long cherished dream of a resting place for the dead, at once sacred from profanation, dear to the memory, and captivating to the imagination." He then speaks of the leading cemeteries of New York and Philadelphia, and says the great attract¬ion of these cemeteries to the mass of the community, is not in the fact that they are burial places or solemn places of meditation for the friends of the deceased, or striking exhibitions of monumental sculpture, though all these have their influence. The true secret of the attraction lies in the natural beauty of the sites and in the tasteful and harmonious embellishments of these sites by art. It awakens at once the feelings of human sympathy and the love of natural beauty, implanted in every heart. He then says in the absence of great public gardens, such as we must surely some day have in America, our rural cemeteries are doing a great deal to enlarge and educate the popular taste in rural embellishments. They are for the most part laid out with admirable taste. They contain the greatest variety of trees and shrubs to be found in the country and several of them are kept in a manner seldom equaled in private grounds.

Since these lines were written, rapid strides have been made. Parks have sprung up all over our country, and no doubt many a hint was obtained from our cemeteries. The lawn mowers were not invented and of course lots did not present so smooth an appearance as now. THE MODERN CEMETERY, a few years ago, said more monuments are not necessary, but may be admissible under the lawn plan. Head and foot stones, however, should be abandoned and not allowed under any conditions. They are the multitude of closely huddled stone piles that obliterate and destroy the beauty of any landscape, natural or artificial. Only by concerted efforts, and by a display of good taste under the guidance of one controlling plan, can proper effects be se¬cured and the cemetery given unity in an endless variety, and yet be in harmony with its distinct purpose of burial.

I will add to this by saying that no fence nor structure of any kind should be allowed to enclose a lot, or corner post allowed above the grass. I am pleased to say that fences are constantly being removed as soon as the consent of the owner can be obtained. I understand in some cemeteries, the consent of the owner is not asked. In my own case, I get the consent of the owner and in some cases, it has been reluctantly given, feeling that it would be regretted; but I have found only one case where it was regretted; but on the other hand, they have wondered why they did not have it done before. I have taken down four this year, and have only twenty-eight more left in the cemetery, and am in hopes, inside of three years, that not a fence will be left. There are only ten lots enclosed by stone curbings in the ceme¬tery, and one of those will be taken away before long. The graves on our public or free lots are marked by numbers on the end of a marble block set level with the grass. No other stones are allowed. Thus we are gradually working towards the lawn plan and gradually working towards the perpetual care system. Some cemeteries sell under both, perpetual care or not. I sell nothing only under perpetual care. Any cemetery that sells lots today without the perpetual care system, will at some day regret it.

A carpet of green is the beauty of the cemetery and let us remember that we cannot have that unless we start right, and I will not enter into the details of making a lawn, because you all know. The kind of grass seed used may vary with the locality. But one thing is certain-anything that is worth doing is worth doing well.

How beautiful the trees! Weirs cut-leaf maple with its foliage touch¬ing the grass; the cut-leaf birch with its white branches in lovely contrast with the foliage; the purple and other varieties of maples, the purple beech, and the giant oak with its outstretched branches that have defied the elements for generations. The many varieties of evergreens, and many va¬rieties of our native trees that I will not mention, all contribute to make our cemeteries what they are.

Again, I will quote Downing. He says: "An American may be allowed honest pride, in the beauty and profusion of fine forest trees, natives of our western hemisphere. North America is the land of oaks, pines and magno¬lias, to say nothing of the lesser genera; and the parks and the gardens of all Europe owe their choicest sylvan treasures to our native woods and hills."

Let us not forget the flowers that do so much to beautify our cemeteries. Some have discouraged growing them to such an extent as they are grown in many cemeteries. To my mind, their many colors help to bring out the beauty of the grass, and make the lawn more beautiful. Who does not love them? They are welcome on every occasion, at the scene of festivity and the house of mourning. We watch them flourish under the hand of cultiva¬tion. We see them by the wayside, and in the fields, and up among the hills and mountains, cultivated only by the hand of nature, and we love them everywhere. They seem to carry with them something unexplainable, a sort of Divine inspiration. As I see people wending their way to the grave of some dear one, with a bouquet culled from among the treasures of the garden, I think what else would answer in the place of those flowers, and I answer myself by saying-nothing. They seem to be a message to the de¬parted one, and as far as we know, they may be in some way. Let us do all we can to encourage their growth, and not think for a moment that they de¬tract from the beauty of the lawn. I do not advise making a flowerbed on the grave, preferring the grass and level at that.

I have always felt impressed that Sundays should be more generally ob¬served in our cemeteries. I do not see why a superintendent should be called upon to sell lots on that day. The plea is made by the people that they do not have the time on a week day. The office of the dealer in real estate is closed, and this plea is not made to them. Much other cemetery business is put off till Sunday by lot owners because they know the cemetery is open for business. Why make burials on that day, when the cemetery is full of visitors? To see strangers almost mingling with mourners around the grave, is to my mind, a scene not in keeping with what should be one of great solemnity. If for no other reason, a burial should not be made on Sun¬day.

