Page A28 MAY 2023 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS Section A www.derma-pro.net sales@derma-pro.net Nadene Cover-Up Cosmetics Ltd. A name you know... ...Products you trust 800-531-9744 Fax 903-641-0383 nal, and when it reached Johnstown, it was placed on the Allegheny Portage Railroad for a 36-mile trip to the Ohio River. On an 11-mile stretch near Johnstown, Capt. Robert Lowry stopped the train and inspected the tracks. A wheel under the baggage car carrying the body of the president was found to be badly cracked. This car was at the rear of the train, and since there were no signal bells, Lowry mounted the top of the car and watched, the fireman keeping him in view to catch any signal he might make. By Todd Van Beck William Henry Harrison, 1841 The most significant thing that President Harrison accomplished as president was that he died. Harrison holds the record to this day for having served the shortest presidency in American history: just one month, 30 days! The presidential funeral train tradition began with William Henry Harrison, when in 1841, his remains went home to Ohio, in part by rail. Following Harrison’s death, which stunned the nation, his remains were placed in the receiving vault at the Congressional Cemetery in Washington for more than two months. Meanwhile, the undertakers at the firm of Lee & Espy made the arrangements for the president’s trip back to North Bend, Ohio. Harrison died on April 4, 1841 and on June 26, his remains departed Washington on a Baltimore & Ohio train heading for Baltimore. The remains were accompanied by a delegation from Cincinnati, which was Harrison’s political base. In Baltimore, one newspaper reported, “Comparatively, few of our citizens witnessed the passage of the remains from the railroad depot to the City Hotel,” which is where Harrison’s body rested until June 28th. On June 28, the funeral train departed from the Baltimore & Susquehanna’s North Street depot at Eager Street and the present-day Guilford Avenue. It was bound for Columbia, PA via the B&S; York & Maryland; and Wrightsville, York, & Gettysburg railroads. As you can see, the railroad system in America in 1841 was a disorganized hodgepodge of routes, which all had different gauges of tracks, making travel very unpredictable and frustrating. The funeral party next faced the ordeal of traveling by canal boat, with rail and cable-wound inclined planes, across much of Pennsylvania. Crossing the Allegheny Mountains was a monumental accomplishment. This operation required slow winching up and down inclined planes, five on one side of the mountain and five on the other. To reach Pittsburgh and the Ohio River, the funeral train car was once again placed on a canal boat on the Juniata Ca- Presidential funeral trains have been a powerful symbol of national mourning. Participation for the average Joe in our country was easy: just stand by the tracks and remove your hat, put your hand over your heart, or both as you watch the presidential funeral train pass by. It was a life event that you could tell your grandchildren about. In fact, in 1923, my grandfather traveled 40 miles from our little home in southwestern Iowa to Omaha to stand in the rain in the middle of the night just to watch the funeral train for President Warren G. Harding travel through the city. Until his dying day, my grandfather would tell that story a thousand times to anyone who would listen. This history is significant because for all of our presidential funeral trains there were unsung heroes, funeral directors, working behind the scenes on these complicated travel arrangements. The United States government was involved in these activities, but until recently, once the deceased president left Washington, DC, the government was basically out of the picture. However, on most every presidential funeral train, a professional undertaker or funeral director escorted the remains. Let us begin our journey on the presidential funeral trains. Mount Clare Depot at noon, where the undertaker Elisha P. Cox transferred the president’s remains to the rotunda of Baltimore’s exchange building for public viewing. The next day, the body was escorted by the Independent Blues to the FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS www.NomisPublications.com Monthly Columnsonline at Todd W. Van Beck is the Director of Professional Development at Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science where he began his career 40 years ago. He is one of the best known and most well-regarded practitioners, educators, writers and speakers in the funeral profession. On May 30, 2018 Van Beck celebrated 50 years in funeral service. You can reach Todd at 615-327-3927. Presidential Funeral Trains: The Last Mile The funeral train arrived at Johnstown without incident, where once again the casket was placed on the packet boat named John Hancock, where it traveled to Pittsburgh. In Pittsburgh, President Harrison’s funeral was conducted by William Trovillo. The casket was placed on a steamer on the Ohio and traveled downriver to Cincinnati, where undertaker Samuel Cobb was waiting to convey President Harrison to his burial tomb at North Bend, OH. John