Remembering a Landmark

Last week I was given a unique opportunity in an art commission.  A friend asked me to paint a picture of a funeral home from his hometown where he’d gotten his start in the business years ago.  The couple of pictures he sent me were not ideal.  One was a black and white photo and the other was a grainy color photo of the first building, sporting a 1980s remodel.  His detailed written description didn’t quite match up with either photograph, which were obviously missing part of the building.

My friend explained to me that the building had burned down on September 12, 2001, the day after the 911 terror attacks.  Every American felt the violation and overwhelming sorrow of those attacks, even the individuals in the smallest of our towns.  Imagine the added confusion and sorrow of those individuals when an important landmark in their own town burned to the ground the next day.

I was intrigued by my friend’s desire to capture the memory of the old funeral home and decided to spend some time on the phone with the folks in the small town in Mississippi to see if I could track down any more pictures.  I spoke with the City Clerk, who referred me to the current funeral home, built on the same premises.  They had already spoken with my friend about having no pictures, and they recommended I call the local newspaper.  Only two people worked at the newspaper, so the sweet, but obviously harried, newspaper employee suggested she could try to dig up something from the archives later in the week….  I got the hint.  She also recommended I contact the Chamber of Commerce, which I did.  That kind lady was going to call the daughter of the original owner and get back with me. I never heard back from anyone, but apparently, my friend did.

I started on a sketch, got his approval, and then started on the underpainting.  

Then my friend shared a few pictures from the night of the fire that I guess one of those contacts in the town sent him.  Wow! The lighting from the fire was terrific, and I finally saw the 90 degree angle of the building that he’d mentioned at the beginning of our conversation!

Through the course of our communication, which spanned several days as I worked on the piece, sending updates and asking questions, my friend (a real Southern gentleman) offered me the history of the building.  His words paint a beautiful picture (better than my version in oils) that I’d like to share with you.

[The funeral home] was truly something to behold. Back 30 years ago, because flowers were less expensive, it was common to have 30-40 stands of flowers. This wasn’t the largest building, so we placed the arrangements in the front by the casket as well as down the walls of the chapel. The chapel chandeliers were dimmed and the flowers along the chapel wall were illuminated by the wall sconces. It was tradition that the porch sconces were turned on during a service. Often there were so many flowers that were delivered the day of the service, they were leaned against the brick wall on the porch…quite beautiful. 

Because this old home was on the backside of the main street buildings, it didn’t have the traditional layout of most funeral homes with the chapel on one end. The last door on the right led into the chapel, with the one on the left going into the lobby. The funeral coach parked right in front, with the family procession stretching behind. 

Friend who started his career here

The fire started with a grease fire in the adjoining building, an antique shop with a not-up-to-code café.  The owners had just enough time to remove important records before the whole thing was consumed. According to my friend, “the firefighters worked so hard to save it with no success.”

Can you imagine the impact that the loss of this building must have had on that little town?  It obviously meant a lot to the community and held special memories of loved ones honored and laid to rest there.  Although my friend “moved on to greener pastures, a part of [his] heart remained at this old establishment.”  What a legacy of love!

When I finished the painting this past Monday, I realized the date. It was the day after the 20th anniversary of the fire.