In some cemeteries connected with our large cities, if it is necessary to make burials on Sunday, by reason of the large number of bodies brought in, means should be taken to prevent a public exhibition.

In the cemetery that is in my charge, from one to five bodies are brought in on Sunday, and they are placed in the receiving tomb, and arrangements are then made with whoever of the family that wish to be present at the burial, which is generally on Monday and not later than Tuesday. My assistant or myself', is present at every burial.

I have no application to sell lots on Sunday. My office is closed and the curtains down. A sign in the window informs visitors that the superin¬tendent and his assistants are prohibited from performing any labor on the Sabbath Day, and is signed by the Secretary of the Board of Commissioners. An officer is on duty to answer all questions. Observing the Sabbath, I think, is as much an improvement to hold up the standard of the modern cemetery as the many improvements that have been made in other direc¬tions.

In conversation with people, and hearing their expressions, I am firmly convinced that our cemeteries, in the manner they are kept, do much in the direction of education towards a higher standard of thought, and it is certainly pleasing, to know that when the inevitable comes, our mortal re¬mains will go back to dust in such beautiful grounds. A common interest is centered in our cemeteries. The young and the old walk hand in hand through the grounds. We see one standing in silent prayer by the grave of maybe a mother, who has fulfilled her mission, leaving a legacy rich with good teachings ere she journeyed to that Great Beyond. We look about the cemetery, and we see others standing by graves, and in their imagination, they have gone to that Great Beyond, and have seen father, mother, brother or sister. Could they walk out of the grounds feeling other than better by their visit?

Let us, therefore, strive to help our Association, and we will, by so doing, help ourselves, and see more readily where we can make improvements, never forgetting that this is an age of progress, and we must ever be on the alert. By so doing, we will make our grounds more attractive, and will be rewarded by the appreciation of a generous public.

From the publication:
AACS - Proceedings of the 10th Annual Convention
Held at St. Louis, MO
September 15, 16 and 17, 1896

It has been my good fortune the past five years to have had the opportunity of assisting in the almost complete overhauling and modernization of a large and well established cemetery. Inglewood Park was founded in 1905 by a small group of businessmen, including my father, George Letteau, who was president until his death last year. The only surviving member of this group of founders is our present president, Charles B. Hopper, who for fifty years has been acclaimed as one of the outstanding real estate men and developers in the Southern Cali¬fornia area. My experience working with Mr. Hopper during recent months in modernizing and improving Inglewood Park Cemetery has been the most valuable training of my life.

Inglewood Park comprises three hundred acres and now is very centrally located, surrounded with heavy population, and bounded by major highway arteries; yet in 1905 it was considered incredibly far out in the country, with a horse-drawn street car being its only saving feature. In those days the street car company built a special flat car that was used to transport the casket, and many times the entire funeral procession would proceed from the funeral parlor to the cemetery by street car. During the first year we had thirty-two interments, but forty-five years has wrought a great change and now we handle between five and six thousand interments each year. On certain days we have had as many as sixty-five interments in the park. To date there have been in the neigh¬borhood of one hundred forty-five thousand interments, and our endowment care trust fund is now slightly over two million four hundred thousand dollars. We wish that the fund was much larger and hope in a few years there will be many mote millions of dollars in it, but even so it has increased quite a bit during the last forty-five years.

For the first twenty-five years of its growth, Inglewood Park underwent many changes and was constantly being developed and improved. In 1910 the first community mausoleum in the state of California was constructed there. This building, comprising twenty-five hundred crypts, has, of course, been sold out for many years, and our newer Mausoleum of the Golden West now contains twelve thousand crypts and is planned to eventually comprise at least fifty thousand crypts. I doubt whether I will be alive when we have fifty thousand crypts there, but we have ample room and fully drawn plans for that size.

Nevertheless, despite this early growth and development, there was little done in the way of modernization from 1930 to 1945. The cemetery looked exactly the same throughout this period, only each year all of the buildings were getting older, and our facilities becoming more and more outmoded. Practices were followed and rules enforced, not because they were the best, but just because we had always had them and followed them in the past. It was obvious to all of us that even though the company was prosperous and well regarded this policy of doing almost nothing new would have to be terminated and the ceme¬tery given a thorough overhauling. This job has, in large part, been allotted to me, and it has been a great privilege as well as a fascinating and invaluable experience. We have made mistakes, some of them costly, but we feel proud of what has been accomplished in so short a time. We know there is much more to do, and our Board of Directors is determined to continually push this modern¬ization program until our goal has been accomplished.

During the past few months we have prepared a series of colored slides which illustrate far better than mere words the progress we have made in this program. My assistant, George Thomsen, who has taken most of these pictures that you are going to see, will now project them for you and I will add a few informative comments.

