Going Out in Style

A dark subject for today - the last ride. Sometimes around 42N country you may see an atypical funeral procession compared to the more common automotive hearse and line of followers. Sometimes the ride from the service to the cemetery involves horse drawn wagons because the deceased was connected to farming, ranching, or other horse-related occupations.

This horse-drawn hearse was built in the 1890s and used from 1903 to 1913 in the small town of Spillville, Iowa. It was last employed in an official capacity during 2001. An interesting feature of this enclosed glass window wagon is a set of encased ball bearings for moving caskets in and out.

So in the end you could order the following: hitch a dark horse or two to this hearse, put a driver on the seat with a dark duster and stove pipe hat, then roll in a simple wooden casket. This is what people a hundred years ago opted for to travel in style to their final resting place. Its still an option. Know that.