Quincy Adams, 1848 The next president whose remains were carried home by train was John Quincy Adams. On Monday, February 21, 1848, Adams collapsed in the House of Representative chamber, where he had served with distinction for 17 years after leaving the White House. Adams is the only former United States President to be elected as a United States Congressman following his leaving the presidency. Adams was taken to the Speaker of the House office, and for two days, the wheels of government ground to a halt while he lay dying on the sofa. After his death on Wednesday, February 23, a congressional committee arranged to move his body by funeral train and steamboat back to Quincy, Massachusetts for burial. Once again, the Washington embalming firm of Lee & Espy were engaged to chemically embalm the president. The undertaking firm of R. F. Harvey furnished the casket for John Quincy Adams and made all of the travel arrangements to return Adams back home. For several weeks, the body of President Adams was held in the receiving vault at the Congressional Cemetery. When the funeral train left Washington via the Baltimore & Ohio on March 7, flags along the route flew at half-staff. Throughout the funeral train route, businesses closed and people lined the track with heads bowed as the funeral train passed with its black-draped car decorated with heavy cord and tassels. The remains arrived in Baltimore at the Baltimore & Ohio’s Philadelphia, Wilmington, & Baltimore station at High Street and Canton Avenue (now Fleet Street), where a special train awaited to forward the remains to Philadelphia. In Philadelphia, the undertaker Edward Earley transferred the president to Independence Hall to lay in state in the very room where 72 years before, John Quincy’s father John Adams had signed the Declaration of Independence. The exact route from Philadelphia to Boston is uncertain, but most likely included the Philadelphia & Trenton RR to Trenton, New Jersey; Camden & Amboy to New Brunswick; the New Jersey Railroad and Transportation Co. to Jersey City; steamers to New York City and New Haven, Connecticut; the Hartford & New Haven RR to Springfield, Massachusetts; the Western RR to Worcester; and the Boston & Worcester into the city of Boston. Edward Earley In Boston, a huge crowd met the funeral train, and Adams’ casket was placed on a funeral coach furnished by the undertaker John Hall, which was pulled by six black horses trimmed in crepe. The remains of Adams lay in state for several days in historic Faneuil Hall at the Quincy Market and were then taken home to Quincy, MA on the Old Colony RR line. Women in Leadership: Mental Health Awareness Jennifer Olvera, Green Hills Memorial Park Tiffany Gallarzo, The Mortuary of Green Hills We will be highlighting how to improve mental health based on the feedback from last year’s breakout session, Compassion Fatigue – Self Care. Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make healthy choices. Mental health is important at every stage in life and especially important in our chosen profession. An increased understanding helps empathize with one another and create a more supportive community. Self-care is important compound of mental health, and we will provide ways to take care of yourself while you’re caring for others, employees, and creating a positive, healthy, and successful work environment. Cemetery Prospecting and Lead Development: An Insider’s Perspective Tacye Vogel, Life Tribute Academy The systems for prospecting keep the sales going. There are many new lead generation tools tied to technology. How did we get leads before the internet? Tacye will review three proven lead generation techniques and how they can keep your team’s pipeline full. These techniques that can be the foundation for teams to fall back to when their pipeline is lean. After this session, you can easily implement these three fundamental practices and systems with your team. Monetizing the Loss of Business of Mediocre Phone Skills Nicole Wiedeman, CSE, Dead Ringers First impressions are vital in this consumer price researcher environment. We’ve learned through our objective metrics that some dismal phone etiquette is leading to missed opportunities for capturing business in all facets of deathcare. We are now able to monetize the loss that occurs to our business due to phone skills. We are on a mission to share our findings in a fun, irreverent and engaging talk with the ICCFA Expo attendees. 2:00 – 2:50 PM Interactive Strategic Planning Vincent Roberge, Johnson Consulting Group Where has your company been, where is it now, where is it going, and how will you get there? These are just some of the questions you need to be able to answer in order to create measurable goals to drive and develop sustainable growth. Strategic Planning is the process used to prioritize and align efforts, effectively allocate resources, and ensure your goals are backed by data and sound reasoning. To achieve success, you must define Continued from Page A27 Continued on page A29 Breakout Sessions SEND US YOUR NEWS! PO Box 5159 Youngstown, Oh 44514 1-800-321-7479 info@nomispublications.com
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