(Showing slides) The first view shows our remodeled entrance, which was one of the first changes we made. We feel it particularly vital to have our main entrance both attractive and easily noticed. Originally, we had a wrought iron sign but eventually it became darkened and very difficult to read. A few years ago two beautiful fountains were donated to the cemetery by the widow of one of the original founders and these were constructed on either side of the entrance. About three years ago we replaced the wrought iron sign with a large electric sign that is easily readable day and night. Recently we have operated our fountains at night as well as in the daytime and have installed colored lights to focus upon the streams of water. Thus we feel we have transformed a dark space along the highway into almost a fairyland scene through the evening hours. During the year we constantly strive to see that our flower beds around our entrance are as beautiful and imposing as possible. It has been a great satisfaction to receive appreciative comments about them from visitors, for we then feel that our goal of creating a favorable first impression is being achieved. These beds can be easily viewed by all traffic passing by, even though many of the cars may not enter the cemetery, and therefore we feel they act as a very helpful advertisement. Each Christmas we place a large decorated and lighted Christmas tree in the very center of our entrance and this has created so much public interest that many people in the neighborhood have come especially to see it and the local papers have often contained pictures of it.

Until this March we operated a downtown business office. The next series of pictures will show how, for a very moderate cost, we have transformed our superintendent's former office and home in the park into a complete and modern administration building. This step of centralizing all departments under one building within the cemetery grounds has, without a doubt, been one of the most beneficial that we have taken. It has reduced our costs and enabled us to serve both the general public and the funeral directors utilizing Inglewood Park in a more efficient and satisfactory manner. In our new administration building we have constructed two modern consultation rooms which we feel help us in our sales very, very much. These rooms are large enough so that an entire family of eight or ten can comfortably be seated in them. We have furnished them in the manner of a sitting room or lounge rather than an office and have tried with our furniture and decorations to make them as pleasant and relaxing for the families using them as possible. They are bright arid cheerful and con¬stantly have fresh flowers on the tables. There is nothing in either room in the way of urns, miniature vaults, or anything that would tend to depress the families while they are sitting in them. Our only mistake was in not constructing more and I am sure that we will have to remedy this in the near future.

At the present time we are in the process of remodeling Grace Chapel, which was originally constructed in 1918. This chapel seats up to two hundred and fifty people and is a replica of an old and well known building in England. Unfortunately, there are many steps leading up to the main floor of the chapel, which has constantly provided difficulties for older people and made it extremely, unpleasant to bring in large and heavy caskets. At the present time we are completely remodeling Grace Chapel and are considering lowering the main floor to ground level. We are adding much needed features, such as a minister's room and a flower receiving room. Ultimately we hope to have Grace Chapel contain all modern features and improvements but still look exactly the same from the outside, for its exterior appearance has come to be regarded with much sentiment and attachment by our lot owners.

A little over a year ago we constructed a new and much smaller chapel which we have designated as the Chapel of the Chimes. One of the features we have found to be most appreciated in it is a family garden where the immediate members of the family may gather and visit together before and after the service in privacy and seclusion. We have no curtains or drapes in the Chapel of the Chimes and allow bright sunlight to come in at all times. The fact that it is bright and cheerful and decorated in beautiful pastel shades of green and pink has been very well received by those using it. We have endeavored in every way possible to avoid having anything dark or gloomy in the entire building.

The following series of slides illustrate our new Crematorium, which we believe to be the finest that has ever been constructed. The retort room itself has green terrazzo floors and aluminum painted concrete walls. We try to keep this room at all times as clean and immaculate as an engine room in a battleship or an operating room in a hospital. The general public may visit the retort room at any time, and every day many visitors pass through it even while all four retorts are operating. We feel that we are helping to sell cremation by allowing the general public to thoroughly understand what cremation is all about and to see how clean and sanitary the entire process is in our Crematorium. Some people like it and some do not, but in any event we feel that we have taken all of the mystery and unpleasantness out of it. One interesting feature about our retorts is that they have two methods of operation-natural gas or fuel oil. We felt that there might be times during a war or in a severe winter when natural gas would not be available and therefore we constructed a stand-by method of operation. Normally, we use natural gas, even though it is slightly more expensive, because of the fact that it is much cleaner. However, in the matter of a few seconds, any retort can be converted to fuel oil.

The only views which I am going to show of our Mausoleum of the Golden West are of a new feature which I feel is one of our greatest improvements. It is a new type of display crypt with a plate glass front, concealed fluorescent lights and modern appearing drapes inside of the plate glass. The crypt itself is painted a pastel shade and carpeted in a contrasting color. Our original display crypts were just like those that are now to be seen in most mausoleums through¬out the country. They were dark and foreboding in appearance and people could reach inside and touch the cold and often unpainted concrete with their hands. We have endeavored to make our new display crypt look just as bright and attractive as possible, and the effect on the public has been truly astonishing. It has not only assisted us in selling crypts in all parts of the building, but, strangely enough, has created a great demand for crypts adjacent to it and directly facing it. People seem to want to own crypts close by because of the fact that it is bright and colorful and lighted at all times.

