August 2020

Page A22 AUGUST 2020 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS S ec t i on A The Ideal “Low-Key” Marketing Tool for You! This simple booklet lets family members create a written record of personal & financial info along with their funeral wishes. Perfect to pass out at any event. Leave copies out during visitations, too. The imprint reminds them who to call for pre-arrangement or at-need. High-Quality Pre-Planning Booklets to Promote Your Firm in the Community • Inexpensive • Imprinted • Valuable for Families Call to Order or Request FREE Samples of This Booklet or Any of The Other Titles on Our Website! 1-800-552-1076 • sales@guidelinepub.com G uideline P ublications Visit: www.guidelinepub.com Spanish Version Available! Current Pricing (includes FREE Imprinting): 125 copies - $1.79 each 500 copies - $1.59 each 250 copies - $1.69 each 1000 copies - $1.49 each See website for pricing on other quantities. Shipping charges will be added. 24 pages 8½” x 5½” to no relief from it. The doctors tried opiates to ease the for- mer president’s suffering, but they didn’t help either. When the end came, Jackson was surrounded by his fam- ily and friends, including adopted children and some all-but adopted children to which he was guardian. As he lay on his deathbed, he was stirred by their sobbing and said, “What is the matter with my dear children? Have I alarmed you? Oh, do not cry. Be good children and we will all meet in Heav- en.” Those were his last words. He died at 6:00 PM on Sun- day, June 8, 1845. Jackson left two funeral instructions. First of all, he wanted the Rev. Dr. JohnTodd Edgar to preach his funeral, and sec- ondly, he wanted a funeral with no pomp or parade. There is a strong possibility that an undertaker in Nash- ville named James McCombs served the Jackson family. It’s also highly likely that Jackson was buried in the then-popu- lar Fisk Metallic Burial Case, which McCombs advertised as being available through his undertaking company. Interestingly, in March of 1845, a fellow named Jesse D. Elliott offered Jackson the sarcophagus which the Roman Emperor, Alexander Severus had been buried in as his own final resting place. Elliott had obtained the burial case while in Palestine and had brought it to America with the ex- pressed desire of giving it to Andrew Jackson for his burial. Jackson, however, was not interested. His response clearly expresses his great feelings of quality and republicanism. He told Elliott, “I cannot consent that my mortal body shall be laid in a repository prepared for an emperor of a king. My republican feelings and principles forbid it; the simplicity of our system of government forbids it.” After his death, the body of General Jackson lay in his own bed until Monday afternoon when the undertakers deliv- ered the casket. After Jackson’s remains were deposited in the casket, it was set up in the main parlor with Jackson’s face uncovered. The next day, Tuesday at 11:00 AM, the funeral for An- drew Jackson began. All businesses in Nashville were closed, and the bells in the city tolled throughout the day. By the By Todd Van Beck For all of his towering image of strength and endurance, the truth was that Andrew Jackson was a physical wreck during the last two years of his life. After his presidency, Jackson retired to his home near Nashville, TN, known as the Hermitage. He had only $90.00 in his pocket and was suffering from serious pulmo- nary problems due to the bullet that was lodged in his chest near his heart and lung. He experienced abscesses, internal bleeding, excessive mucus, and constant pain not to men- tion the lead poisoning that was slowly destroying his body. Within two years, evenmoremedical issues overwhelmed the 72-year-old. He became blind in his right eye from a cataract, his predisposition to dropsy caused his body to swell, and blisters broke out all over his body. His shortness of breath made it even harder for him to stay mobile. By 1843, Jackson was plagued by acute bouts of gastroen- teritis. On June 2, 1845 his abdomen became so distended that his physician had to tap it. The procedure released a tremendous amount of fluid, but Jackson experienced little A ndrew J ackson the seventh President of the United States of America Rest in Peace, Mr. President. That was the hope that our Presidents would rest in peace, but that has not al- ways happened. For example between 1865 and 1901 Lincoln’s remains were moved 18 times. The accounts of the funerals of the US Presidents actually mirrors the accounts of daily life in America, as all funerals are reflections of how people live life. This series offers a glimpse into the deaths and funerals of our Presidents. This series also identifies and gives overdue recogni- tion to the scores of funeral professionals who labored ceaselessly to carry out the wishes of the President’s families and in some cases the wishes of the United States government. Each account tells an interesting funeral story. Hope you enjoy this new series. —TVB Todd W. Van Beck is associated with John A. Gupton College in Nashville, and has been an author, teacher, practitioner, and speak- er for over 40 years. On May 30, 2018 Van Beck celebrated 50 years in funeral service. You can reach Todd at 