Description
In Tales from Kentucky Funeral Homes, William Lynwood Montell has collected stories and reminiscences from funeral home directors and embalmers around the state. These accounts provide a record of the business of death as it has been practiced in Kentucky during the last fifty years. The collection ranges from tales of old-time burial practices, to stories about funeral customs unique to the African American community, to tales of premonitions, mistakes, and even humorous occurrences. Other stories involve such bizarre aspects of the business as snake-handling funerals, wrong identities, and in-home embalming. Taken together, these firsthand narratives preserve crucial aspect of Kentucky social life not likely to be collected in other places. A majority of these funeral home stories involve the up to date history of Kentucky funeral practices, but some descriptive accounts go back to the era when funeral directors used horse-drawn wagons to achieve secluded areas. These accounts, including stories about fainting relatives, long-winded preachers, and pallbearers falling into graves, provide significant insights into the pivotal role morticians have played in local life and culture over time.