Our most recent step in modernization has been to construct a completely new corporation yard consisting of a large machine shop, warehouse, paint shop, and a complete concrete vault and sectional box plant outside of the cemetery proper. It is directly across the street from one corner of our park and on some property that could never be zoned for cemetery use. This move has served a dual purpose of giving us several acres of land already dedicated for interments to sell in one of the older and completely sold out sections of the park, and at the same time removed what we have always felt to be a major eyesore.

In recent years we have tried in every way possible to bring color into the cemetery. We feel there is far too much green and we have attempted to add color to it in the way of flower beds, flowering trees and water lilies. One of our most beautiful trees, which is shown in the concluding slides, is the flowering Eucalyptus. They bloom for several months and I wish we had many more of them in the cemetery. They come in several different intense and vivid shades of red and orange.

I want to thank you all very much for your courtesy and attention. It has been a great pleasure for me to come to Milwaukee and have a small part in this fine convention. I appreciate your allowing me to appear on the, program the first time I have attended an NCA meeting, Thank you very much!

From the publication:
“1950-1951 Cemetery Yearbook”
NCA 21st Annual Meeting
Hotel Schroeder, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
October 18, 19, 20 and 21, 1950

It has been said there is no royal road to Geometry. If one begins at the bottom of the ladder in the cemetery business he will soon realize there is no royal road to cemetery management either. There are many problems and pitfalls that line the pathway leading to the title of a cemetery manager.

By overcoming them, one will certainly become much wiser, more capable, and will have a greater understanding of his business. To avoid and ignore our problems and to seek the easy out shows a weakness of will power. I have always tried to form a habit of choosing a form of action that I believe will be the best in the long run, in place of one that seems to be the easiest at the moment.

I have endeavored, in the time allotted, to use the same line of reasoning in presenting my subject, "Important Cemetery Management Considerations."

Let us begin by considering first, one of the most important considerations of management-the manager, the person wherein lies the success or failure of cemetery operation! What are the qualifications of a cemetery manager? What should he possess within himself that fits him to be a cemetery manager?

In my opinion the most important qualification is his personality. I would apply this yardstick in personnel from the laboring man up to the office man. I believe there could be nothing more kindly said of your cemetery than to have it referred as a cemetery with a personality, and that personality will certainly reflect the type of man at the top, and through him infiltrate through the entire organization.

The term "a cemetery with a personality" may not mean too much to you at first thought, but to put this idea into practice, you must have a smile as you serve, you must make people feel welcome and comfortable you must make them feel they are of great importance. The manager sets the pattern for others to observe and follow. He must be a person with vision, constantly thinking ahead, seeking new ideas, never being satisfied with previous accomplishments and above all humble enough to take advice and apply it wisely.

The manager should be capable of understanding human nature, be sympa¬thetic, and his code should be one of honesty, integrity and loyalty. Proper personality is one of our best insurance policies for successful management. Now let us assume that we have found the ideal manager. Let us bring to his attention some of the more important management considerations. There are many, of course, but I want at this time to present some that are vital and require his immediate consideration.

In doing so I would like to have you bear with me as I look in retrospect upon the cemetery business as I remember it a great many years ago. The cemetery business in those days was not as aggressive or involved as it is today. Compe¬tition, if any, was of little consequence, but service rendered was extensive, although rather crude, and funerals were an event. Morticians, or undertakers, as they were called, were friendly and most cooperative. Monument dealers and stone cutters, now known as memorial craftsmen, were reluctant to enter into the cemetery business and did not dream of the bronze marker industry.

In those days the funeral procession consisted of horse drawn vehicles, some of which were owned and operated, believe it or not, by the cemeteries. The servicing of the funeral was a full day's work. The most important thought was to be buried in style and with plenty of show, and most certainly to have a well attended procession to the cemetery.

It necessarily required a large staff of employees to service a funeral. There was a coachman, uniformed pallbearers, and in the absence of electrically operated chimes, you had to have a bell toll as the funeral procession passed by. Yes, funerals were truly an event, but how different today. In many cemeteries in the larger cities, funerals get to be on a production basis, and yet they receive so much better service than in the old days, with greater efficiency and less personnel. The days of the long funeral processions are gradually coming to an end. Year after year, yes, even from day to day, we see the funeral procession becoming shorter, and in a great many cases it is entirely eliminated.

Now it is an accepted fact that all cemeteries build toward sales through the many people who visit their cemetery by way of the funeral procession. It has been a great medium of advertising. If the property was attractive, had appeal, was well managed and well maintained, as well as being well serviced, people were interested, but today there is a definite trend toward eliminating this oppor¬tunity of using the funeral procession to make friends and ultimate sales. We are at this time in a fast moving age, an age in which people cannot conveniently find sufficient time to bury their dead reverently, and they are encouraged in this practice by the introduction of a new idea presented to those confronted with the burial of their loved ones-the idea of eliminating the funeral procession.

