The exhibit was titled "Grave Matters" and was presented by Wendy Belaski and Julia Snell-Esty of Scranton.
The ladies had worked on Civil War reenactments, dressed in nineteenth century clothing, and explained many aspects of civilian and family life during those years.
When a Scranton funeral home went out of business and a sale was held to disperse its goods, Wendy made the decision to acqire it and to use it as the basis for another form of "re-enactment." She and Julie have created a fascinating glimpse into the mourning and funeral customs of the nineteenth century. Wendy has written three books relating to the subject, and the ladies conduct "cemetery tours" in the Scranton area, highlighting unusual headstones or burial sites of well-known persons.
But today they brought much of their display to East Canton, and their presentation was very well-received. It ranged from reproductions of headstones of former slaves, to embalming tables, coffins that served as storage trunks until the time for their ultimate use, and many promotional items from funeral homes. They had a special display on Jewish funerals, and explained the customs of mourning, including dress and a rough schedule of times when survivors could resume activities without causing comment. "The scene in Gone With The Wind where Scarlett dances in mourning or appears in her red gown would never have happened in society of those days. The community would have been scandalized," she tells us. The mourning customs of those days have their roots in the death of Prince Albert, Consort of Queen Victoria, who died of typhoid fever in 1861. The queen mourned for the remainder of her life (50 years), and although perhaps not doing so for such a long time, people copied her example in dress, memorial decorations and habits.
It was not uncommon for people to wear lockets or charms with hair from the deceased, and in those early days of photography, when subjects had to remain still and "hold that pose," often the only clear picture available of children would be after their death. It may strike us as morbid today, but such photographs were accepted in those times. It also was a common practice for funerals to be held in the home.
The exhibit included many tools of the mortuary trade, books and historical records, photographs displaying various mourning paraphernalia, manuals of practice and guidebooks for morticians, and just about anything one could think of relating to the subject.