Camo Caskets?
02-10-2005, 06:26 AM
#1
Fork Horn
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location:
Posts: 232
Camo Caskets?
You shall know them by their caskets
BY BILL TAMMEUS
Knight Ridder Newspapers
(KRT) - I've been hunting only once in my life, so I'm guessing that a new line of camouflage caskets featuring deer, ducks or turkeys won't be appropriate for me when I buy the farm.
Still, I find something appealing - not appalling - about these camo caskets built and sold by Arkansas Casket Sales of Heber Springs, Ark., www.camocasket.com. I like the notion that we can tug on Death's cape and celebrate - even a little whimsically - the life of the one who has died.
There are - and should be - tears and grief, but we need not completely give ourselves over to that sadness.
These 18-gauge steel, gasketed, $2,995, made-in-U.S.A., shippable-anywhere, Visa- or MasterCard-accepted caskets come in "natural" and "evergreen," and co-owner Ruth Ann Graves (the perfect last name to own a casket company) says they have been "well-received. We've had a few sales. We feel like we're getting there, but it's just been hard getting the word out."
Her husband, Hugh Graves, says camo caskets fit into the move toward more personalized funerals.
"Things are changing from the old morbid way of gruesome funerals," he says. "It's a time to celebrate." And yet he adds this: "We strictly are serious about this. Death is serious. When it happens to your family, it hurts. But we do something for the family that actually helps them."
Graves says he got to attend the visitation of the man whose family bought the first camo casket they made.
Person after person, he says, told family members: "That's your dad all over." Having the surprising casket, he said, "helped them with the grieving process."
But, he acknowledges, "It's not for everybody."
And yet everyone - whether people of faith or people who stay as far away from religion as possible - eventually must face death. And there are honored traditions about how we say farewell and - depending on the religion, if any - about how we understand death.
But even in the most somber cultures, there surely is space at the end of a life to say, "This is part of who this person was." One way we say that is through funeral traditions, including the choice of casket.
When my father died 13 years ago, we chose a big-boned, wooden casket that reflected his gentle masculinity. When my mother died almost nine years ago, our choice was a soft, pinkish metal that spoke of her love of beauty and her feminine qualities.
I hope to avoid putting my survivors through such a choice by being cremated and having my ashes buried on the grounds of my church. But if I were to have a traditional burial, I might suggest that my family look for a nontraditional casket - say, one that had newspaper headlines all over it. I agree with Hugh and Ruth Ann Graves that there is a lot of room for expressions of individuality in funerals.
One reason is that religious tradition in almost all cultures for centuries has viewed life as an enormous and precious gift.
It's one reason, for example, that all major religions approve of organ and tissue donation so that one who is dying may help extend life for others. There certainly are different approaches among various religious groups on this subject, but the overwhelming emphasis is on the value of preserving life and passing it on.
In some ways, that's because religions recognize that the mysterious reality of life itself is not something individuals own, exactly.
Religion's respect for life is also why the debate over abortion and the use of embryonic stem cells has been so heated, and why most religious traditions develop careful policies and approaches for how people should be treated when they're terminally ill.
Doing something a little odd - like choosing a casket decorated with hunting camouflage - is not a way of making fun of those serious concerns. Rather, it's another way of affirming life as a joyous gift.
And speaking of affirmations, I've been thinking a little more about a casket to honor newspaper columnists. Headlines are fine, as well as some reprinted columns, but instead of a phone number and e-mail address at the end of the columns, I'd use a line that says: "You can comment on this column when you get to wherever the columnist has gone."
---
ABOUT THE WRITER
Bill Tammeus is a columnist for The Kansas City Star. Readers may write to him at: The Kansas City Star, 1729 Grand Blvd., Kansas City, Mo. 64108-1413, or e-mail him at [email protected]. Visit Tammeus' Web log at http://billtammeus.typepad.com.
BY BILL TAMMEUS
Knight Ridder Newspapers
(KRT) - I've been hunting only once in my life, so I'm guessing that a new line of camouflage caskets featuring deer, ducks or turkeys won't be appropriate for me when I buy the farm.
Still, I find something appealing - not appalling - about these camo caskets built and sold by Arkansas Casket Sales of Heber Springs, Ark., www.camocasket.com. I like the notion that we can tug on Death's cape and celebrate - even a little whimsically - the life of the one who has died.
There are - and should be - tears and grief, but we need not completely give ourselves over to that sadness.