Obviously it entails less work for the funeral director; it eliminates his work at the cemetery in inclement weather and provides more hours for his recreation. There is, however, one important fact in his favor of ending the entire service at the funeral parlor, and that is the increasing hazard of traffic conditions, most certainly in the larger cities, where so many accidents occur in funeral processions.

Let us become realistic. Let us wake up to the fact and recognize this increasing trend of having the committal service at the funeral parlor; let us recognize this as causing a definite loss in sales, contrasted with the funeral procession to our property in the past. Just how serious is this situation at the present time? Last year at a great many properties, over fifty percent of the cremation services were funerals without a procession, and much worse, without any of the family attending. Why should an individual who desires his body cremated be denied the full conventional funeral ritual? In a family of husband and wife who have opposite ideas of the method of disposing of their bodies, one can desire either interment or entombment whereby the friends accompany the body to the ceme¬tery; the other might desire cremation where the committal ritual takes place at the funeral parlor. Why, may I ask the full respect for one and the lack of ceremony for the other? I can see no reason for such discrimination.

I can well understand how easy it is to promote the idea in cremation cases, and I can cite many of the arguments being used, but dangerously as the record indicates, the practice is rapidly finding its way into the entombment services, and it is obvious that it is just a matter of time until the funeral procession will be entirely eliminated.

I want to give you a concrete example of an experience we encountered just two weeks ago. A lady came to our property, expressed her desire to look at some columbarium space and intimated to the superintendent that it was for future use, and he, after showing her throughout the mausoleum and pointing out to her the various features, commented about the various chapels and she wanted to know what they were used for, and he told her they were used for the committal service for cremation or mausoleum entombment, or interment. She then revealed there would be a cremation service in her family on Tuesday. This was Sunday that she visited us. She said, “We will not be coming out here to your chapel because the funeral director told us they weren't going to the chapels any more at the cemetery, they were concluding the service at the funeral direc¬tor’s parlor." However, she thought it would be very nice to have the committal service at one of our chapels, so we waited anxiously for the order to come through expecting they would have a committal service in our chapel, but the funeral director was more powerful than our management, and the body came out unattended even by the widow.

How shall we combat this practice, or shall we even try? It is my opinion that the practice is too far advanced to do so and move over, we are not organized properly to cope with it. We might more wisely spend our time and energy filling the sales gap with other activities and methods, perhaps through beautifying grounds and buildings, training courteous personnel, in an active public rela¬tions program, and in a well planned aggressive sales campaign. In short, we must carry our story to the people in their homes, if we expect to merchandise our property.

Another challenge which has been presented to the cemeteries by the people in the memorial craftsmen group who have advertised in our local papers advertising for the public to consult not us, but memorial craftsmen, before purchasing their cemetery lots. This advertising is directed to everyone con¬templating a purchase in the monument or non-monument cemetery. Clearly they seek to govern the choice of purchase, as well as the amount of money to be expended for the memorial estate.

Now all this leads to the subject assigned me, "Important Management Considerations,” for unless we rise up to meet these challenges, eventually we win have nothing to manage and consider. It will all be managed for us. Not long ago I talked with a cemetery operator. He said he was not interested in the internal activities of his property. He did not have the time or energy to promote them. He was interested in the sale of space only, which to me labeled him as being nothing more nor less than a real estate operator. How can a man claim to be a cemetery operator if he does not think beyond the sale of space? It is true that we all cry for the need of sales, but it is my belief that it would be better to cry for the need of families.

It is most important for a successful operator to think in terms of families rather than the monetary value of each individual sale. A volume of families, even though the sales be small is wheat in the bin. They produce an abundance of future operating revenue which is the lifeblood of our existence. Strive as you may to build your fund, you will find it difficult to accomplish if, out of necessity, you are using funds acquired for the sale of land to meet your payroll, but with the ever increasing revenue accumulated from the many services rendered on those productive sales which include interment and marker charges, winter covering, floral services and other miscellaneous items to meet present and future expenses, it is evident you will acquire your "care" fund with greater facility.

To do this we need families, small sales, revenue producing sales. We should not be overly concerned with large sales, for in such cases there will be unused graves that are non-productive. It is very pleasing to us if we, in reviewing our sales report, find a salesman who has produced $4,000 worth of business in one month, but we should be more interested in breaking down this report and analyz¬ing it for the potential operating revenue. If the salesman, in providing this $4,000 in sales, sold eight six-grave lots at $500 each, we have a minimum of potential operating revenue. On the other hand, if he had sold sixteen three-grave lots at $250 each, we have definitely sixteen good revenue producing accounts.

