‘Tales from Pioneers & Soldiers Cemetery’ Archives
“White Bronze” Monument claimed to “Bridge” centuries
by Sue Hunter Weir-83rd in a Series When Sylvester Cook needed to buy a headstone for his wife, Mary, he wanted one that was beautiful and that would last. He took the somewhat unusual step of ordering a marker for her from the Monumental Brass Company in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Despite the company”'s name, the marker he bought isn”'t made of brass; it is made of zinc, a much less expensive metal that Monumental Brass, for marketing purposes, advertised as “White Bronze.” Between 1874 and 1914, Monumental Brass was the only company in the United States that manufactured cast zinc markers. They offered their customers hundreds of styles to choose from, and customized the markers with zinc plates that attached to one of their standard marker styles. Customers ordered the markers from local sales representatives or from catalogs at prices ranging from $2.00 for a small marker to $5,000 for a large monument. Monumental Brass Company seems to have learned [...]
Ironic Tragedy! Mourners and Mortician infected by small pox diseased corpse
Almost all cemetery stories are sad, but some are far sadder than others. On May 30th, 2011 at the 142st Memorial Day Celebration Memorial Day at Pioneers and Soldiers Cemetery, Lu Jacobson came to pay her respects to several members of her family. She came with flowers, most likely the first flowers that her relatives had received in nearly a hundred years. Six members of her family died in 1904, all of them within six weeks of each other. The story began on April 1, 1904 when the Minneapolis Tribune ran the following short story: “Hearing strange and unusual noises in the rooms below at 1:30 this morning, Mrs. Joseph H. Lockwood, of 2854 Twenty-seventh avenue south, ran from her chamber to the first floor, only to find her husband in the last throes of death. Her endeavors and those of other members of the household were unavailing, and the husband and father died without regaining consciousness. Coroner Williams decided that the death was due to [...]
“Hats Off” as Honors are Given
May 19, 2011, marked the perfect ending to a perfect week for Minneapolis Pioneers and Soldiers Memorial Cemetery””the kind of week that comes around once every 83 years. It was a week in which we celebrated the history of Minneapolis Pioneers and Soldiers Memorial (formerly Layman”'s) Cemetery while making a little history of our own. May is National Preservation Month, a time when preservationists and their supporters call attention to efforts to save the nation”'s historic treasures. One of those national treasures is right here in Phillips Community Grand Opening of the Restored Main Gate “Hinges” on contributions On Tuesday, May 17th, about 60 people attended the unveiling of Phase I of the restoration of the cemetery”'s gates and the 13 sections of the fence that were in the worst condition. The weather was glorious, the tulips were in full bloom, and even the dandelions looked festive. A lime-green dune buggy buzzed around one of the [...]
