Serving All Cemeteries in Oregon President s Message. Spring 2016

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1 Serving All Cemeteries in Oregon President s Message Spring 2016 Though our organization has had all appearances of a quiet year, we are in transition as we have been focused on hiring an Association Outreach and Organization Manager. The selection has been made, and we ve been busy working with her to bring her up to speed about our association and the cemetery business. I m pleased to introduce to you Anna Mehrer. Let me give you some background on Anna and what she will be doing for our organization. Anna is the owner of a company by the name of Order Order ( She specializes in Digital Marketing Strategy: website customization, product photography, blogging, marketing, and Social Media management. Anna has a love for writing, photography, communications, organization, cemeteries, nostalgia and antiques. Her endeavor with our association is a little different than what she is accustomed to doing on a daily basis, but the board felt that the outreach and energy she brings would be of benefit to our members. Some of you may have noticed more activity on our Facebook page; that s from Anna. Suppliers and Cemeterians, do not be surprised if Anna reaches out to you, asking what your organization is up to, and if she may write about what you are doing and help promote your business. We have been working diligently on the fall conference, which will be October 28-30th. In the coming months, we will solidify legislative topics for our board to focus on. If you have a particular question or concern about the Oregon Revised Statutes or the Oregon Administrative Rules, please contact us. I look forward to our commitment together in elevating the standards in our Oregon cemeteries. Our shared experience and camaraderie are important for us in maintaining exceptional levels of service to our clients. Kind regards, Rachel Fox President, CAO 1

2 Vendor Profile: Coldspring By Anna Mehrer I sat down with Eric Romppanen of Coldspring recently on an overcast Portland morning at a quaint donut shop. Based in Seattle, Eric was already quite familiar with the city. His background in the aluminum business grounded him in the value of earth s resources and how sometimes these products are taken for granted (or granite!). He noted that many downtown Portland curbs and building fascia are granite, the primary material Coldspring quarries. Coldspring is a North American memorial company with quarries in the United States and Canada, the dominant provider of US-sourced granite that is sold to monument dealers, funeral homes, and cemeteries. As the burial industry has evolved, so have Coldspring s product offerings. They offer glass-front niches for cremations, Expressions in Bronze and other bronze castings, and memorial spaces -- for example, an 826-crypt mausoleum in Book Park, Ohio. As I became acquainted with what Coldspring offers, Eric mentioned marble is not the best option for headstones. Marble can stain easily and erode with weather important to note due to our wet and mossy Pacific Northwest environment, hence, the prominence of granite in newer cemetery installations. Granite can also be laser or water etched, something we have seen become more popular lately. Different types of etching on certain types of granite can produce dramatically different results. This style has grown in popularity due to the desire to more realistically depict the deceased and/ or a scene representing their hobbies or interests. It made me wonder what the future of memorials will be video presentations on outdoor flat screens with live video broadcasting via Google Streetview? Holograms of the deceased telling their own story? A trend Eric is seeing is an increase in the need for housing cremains, since people are not taking home the cremains like they used to. Cemeteries are challenged with memorialization in this way, so Coldspring offers an attractive display system called, Glass-Front Niches. These display cases are housed in a memorial building where there could be seating for visiting families and grievers. Perhaps it s an opportunity for the funeral home in Colorado with abandoned cremains (New York Times; May 7, 2016)? Another form of memorialization is Coldspring s 2

3 Expressions in Bronze, where the sand-cast bronze image is painted in black, then sanded down to reveal the realistic two-tone image. (Pictured: Eric holding an example) Bronze and granite stand the test of time and the elements, so this type of memorialization is a practical solution for preserving one s legacy. One of the myths Eric would like to dispel is that foreign-sourced granite memorials are less expensive. Domestically-sourced granite offers more advantages than people think in terms of turnaround time, flexibility, and customization. While people think bronze is expensive, it s important to remember you get what you pay for. If you d like something unique, like Expressions in Bronze, there will be no other thing like it. Many Veterans request US-made memorials. Cemeteries will guarantee families receive US-quarried memorials and bronze cast in the US. The standard lead time is 45 days, once the order is received and approved by the family. That is a service that can t be matched by sourcing overseas. While overseas quarries are less expensive, they don t have environmental standards. Therefore, when a person is looking to buy a granite memorial, it is recommended to request a domestic source. Some of Coldspring s crowning achievements include memorials for Jimi Hendrix, Bud Adams (Tennessee Titans owner), Tara Lipinski (she s planning ahead!), and the blue pearl granite fountain at the Kennedy Space Center. To learn more about Coldspring, you may visit their website: Save the Date Upcoming Meetings Oregon Commission on Historic Cemeteries June 6, 2016 via conference call Contact Kuri Gill at for more information Oregon Mortuary & Cemetery Board June 14, 2016 August 9, 2016 Cemetery Association of Oregon July 12, :30 am Find Us On Facebook Discover quality content for yourself and for sharing with fans of your business page. Like and select All On in the notifications options for the page to ensure you receive all updates. Please share our posts, too! Search: Cemetery Association of Oregon Send photos, announcements, etc., to anna@orderorder.net Fall Conference October Oregon Coast Details coming soon! 3