It is reasonable to assume that most of these graves will be used, and if you add to that the profit from the miscellaneous revenue on each interment, you are ahead on the sale of interment space. In addition to this, let us not lose sight of the radiation of two families instead of one. You are doubling your sales force. Surely satisfied owners are good for many additional sales. So my advice to you as cemetery operators is to operate with one more important thought in mind and ask yourselves this question: How many families can we permanently associate with our cemetery this month, for if you get a volume of families, the dollar volume will take care of itself. They will be dollars not just for today, but for many years to come, and then you will always have the needs for proper management.

I am not going to suggest the methods used in making the family ties. That is the business of the salesmen and the sales manager. My problem and your problem as operators is to see to it that there is operating income after the sales department has sold us out of our capital assets. Our own capital assets are the property we have to sell, with interment or entombment or columbarium space. Any additional income must be created, and no outsider is going to create it for you.

A short time ago a funeral director friend was telling me of a recent funeral he serviced. His remarks were something like this: "Brother, did I have a good job the other day; sold a copper and a good vault." I asked him how his¬ service went, were there many people in attendance, and did everything work out smoothly, but it appeared this was incidental to him, as the only part of the service he apparently was concerned with was the sale of the casket and the vault. I attempted to point out that he should be more concerned with his service to the family by having a well conducted funeral which would lead to additional calls through radiation, rather than the sale of merchandise only, but he wasn't interested in that fact, but only that his profit was large on the sale of his merchandise. After all, that paid his rent and allowed him to put some money in the bank. This is nothing more or less than living by a policy of making it today and letting tomorrow take care of itself.
How many in our business work at management as does this funeral director? Are you going to value the opportunity to advertise and merchandise those revenue producing items which come by thinking and operating beyond the initial sale of the property?

I want to touch on one more point that has been much debated in cemetery circles, and I assume that many of you are not in perfect accord with the methods of merchandising cemetery property, most certainly on a pre-construction basis, so let us compare pre-construction sales with other commodities. We will find it is no different than any of them providing you have established yourselves as a going institution, one that has gained the respect and confidence of the people of your community.

Most of us have driven cars we ordered from a reliable manufacturer through a salesman's story or descriptive literature. There wasn't the least doubt in our minds that the car when delivered would be well constructed and all that was claimed for it. Usually we were more pleased when we saw the actual car than with the pictures, yet the pictures induced us to make our selection and sign the order.

All of us buy before need and before the commodity is produced and think little of it, but when it comes to selling burial lots, many operators feel it is unethical and misleading to the purchaser and unsound for the cemetery. All of us who have had experience with sales are convinced in so many of these cases they turn out to be most unhappy and dissatisfied owners. Why? Because, first, the sales person does not have the time to spend with these families to properly sell them on the institution. They do not thoroughly understand the values and the many features of the property. It is logical to assume that at• that particular' time the purchaser would remember but one-tenth of what he was told.

In the pre-construction campaign, all of these advantages are clearly portrayed in the home by visual as well as a descriptive trip through the property by well trained consultants. Prior to and during the construction of the property, you will find their anticipation of seeing completed property prompts them to watch the progress as it is developed, and talk of it to their friends and neighbors. Compare this to the purchase of developed property whereby the purchaser pays the account, places the deed in a strong box, never to think about it again until the property must be used.

Yes, the pre-construction sales are very advantageous to you for radiation purposes, provided you do not overload your families by selling them more than they actually need for protection. However, you must first get yourselves out of the old graveyard category. You must manage your property in a manner worthy of recognition by the people of your community, as being a great asset to them in beauty, friendliness, personality and service.

Join with them in whatever community memorial activities are being promoted. Make them feel proud they have a modern cemetery institution in their community.

These operations can all be classified, then, I believe, under the heading, "Important Cemetery Management Considerations." I would like to point out first the need of important qualifications for a cemetery manager, and second, there are definite changes in funeral practice which have created a sales gap resulting in a loss of potential sales and loss of interest in property. Therefore, the problem resolves itself into this: Cemetery management must create policies to capture public interest, to acquire a volume of friends, to increase miscellaneous operating revenue by such methods as proper advertising, intelligent public relations program, and effective sales campaign. Remember, your only capital assets are the properties that you have to sell, interment, entombment and columbarium space, and I forcibly repeat that all other revenues are created entirely by your own acts.

Make your business live-make it one of action and of result; even as our worth is determined by the good deeds we do rather than by the fine emotions we feel, so the growth and success of our cemetery industry depends upon the accomplishment of well-manned, constructive and progressive activity.

Only action gives to life its strength as only moderation gives to it charm. Action may not always bring success, but I assure you there is no success without action. Thank you!