These 18-gauge steel, gasketed, $2,995, made-in-U.S.A., shippable-anywhere, Visa- or MasterCard-accepted caskets come in "natural" and "evergreen," and co-owner Ruth Ann Graves (the perfect last name to own a casket company) says they have been "well-received. We've had a few sales. We feel like we're getting there, but it's just been hard getting the word out."
Her husband, Hugh Graves, says camo caskets fit into the move toward more personalized funerals.
"Things are changing from the old morbid way of gruesome funerals," he says. "It's a time to celebrate." And yet he adds this: "We strictly are serious about this. Death is serious. When it happens to your family, it hurts. But we do something for the family that actually helps them."
Graves says he got to attend the visitation of the man whose family bought the first camo casket they made.
Person after person, he says, told family members: "That's your dad all over." Having the surprising casket, he said, "helped them with the grieving process."
But, he acknowledges, "It's not for everybody."
And yet everyone - whether people of faith or people who stay as far away from religion as possible - eventually must face death. And there are honored traditions about how we say farewell and - depending on the religion, if any - about how we understand death.
But even in the most somber cultures, there surely is space at the end of a life to say, "This is part of who this person was." One way we say that is through funeral traditions, including the choice of casket.
When my father died 13 years ago, we chose a big-boned, wooden casket that reflected his gentle masculinity. When my mother died almost nine years ago, our choice was a soft, pinkish metal that spoke of her love of beauty and her feminine qualities.
I hope to avoid putting my survivors through such a choice by being cremated and having my ashes buried on the grounds of my church. But if I were to have a traditional burial, I might suggest that my family look for a nontraditional casket - say, one that had newspaper headlines all over it. I agree with Hugh and Ruth Ann Graves that there is a lot of room for expressions of individuality in funerals.
One reason is that religious tradition in almost all cultures for centuries has viewed life as an enormous and precious gift.
It's one reason, for example, that all major religions approve of organ and tissue donation so that one who is dying may help extend life for others. There certainly are different approaches among various religious groups on this subject, but the overwhelming emphasis is on the value of preserving life and passing it on.
In some ways, that's because religions recognize that the mysterious reality of life itself is not something individuals own, exactly.
Religion's respect for life is also why the debate over abortion and the use of embryonic stem cells has been so heated, and why most religious traditions develop careful policies and approaches for how people should be treated when they're terminally ill.
Doing something a little odd - like choosing a casket decorated with hunting camouflage - is not a way of making fun of those serious concerns. Rather, it's another way of affirming life as a joyous gift.
And speaking of affirmations, I've been thinking a little more about a casket to honor newspaper columnists. Headlines are fine, as well as some reprinted columns, but instead of a phone number and e-mail address at the end of the columns, I'd use a line that says: "You can comment on this column when you get to wherever the columnist has gone."
---
ABOUT THE WRITER
Bill Tammeus is a columnist for The Kansas City Star. Readers may write to him at: The Kansas City Star, 1729 Grand Blvd., Kansas City, Mo. 64108-1413, or e-mail him at [email protected]. Visit Tammeus' Web log at http://billtammeus.typepad.com.
02-10-2005, 02:59 PM
#6
Typical Buck
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Georgia
Posts: 882
RE: Camo Caskets?
jci63,
I sent the web page on these caskets to a couple of my ole buddies. I think it would be a pretty good ride for that last trip and my buddies and myself might have to sneak in, this may do it.
dog1
I sent the web page on these caskets to a couple of my ole buddies. I think it would be a pretty good ride for that last trip and my buddies and myself might have to sneak in, this may do it.
dog1
02-10-2005, 03:27 PM
#7
Typical Buck
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location:
Posts: 833
RE: Camo Caskets?
I do not know about the law.I do know that several members of my family are in company of guns,truck keys,beer, wine knives and one with the pic of his girlfriend.Wife still dosent know about that one.
02-11-2005, 07:03 PM
#8
Boone & Crockett
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Ponce de Leon Florida USA
Posts: 10,079
RE: Camo Caskets?
I've saw an advertisement for caskets that were made in the theme of the deceased favorite university's football team. I don't see anything wrong with the camo theme. The price doesn't seem to be too bad either, compared to the prices of ordinary caskets.
02-12-2005, 09:29 AM
#9
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Montana
Posts: 586
RE: Camo Caskets?
I laughed my butt off! But why not? People make beautiful caskets to honor the dead and comfort the living, why not put their passion on it?
It's also a good reminder to respect the animals we shoot - they might be waiting for us!
It's also a good reminder to respect the animals we shoot - they might be waiting for us!