4 Cemetery Tour: South Carolina CAO board member, Anna Mehrer, visited Spartanburg, South Carolina in April and was naturally compelled to get a taste of the local culture especially, cemetery culture. Oakwood Cemetery and Greenwood Cemetery were at the top of the list. Accompanied by a professor from Wofford College, they made their way through these historic gems. The Southern Harmony, and Musical Companion. As you can see from the photos, Magnolia s gravesites have many different styles. William Singin Billy Walker, Magnolia Cemetery Oakwood Cemetery Oakwood Cemetery is a large, grassy knoll and home to over 5,000 burials. While the cemetery was chartered in 1885, it was most likely originally a family cemetery, with its first burials between 1828 and Many historically significant members of the community are buried at Oakwood: Confederate Col. Joseph Walker, Simpson Bobo (responsible for signing the secession ordinance prior to the Civil War), Converse College founder, Dexter Converse, local politicians, and wealthy textile mill owners (Spartanburg had a burgeoning textile industry in the 1800s), among others. It is the first cemetery in the region to have a Jewish section. Several gravesites are decorated with iron crosses indicating service in the Civil War (pictured). Marked CSA with the Confederate flag, these are an unusual sight for those accustomed to seeing memorials in the Northwest. In 1914, some graves were moved to Oakwood Cemetery from Magnolia Cemetery to make room for a railroad. Magnolia is a much smaller cemetery, situated across from what is now the coroner s office. The earliest death dates in the cemetery are from 1810, with perhaps the most notable resident being William Singin Billy Walker ( ), who composed the tunebook, One mausoleum has a unique appearance reminiscent of an indigenous hut, but the view from the front presents a more traditional aesthetic. Other graves are arranged piles of brick. As with most cemeteries, Magnolia and Oakwood have had a history of popular places to party among the locals, often incurring vandalism and extensive, expensive damage. Magnolia appears to have received some level of love in years past, but there is evidence that finding resources for upkeep may be a challenge. Through the preservation of history in these beautiful resting places, there is hope for a legacy of learning and discovery for future generations. She hath done what she could. 4

5 Oakwood Cemetery 5

6 Magnolia Cemetery 6

7 Legislative Corner Are you a struggling cemetery? Do you know of a struggling cemetery? The Cemetery Association needs your input. Remember HB 3242? This law provides for the OMCB to issue a temporary license to operate a cemetery should the cemetery licensee become unavailable to conduct interments. Not only do these issues exist, there are preceding laws and professional organizations that have the knowledge to mitigate these problems. We recently met with Rep. Gomberg who suggested we look into a scenario where the State promotes cemetery stewardship much like the SOLV Beach Cleanups. This meeting was held in the State offices with Kuri Gill of the State of Oregon Historic Cemeteries Commission, the Oregon Funeral Directors Association, the Oregon Mortuary & Cemetery Board, and the Cemetery Association of Oregon. Our association will be leading the charge, please send us your feedback and ideas as soon as possible to CemeteryAssociationOfOregon@gmail.com. Thank you! -Rachel Fox Thank You To Our Members AllWest Underground Bay City IOOF Cemetery Belcrest Memorial Park Bethany Pioneer Cemetery BrightView Landscape Services Buxton Cemetery Association City View Cemetery Crane Cemetery Association Crescent Grove Cemetery & Mausoleum Dallas Cemetery District #4 Drewsey Cemetery Eagle Valley Cemetery Evergreen Cemetery Fir Crest Cemetery Forest Lawn Cemetery Franklin Butte Masonic Cemetery Gibbs Cemetery Greenwood Cemetery Hawthorne Memorial Gardens Heritage Pacific Hillcrest Memorial Park Idlewilde Cemetery Island City Cemetery Maintenance District Jordan Valley Cemetery District La Grande Cemetery Maintenance District Lincoln Memorial Park Cemetery Lund Cemeteries Inc Memory Gardens Memorial Park Metro Cemeteries Noble Burial Association Cemetery Olney Cemetery Oregon Wilbert Phoenix Pioneer Cemetery Pilot Rock Cemetery Pine Grove Butte Cemetery Quiring River View Cemetery Association of Portland Robert Bird Cemetery Rogue River Cemetery Roseburg Memorial Gardens Skyline Memorial Gardens St. Anthony Cemetery St. Boniface Cemetery Sunset Hills Memorial Park Valley View Cemetery West Lawn Memorial Park Weston Cemetery Westside Community Cemetery Yamhill-Carlton Pioneer Memorial Cemetery Association 7