615-327-3927. FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS www.nomispublications.com Monthly Columns online at Rest In Peace, Mr. President time Jackson’s funeral began, over 3,000 people had crowded on the lawn of the Hermitage. Rev. Edgar gave the funeral sermon from the front porch of the mansion. After a prayer and the reading of Psalms, the benediction was given. Then the body of Andrew Jackson was taken to the burial garden on the grounds of the Hermitage where the former President would be buried next to his beloved wife Rachel. Jackson’s pet parrot had gotten out of its cage and was flying high up in the air during the solemn funeral rites. Everyone was so captivated in the ceremony that no one noticed. It was not well known that old General Jackson had taken it upon himself to teach this parrot numerous curse words. As the final words of commendation were being preached, the parrot perched himself on top of the cu- pola of the Jackson tomb and proceeded to share all of the naughty words that he had learned at the tutelage of General Jackson. The parrot shrieked, chuckled, and most of all, cursed. Finally, a servant took the pesky bird into the mansion so the burial service could continue. At the tomb, Carroll’s Company of Blues, under the command of General W. G. Harding, fired three volleys over the grave. Lastly, the Masonic Lodge claimed its an- cient right to have the final word over a deceased brother Mason and began the burial ritual of their ancient free and accepted membership. Since 1800, Jackson had been an active Mason in Harmony Lodge #1 and had served as Grand Master of all Masons in Tennessee. Two months after the burial, a servant at the Hermitage sounded the alarm and reported that General Jackson’s body had been stolen. Fresh wagon tracks were found around the tomb and the slab over the grave was opened, but Jackson’s remains were undisturbed. The gravesite was repaired, and General Andrew Jackson has rested peacefully ever since. mymortuarycooler.com Are you state compliant? Yes, reviews are important for your online reputation and help you show up in the right searches. And with more than 90 percent of consumers checking online reviews be- fore deciding on a company or service, funeral homes and deathcare companies can’t afford to ignore them. But you also can’t afford to entirely control them. Controlling your online reviews in an attempt to abso- lutely prohibit negative reviews is called review gating, and Google doesn’t stand for it. Unlike many statements made about Google’s stance on various marketing tactics, this isn’t conjecture drawn from experience or the internet giant’s vague posturing. In April 2018, Google came right out and said its policy was prohibitive of review gating practices. Google’s policy update said, “Don’t discourage or pro- hibit negative reviews or selectively solicit positive re- views from customers.” Okay, you’re probably wondering why anyone would ever solicit negative reviews, but that’s not what this language Review Gating: Why You Can’t Do It (and Steps to Take Instead) By Welton Hong Welton Hong means. Google is pretty much saying you can’t di- rect clientele on what to say in reviews, and you certain- ly can’t integrate technology to ensure only good reviews are hitting the books. Prior to this update, some companies were leverag- ing technology to prequal- ify reviews. For example, they might send an email to customers asking if they would like to leave a review and providing a link to do so. The customer was then asked to indicate a star rat- ing for the review; if cus- tomers indicated a positive rating, they were shuttled through to Google to com- plete the process. If they in- dicated a negative rating, their review was sent to a private site or inbox. This is review gating, and you shouldn’t be doing it. First, Google will penalize you if it catches you gating reviews. That could mean removing all of your reviews or even banning you from the search engine results. Both are very bad news for your online marketing efforts. More than half of all traffic on webpage’s comes from organic searches (and Google is the top contender in that arena), so getting blacklisted is bad news for traffic, conversions, and revenue. Second, gating your reviews is simply inauthentic, and if consumers find out you’re doing it, it mars your brand. You become less trustworthy in general, which is bad for any company but can be especially disastrous for funeral homes and other deathcare businesses where the differentiator is often your honest, compassionate dealings with families in need or those looking to preplan final arrangements. If you can’t be trusted to deal fairly with consumers looking to leave a review, someone might be less likely to trust you with prepaid funeral or cremation arrange- ments or the final memorial for a loved one. But with reviews critical to funeral home online mar- keting, you may wonder what you can do to protect your online reputation. While you can’t gate reviews, you can take action in different ways. Start by providing the kind of service that translates to pos- itive reviews. This may seem obvious, but it’s the first step in Continued on Page A23 Order Your Favorite Animal Today! www.nomispubl icat ions.com or 1-800-321-7479