143 
PARK 
AND CEMETERY . 
Creesy, Eurich, Reid and Simonds. The 
two former have an unbroken record 
of attendance at twenty-four consecu- 
tive meetings. 
John R. Hooper, Supt. “Hollywood,” 
Richmond, Va., and wife were on their 
bridal tour and received congratulations 
from many friends in the association. 
Frank M. Floyd, of "Riverside,” 
Portland, Me., was welcomed by many 
old friends. This was the first national 
convention Mr. Floyd has attended since 
the unfortunate railroad accident sev- 
eral 5^ears ago that deprived him of both 
of his feet. 
W. W. Leland, of the Leland Com- 
pany, New York, made the ladies in the 
party happy by presenting each of them 
with a handsomely engraved silver 
spoon, a souvenir of the Hudson-Ful- 
ton celebration made by Tiffany & Co. 
The Leland Company was represented 
by Mr. Leland, E. L. St. George, M. A. 
Walsh and C. H. Billings, of the New 
York office, and P. E. Bunnell, Cleve- 
land, O., and O. R. Lowe, Rochester, 
N. Y. The ladies desire to express 
their appreciation of the Leland com- 
pany’s courtesy through the columns of 
Park and Cemetery. 
W. H. Harrison and Oscar Eurich, 
president and treasurer respectively, of 
the Harrison Granite Company, New 
York, and two of their out-of-town rep- 
resentatives, Harry Lawson, PhiladeL 
phia, and Harry Davis, Syracuse, N. Y., 
assisted in entertaining the visitors. 
Some idea of the extent to which 
mausoleums are being used in Wood- 
lawn Cemetery, New York, may be had 
from the fact that forty foundations for 
such buildings have been put in this 
year, that will range in cost from $5,000 
to $300,000. The foundations for these 
structures almost invariably go down to 
bed rock. It was necessary to excavate 
to the depth of 27 feet for the founda- 
tion of the Leeds mausoleum now in 
course of erection. This building will 
be constructed of Tennessee marble on 
a molded sub-base of Balfour pink 
granite. It is being furnished by the 
Harrison Granite Company at an esti- 
mated cost of $80,000. 
The New England Cemetery Super- 
intendents’ Association was well repre- 
sented. A party of twenty-four ladies 
and gentlemen came over on a Fall 
River line steamer. 
Mrs. E. E. Hay, Erie, Pa., the only 
lady member of the Association, and 
one who seldom misses a convention, 
was obliged to remain at home to nurse 
a broken wrist, the result of a fall. 
Bellett Lawson, Jr., Supt. Elmwood, 
River Grove, 111., has had photographs 
taken of that cemetery for advertising 
purposes. The photographs are 3x1 
ft., and take in a panoramic view of at 
least 1,500 feet. They will be framed 
for undertakers’ establishments, and 
other public places. iJir. Lawson has 
given considerable attention to cemetery 
advertising, and believes the most 
efficacious to be classified advertisements 
in the daily papers, inserted continuously 
and occasional illustrated writeups in 
Sunday issues. 
Walter E. Graham, president, and W. 
K. Hawks, general manager of the 
Philadelphia Lawn Mower . Company, 
were present with samples of their 
Styles A, E, K and C mowers, but did 
not devote much time to exhibiting their 
“Big Four” when they discovered twen- 
ty-five men at work on the lawns at 
Woodlawn using “Philadelphia” mow- 
ers. The visitors saw what good work 
they were doing and learned from Mr. 
Diering that no other make of mower 
is used at Woodlawn. 
Mr. Bomgardner, of the Bomgardner 
Lowering Device Company, Cleveland, 
O., had a sample of his new truck and 
elevating device for transporting and 
raising caskets to any desired level in 
receiving vaults, etc., but was disap- 
pointed in not having an opportunity 
to exhibit it. This is a device that will 
fill a long-felt want. 
The Granite State Mowing Machine 
Company exhibited samples of their 
mowers and trimmers at Woodlawn. 
The souvenir program of the con- 
vention was very tastefully designed and 
printed by the Kalkhoff Company, New 
York. 
The local committee provided hand- 
some souvenir lapel buttons for the 
occasion. They are composition metal, 
enameled, with the monogram of the 
Association encircled by the words “23d 
Annual Convention, New York, 1909.” 
Of course the local press could not 
let the opportunity pass without poking 
a little innocent fun at the cemetery 
men. The New York Sun said: “While 
in convention assembled for the discus- 
sion of grave subjects it is not ordi- 
narily the custom of cemetery superin- 
tendents to attend any sort of theatri- 
cal performance, but they made an ex- 
ception in the case of the Belasco com- 
edy, “Is Marriage a Failure?” believing 
that the answering to the query would 
confirm' their belief that a man is bet- 
ter dead than married. The cemetery 
superintendents were agreeably disap- 
pointed.” 
The New York Herald was even more 
facetious and devoted a half column or 
more to a report of “the annual ob- 
sequies.” 
The proceedings opened with the reading 
of the list of those who had registered at 
the various cemeteries during the last year. 
The gold medal for Industry went to a Phil- 
adelphia man, this being the tenth consec- 
utive time that city has carried off the 
honor. Some of those present were inclined 
to think that Philadelphia should be elim- 
inated from the contest in the future be- 
cause of the fact that residents over there 
permitted themselves to be buried without 
a protest. 
Then came a hot debate over the respec- 
tive merits of burying and cremation, the 
old timers clinging to the belief that six 
feet of earth made a better resting place 
than an oven. It developed during the dis- 
cussion that nine out of ten men cremated 
are married men. No reason was assigned, 
but in one instance it was recalled that after 
a man who had been married three times 
was put on the Are he begged the attendant 
to close the door, as he felt a draught. 
One fine old “Southern planter,” who was 
strong for cremation, was accused of being 
in the pay of the coal trust. 
One of the members of the association 
was found guilty of carrying a chopped 
onion in his handkerchief to accelerate his 
grief when the occasion demanded it, and 
was promptly expelled. This was the only 
unpleasant feature of the day. 
On the way from the silent suburbs they 
dropped into a dime museum and inspected 
a young man who was sleeping in a silk- 
lined coffin. Some of them could hardly re- 
sist the temptation to clamp on the lid. 
On the way to the hotel the members at- 
tracted considerable attention by standing 
at attention with heads uncovered when- 
ever a carriage went by. 
One of the local papers at James- 
town, N. Y., interviewed Perry W. 
Goodwin, Supt. of Lakewood Cemetery, 
on his return from the New York con- 
vention and published a three-column 
article on the most important subjects 
discussed at the convention. Incidentally 
this afforded Mr. Goodwin an opportun- 
ity to make public some information he 
was desirious of getting before the peo- 
ple of Jamestown regarding perpetual 
care and certain needs of Lakewood 
Cemetery. 
Maintenance of Mausoleums 
One of the most important questions 
discussed at the anuual convention of 
the A. A. C. S. A. in New York was 
the insurance or perpetual care of mau- 
soleums and monuments. It seemed to be 
conceded that it was almost impossible 
or, at least, not good business policy to 
enforce a rule that a fund be set aside 
for the perpetual care of mausoleums 
and large monuments, and yet it is evi- 
dent that some provision should be made 
for their care. In manj' of the older 
cemeteries are examples of poorly built 
— both as to material and workmanship 
— mausoleums which are an eyesore and 
disgrace. The writer saw in a large 
cemetery a tomb the iron door of which 
had rusted off and the coffins were float- 
ing about in the water exposed to the 
gaze of passersby. The mausoleum was 
built by an old man who left no chil- 
dren and whose fortune had gone to 
distant relatives and no provision was 
