August 2019

Page B6 AUGUST 2019 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS S ec t i on By Mike Jamar If you aren’t familiar with Kolaches, I will try to describe them: a pastry filled with meats, cheese, fruits, and a vari- ety of other things. The pastry is not sweet and looks like roll. Mine contained sausage, cheese and jalapeno. It was incredible. My wife had pulled pork, and it too was in- credible. To round out the lunch, we tried the blueberry and cherry, both with cream cheese. We both wished we lived closer. We would go back often. Back to the hearse. The bakery is part of a giant truck stop, which is very busy, more so for the Kolaches than gas. As we were leaving, I noticed a black hearse was parked in one of the lots. It was clearly a hearse, but it looked different in style and the length. I could tell im- mediately it was not an American vehicle, and as I looked closer, I saw the Mercedes Benz badging. The other thing I noticed was that it was not a full- length hearse. It was roughly the size of a 1960s station wagon. Unfortunately, I didn’t catch a full glimpse un- til we were already on our way out of the parking lot. However, I did notice on the side there was a “300” in small letters. I can’t be sure if it was for the Mercedes Mike Jamar is founder and co-owner of Advanced Integration Technology. Mike has been working with computers since the early 80s and started Advanced Integration in 1994. Advanced Integration specializes in Internet inventories designed for specialty vehicles and equipment. HearseHub was created through a collaboration between Advanced Integration and Nomis Publications, and is now in its fifth year of service. HearseHub brings together funeral vehicles from a number of dealerships that specialize in high quality funeral vehicles. HearseHub offers funeral directors a large, and easy to shop inventory, of funeral vehicles. You can reach him at Mike@AITAdvantage.com. www.nomispublications.com Funeral Home & Cemetery News Contributors share insights and exchange ideas. B logs Benz or the body manufactures. I did some Google searches and could not find this vehicle in either hears- es or flower cars. If anybody knows what this may have been, I would certain appreciate you letting me know. If you read my last column, you’re well aware that my wife and I love road trips. In mid-June, my wife and I decided to surprise my stepdaughter for her birth- day, giving us the perfect excuse to hit the road. Our destination: Waxahachie, Texas (about 30 miles south of Dallas, and about 8 hours from Kansas City). The drive there has several options, but since we were only staying for a long weekend, we decided on the Inter- state instead of the more scenic routes. Nonetheless, we had plenty to see along the way. On one of the frontage roads, traveling south on I-35 outside of Dallas, we saw a funeral home with a huge fleet and all the vehicles were white. The fleet was parked to the side of the main building under a long carport. We both remember its name being something like Golden Gate, however I was not able to confirm that through the Internet. The second funeral vehicle we saw has me stumped. We were in West, TX, about 45 minutes south of Waxahachie, where they’re known for their Czech bak- eries. There are several and they specialize in Kolaches. The Craftsmanship behind the Belleek Porcelain Celtic Knot Urn MERRICK,NY— ShivaShade is proud to announce that the first shipment of the Belleek Porcelain Celtic Knot Urns will be arriving soon. “We are excited to offer a por- celain urn for the Irish community that is dignified and elegant. Especially appealing is Belleek’s trademark iri- descent glaze, along with the company’s 160 plus- year-old world-renowned reputation for fine qual- ity,” said Irwin Maltz, co-owner of ShivaShade. Known worldwide for their Irish porcelain, Bel- leek Pottery is located in Northern Ireland. From initial designs to fi- nal product has taken well over six months for various teams at Belleek to craft their first ever urn. With the stages of pro- duction being completed by hand, up to six- teen craftsmen may be involved with each piece. Maltz worked with Belleek’s artist Fergus Cleary to cre- ate the initial drawings. From the drawings a model was made and from First, the urn is designed and customer-approved. A model is made in plaster of Paris and is then is turned to the shape required on a lathe. Sprig molds are made of the pattern details; these will be added to the model in clay. Sprigs are added to the model. The mold is divided and plaster of Paris is poured over the shape. When plaster is set the second side is made then the top and bottom. When the mold is dry, it is cast by filling it with slip (liquid clay). As it sits, the plaster absorbs water and leaves a clay wall on the side of the mold. Hours later, the cast is removed from the mold and allowed to dry. After drying overnight, the piece is fettled, removing any seam lines, marks, etc. When thoroughly dry, the piece is then ready for the first firing, called the bisque or biscuit firing, at 2192°F overnight. The following morning the kilns are emptied and pieces are checked and processed. Those pieces deemed perfect are dipped in a glaze solution and sent to the second firing, called the Glost firing, at 1832°F. that model the mold was cre- ated. Using a lathe, plaster of Paris was turned to create the model. Sprig molds were cre- ated allowing the pattern details to be set in clay. These clay sprigs were add- ed to the model one side at a time. The mold was cast by filling the model with slip (liquid clay). After sev- eral hours the cast was re- moved and the mold al- lowed to dry. Once dried the mold was fettled, the process of removing any seam lines, marks, etc. It was then ready to go through the first, or biscuit, firing at 2029 degrees Fahrenheit. After inspection for any im- perfections the piece was dipped in a glazed solution and sent to the kiln for a second firing, the Glost fir- ing at 1832 degrees Fahren- heit. Another inspection en- sured the piece was ready for stamping and decoration. The Belleek Porcelain Celt- ic Knot Urn has two plati- num accents as well as a hand painted sham- rock on its base. Once painted, the piece was sent for its color firing at 1382 degrees Fahren- heit. After a fi- nal inspection the urns were ready for pack- aging. After checking, each piece is decorated by hand to the particular requirements. The Celtic Urn has two platinum accents added, as well as a hand-painted shamrock on its base. It is then sent for the color firing, at 1382°F. Through Shiva- Shade and Belleek Pottery’s exclusive partnership the urn will be available in the US in mid- August. The urn is currently available in the UK and Ire- land through The Dodge UK. For in- formation on or- dering the 210 cu- bic inch Belleek Porcelain Celt- ic Knot Urn con- tact Irwin Maltz at 516-665-8323 or email sales@ shivashade.com. The Finished Celtic Urn