The death industry
The last I heard, the death industry was a lucrative business. Maybe things have changed now that you can get coffins at WalmartCOM. Maybe the death industry folks are just getting by like everyone else now -- times is hard.
I discovered Find a Grave, which is basically an excuse to go hang out in graveyards as you try to photograph markers for people who don't live in the area. I signed up to be a volunteer and the first request I got was for this cemetery, GlP, so I look at this cemetery and it has 16 photo requests. I got a little over zealous and claimed all 16 of them, thus committed myself to taking a picture of 16 stones in two weeks.
That seems like an impossible feat now because the cemetery is charging $2 for each name they look up for me. She gave me 2 names yesterday for free - both of them seem to be in unmarked graves and then she told me she'll have to charge me today.
If I had gone to the office first thing today, I probably would have just walked out, but I had spent the better part of an hour in the baby section looking for Elaine Kelley, who lived for a day in 1924. Many of the baby lots weren't marked and some had home made markers. One had a home made marker that simply said 'Baby'. The oldest stone I found in the baby section was from 1925, however. So I wonder if she's unmarked or simply somewhere else. According to FAGRAVE, her parents are buried at HC, not GlP, so the person who wants the photo might even have the wrong cemetery. It would cost me $2 to find out for them.
Anyway, I didn't want to leave empty-handed after all that effort, so I gave the lady 4 names I would pay for. I gave her the most recent request that got me going to this God-forsaken cemetery and three people who had spouses. She told me one of the people wasn't in the file, so I asked her to look up his wife, who wasn't there either. That's two people off my list.
Anyway, I give her the card and she was going to charge me for 5 people. I got three locations, but had to pay for five people. Fortunately, she forgot they were between card services when she told me I could pay by card, so I got my locations for free. She re-enforced that I'll have to pay cash next time. Ha! Next time!
The idea of paying $2 for someone to look in a file cabinet just bothers me. I don't know if we're conditioned to think that information should be free in this internet age or that $2 just seems steep for the service. I'd want a groundskeeper to take me to the gave for that kind of fee. I would personally place the look-up fee as $.50 per name. Possibly a buck.
I wonder if all cemeteries do this. I might concentrate on the historic cemeteries from now on that have books at the library with all the occupants and locations.
I discovered Find a Grave, which is basically an excuse to go hang out in graveyards as you try to photograph markers for people who don't live in the area. I signed up to be a volunteer and the first request I got was for this cemetery, GlP, so I look at this cemetery and it has 16 photo requests. I got a little over zealous and claimed all 16 of them, thus committed myself to taking a picture of 16 stones in two weeks.
That seems like an impossible feat now because the cemetery is charging $2 for each name they look up for me. She gave me 2 names yesterday for free - both of them seem to be in unmarked graves and then she told me she'll have to charge me today.
If I had gone to the office first thing today, I probably would have just walked out, but I had spent the better part of an hour in the baby section looking for Elaine Kelley, who lived for a day in 1924. Many of the baby lots weren't marked and some had home made markers. One had a home made marker that simply said 'Baby'. The oldest stone I found in the baby section was from 1925, however. So I wonder if she's unmarked or simply somewhere else. According to FAGRAVE, her parents are buried at HC, not GlP, so the person who wants the photo might even have the wrong cemetery. It would cost me $2 to find out for them.
Anyway, I didn't want to leave empty-handed after all that effort, so I gave the lady 4 names I would pay for. I gave her the most recent request that got me going to this God-forsaken cemetery and three people who had spouses. She told me one of the people wasn't in the file, so I asked her to look up his wife, who wasn't there either. That's two people off my list.
Anyway, I give her the card and she was going to charge me for 5 people. I got three locations, but had to pay for five people. Fortunately, she forgot they were between card services when she told me I could pay by card, so I got my locations for free. She re-enforced that I'll have to pay cash next time. Ha! Next time!
The idea of paying $2 for someone to look in a file cabinet just bothers me. I don't know if we're conditioned to think that information should be free in this internet age or that $2 just seems steep for the service. I'd want a groundskeeper to take me to the gave for that kind of fee. I would personally place the look-up fee as $.50 per name. Possibly a buck.
I wonder if all cemeteries do this. I might concentrate on the historic cemeteries from now on that have books at the library with all the occupants and locations.