From the publication:
“1950-1951 Cemetery Yearbook”
NCA 21st Annual Meeting
Hotel Schroeder, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
October 18, 19, 20 and 21, 1950

I made a trip in April to California, and met the gentleman who preceded me there, Mr. John Gregg. I, for one, am not going to be fool enough to take him up on his wager. He is unquestionably one of the biggest men I have ever met. He is so big in every respect that I consider it a great honor to have met Mr. Gregg and to have shaken his hand, and when you make your trip to the sales conference, if you really want to see something, go down to Whittier, California.

He purchased one hundred thousand dollars worth of tractors just to move a mountain to make a section for his cemetery. That is just the kind of way that guy operates. So, John, even if you are enthused, please have a little mercy on the rest of us.

That is not part of my talk. I have prepared a good deal of material to talk on, but those who have preceded me have already covered most of my subjects, so I will only attempt to give parts of it. We find, as cemetery operators, that we can do about anything we want to. It certainly has been proven to us by those who have appeared on this platform already what could be done. I find my hardest problem is to ascertain just what I want to accomplish, and that is the reason I have always come to these meetings. That is the reason I have traveled to see what other people have done and are doing, so that I might help myself ascertain just what I want done.

Once we know what we want, what we really want, we can clear the deck, and go right ahead and do it, but we must ascertain a great many facts before we can proceed. I am sure that many of you are kind of like us in Texas that your greatest competition is the country graveyard. That is true in our part of the state, so our most important objective is to make our properties so perfect and so beautiful, to make them appear to be magnificent repositories for the earthly remains of the people of the community so that the people may ascertain the difference between the country graveyard and the modern burial ground.

The most important man for me in my cemetery is a man who knows how to handle the workmen and the people in the office, and how to buy machinery and equipment, because he is the man who will make this cemetery beautiful. He will either squander money or he will save money. The ability to handle men is considered the most important quality that a man can have in the Army. In the Army they call it leadership. That is the most important qualification of a man in charge of a cemetery, in my opinion. It is absolutely imperative that he be mechanically inclined, in my opinion, and of course that he have ambition.

We found that we have been able to clean up our cemetery by simply adopting the little motto: "Fix it so you can mow it"; we had to spend a little extra money rearranging things, taking out some things so that a lawnmower may be rolled across an area and so that we do not have to trim so much.

Now as we go into the office, we find that in some cemeteries the big trouble is collections. You certainly cannot have a successful sales department unless you have a collection department to help it. The purchaser may make the down payment to the salesman, but that first monthly payment must be made, as well as the balance of them. The thing to do is set up a collection department. Let that be the primary number one job of at least one person in your office.

We found if, by making it the number one job, and the job of being secretary, of writing letters of condolence, etc., be secondary to the number one job of the collection department, that it is a great help to us in cutting down percent¬ages of cancellations caused generally by weak salesmen. A weak salesman will turn in a lot of sales that the first payment will not be made on, unless you have an intelligent man or woman in charge of your collection department. An intelligent man or woman operating your collection department will make it easier for you to keep your salesmen.

In selecting personnel in your cemetery it is better to get younger men, in my opinion, and let them fight their way up. If you get an older man who is ex¬perienced, you may be disappointed. I have been disappointed. I found that it is better for me to get young men and to train them and let them fight their way up. Every time I hire an expert I get a disappointment, except, of course, when I hired Chester Sparks, but to put a man up on a pedestal and expect a lot of things of him, you might be disappointed. To let a man fight his way up, you are helping that man. To put a man up on a pedestal and expect more of him than he is able to produce, able to do, you are going to hurt him as well as yourself.

Remember the expression, "enthusiasm." We have certainly received a full dose of it today.

Recently, I had the occasion to visit with an old Army friend of mine who was my boss. He is in the Pentagon Building and I have always admired him because of his ability to maintain a smooth running organization. He told me this: "Show me a man with enthusiasm and I will show you a man that has original ideas." The Army today is just like every one of us in business. They are searching for leadership and for enthusiasm and for original ideas. When you find men and women that have enthusiasm and original ideas, cling to them with all your heart and soul, because they are very scarce.

The previous speakers have allowed me to eliminate a good portion of my talk, and I will cover only one or two more points. One is that once you have ascertained what you want, you much emulate, if possible, that great American, Judge Harold Medina, who presided over the nine month trial of the Com¬munists a few months ago. He's been eulogized in many articles in various ways because of the manner in which he conducted this trial. He has accom¬plished many other achievements during his lifetime. Upon being asked how he was able to do it, his reply was, "You must have method and persistence over the long pull." Once we know what we want, once we have ascertained exactly, unequivocally what we want, we can find it. It is simply a matter of method and persistence over the long pull.

The difficulty we sometimes have with men is that they know what they want today, but a week later they have forgotten about it. Let us remember the words of Harold Medina and not attempt to do it all in one day, but to lay a plan and each morning as we get up, make a new resolve to ourselves as to what our objectives are. That is the only way on earth we will ever get what we want.

There is only one other point I want to bring out, and that is, we in the cemetery business are showmen. We must be good showmen. We must make our cemeteries sacred in their appearance in every respect as they certainly should be. The conduct of the personnel in our office must be the conduct of good showmen. Our own personal conduct must be the conduct of good showmen. If, when we enter our offices, we see the stage we would like to see, fine. Don't do anything about it, but if your office, your cemetery grounds, or the people who represent you to the public are in your opinion poor showmen, you can never develop what you really want.

We find that by a little showmanship, we can really improve everything, including the attitude of the public and the funeral directors, or whoever we might want, towards our institution. The funeral director opens his door, bows, and smiles and gives the attitude that he takes the utmost care. If we will just use the funeral director as a guide on what to do in good showmanship, we will find that we can get a great deal more for our property, and thereby we will be able to spend more money on it and make it the sacred place in appearance of our community that it actually is. I thank you!

From the publication:
“1950-1951 Cemetery Yearbook”
NCA 21st Annual Meeting
Hotel Schroeder, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
October 18, 19, 20 and 21, 1950

Some time ago a gentleman passed away in our locality. At the time, his widow was in the hospital. Since she was unable to attend the service, we held the body until she could view the remains of her deceased husband.

The body was held in our rock receiving vault, called "Ivy Rest," which is a little 20 x 20 rock building, well ventilated and insulated, having pipe racks of three tiers on two sides of the building. To make it homelike, beautiful drapes were hung and the floor was covered with a mat of artificial grass. A soft light from a floor lamp illuminated the building.

For the funeral, we placed a tent against this receiving vault. The pallbearers placed the casket in the receiving vault and flowers were banked outside. About a month later, the widow viewed the body and ordered the committal. The family was so impressed that we asked others to hold their committal services in this manner, and it was accepted by a few.

This particular committal took me back to the early days of my childhood when one of my grandparents was laid away in an old cemetery. I remember the pile of clay and the rough open grave, with the casket resting upon two planks set across the opening. I also remember the pallbearers coming forth, gently lowering the casket into the grave.

The thought came to me that even with our modern equipment, spacious tent and automatic lowering device of the present day, some child might carry through life this same picture. It appeared to be an unnecessary grief brought upon the family.

The officers of our company, and I, thought it would be a relief to the family if the committal services were held away from the graveside. We expected a reaction from the older class of, people, but all agreed that it was at least worth a try.

The construction of a mausoleum known as the Rose of Sharon was started in 1940 and was completed in 1942. At one end of the mausoleum, contrasting shades of marble formed a cross, called the Tomb of the Cross. A private family room was available for the mourners.

As we took visitors through the mausoleum, we explained that they could leave the body resting here after a funeral service, and it would be taken to the grave after the family departed. The reaction was terrible at first. Rumors started that we showed the casket only, and gave the body to the State of Iowa for medical purposes; that we had water in the graves and were afraid to let people go to the grave for fear they would see the water.

It has always been our practice to contact the family when a death occurred and this opposition made it all the more necessary for us to call on the family to explain the purpose of the chapel service and ask them to request it from the funeral director. We also asked the pallbearers to stay that they, too, might go to the grave with the body to see it lowered. We have always reported to the family after each funeral and in many cases, found the pallbearers had said they, too, had stayed to see the casket lowered. When the families told us that everything was done wonderfully, we knew the resistance was broken.

We always visit the family before the funeral, to determine the type of service they desire, whether it be military or fraternal. When the funeral procession arrives at the mausoleum, the funeral director escorts the casket to the door, where it is placed upon the carriage to be taken to the front of the mausoleum. The music system is playing softly as the family proceeds to the family room. It is turned down while the pastor gives the committal service, and is turned up again as the family departs.

During a military service, the flag escort stands at attention until the casket passes. As soon as the casket is placed on the carriage, and is taken to the front, the flag bearers follow, go to the front, and form a semicircle around the casket. The pastor is on one side, the commanders of the veterans’ organizations on each side of the casket; the firing squad is outside the building so that the volley is muffled. Taps is sounded by the bugler in the distance, making a very impressive service.

Chapel services are more beautiful and the family is out of the cold of the winter and the rain and heat of the summer. It is a service which no other cemetery in our locality can offer. We have no snow to shovel, no carpet to be laid, no tent to put up. We simply dig the grave, put in the grave lining, and lower the casket.

This service has been so highly accepted that today the tent is put up about six or seven times a year to accommodate certain religious requirements. It is a great saving in labor. It is a nicer service all the way around for the family. When you report to the family after the service, they tell you how pleased they were about it, and how nice it was to leave their loved one among the beautiful flowers and not resting over an open grave.

We are happy to tell you that the many hours of hard work put forth on this project were not in vain, as hundreds of families are now appreciating these chapel committal services.

From the publication:
“1950-1951 Cemetery Yearbook”
NCA 21st Annual Meeting
Hotel Schroeder, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
October 18, 19, 20 and 21, 1950