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Historic Burial Grounds of the New Hampshire Seacoast By Glenn A. Knoblock
Arcadia Publishing has releases a new title in the Images of America series, the historic account of the cemeteries along the New Hampshire Seacoast. This collection is a must for anyone interested in local history, genealogy, or colonial-era art. Please visit Arcadia Publishing to purchase your copy of Historic Burial Grounds of the New Hampshire Seacoast and browse other cemetery books!
Green-Wood Cemetery By Alexandra Mosca
Arcadia Publishing announces the release of the historic account of one of New York's most famous cemeteries. Aracdia Publishing's Images of America series has an extensive catalog of many cemetery publications! Please visit Arcadia Publishing to purchase your copy of Green-Wood Cemetery.
Announcements
Quoting Death in Early Modern England: The Poetics of Epitaphs Beyond the Tomb By Scott L. Newstok
An innovative study of the Renaissance practice of making epitaphic gestures within other English genres. A poetics of quotation uncovers the ways in which writers including Shakespeare, Marlowe, Holinshed, Sidney, Jonson, Donne, and Elizabeth I have recited these texts within new contexts. Visit Palgrave Macmillan and purchase your copy today!
Living by the Dead By Ellen Ashdown with illustrations by Mary Liz Moody.
A memoir about living beside a cemetery--and about the members of my family who came to rest at Roselawn Cemetery in Tallahassee, Florida. Please visit Kitsune Books for more information.
Graveyards of Chicago: The People, History, Art, and Lore of Cook County Cemeteries By Matt Hucke And Ursula Bielski.
Discover a Chicago That Exists Just Beneath the Surface - About Six Feet Under! Take a tour of Chicago's permanent residents! Please visit the Lake Claremont Press website to purchase your copy of Graveyards of Chicago today!
Epitaphs: The Magazine for Cemetery Lovers By Cemetery Lovers
For information regarding subscriptions, single issues, submission guidelines, deadlines, classifieds or advertising for future issues, please visit The Cemetery Club.
Guardians of the Soul: Angels and Innocents, Mourners and Saints with photography by John Bower and foreword by Claude Cookman
Indiana's remarkable cemetery sculpture is now available. Please visit Studio Indiana for more information.
West Springfield Massachusetts: Stories Carved in Stone by Rusty Clark
Features information on early New England gravestone carvers with more than two hundred photos and illustrations. Please visit the Dog Pond Press website.
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Digital bugle to bid farewell to veterans |
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Friday, 07 November 2003 |
Digital bugle to bid farewell to veterans
Local VFW post one of first to get instrument with programmed music
By REGAN FOSTER
Staff writer
Thursday, October 30, 2003
The Holland Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2144 is one of the first 50 posts nationwide to receive an electronic bugle that can be used to pay last respects during military funerals.
The bugle looks like a normal instrument but plays "Taps" at the push of a button, said Raymond Gutierrez, a member of the VFW's Honor Guard. There is a five second delay from the time the "player" cues up the music to the time when the song actually starts playing, so that person can bring the instrument to his or her lips.
A federal mandate passed in January 2000 requires that the song be played at all military funerals, Gutierrez said, but with only a handful of qualified buglers in West Michigan, the availability of the musicians for the funerals is limited.
"We do an average of two funerals each week," Gutierrez said. "Some of the funeral homes provide buglers, but when they aren't available, we go to the high schools to find a trumpeter. If they aren't available, we have had to use a boom box.
"This new electronic bugle is going to do it for us."
An average of 1,800 veterans die nationwide each day, Gutierrez said.
The instrument, which cost $500, was purchased with the help of local funeral homes and contributions from area residents. Bill Scovill, owner of Chappell Funeral Home in Fennville, said he didn't think twice about donating for the purchase.
"They help me out an awful lot, this was just something I could do to help them," he said.
Even though the VFW is based out of Holland, members are always willing to make the trip to the Allegan County funeral homes to make sure their fellow veterans have a proper burial, Scovill said.
"The service they do is greatly appreciated by lots of people," he said. "They cover a lot of area, and you've got to remember that these guys are all World War II veterans.
"You stop and figure what it takes to get six to eight veterans together to spend their days" helping out.
Each funeral involves not only the playing of the song, but also a 21 gun salute, presentation of the American flag to the survivors and full military dress, Scovill said. And, he added, the Holland group is not daunted by rain, sleet or snow.
Michael Dozeman, owner of Lakeshore Memorial Services in Holland Township and a contributor for the bugle's purchase, said he works with three buglers who play the song, but there is no guarantee that those players will be available on any given day. In those instances, he said, the funeral home has to put a federally released compact disc with the song on the stereo of a funeral vehicle and turn up the volume.
Furthermore, having a live bugler increases the cost of the ceremony, Dozeman said, since the musicians are professionals.
"This will give families options," he said. "This is a good opportunity for those families that can't afford a musician to still have the appearance of live music."
The bugle will arrive in December, Gutierrez said, and VFW members are interested in how the new instrument will work.
"It's not a live bugle but it's something that they want, that their families want and they deserve," he said.
http://www.thehollandsentinel.net/stories/103003/loc_103003003.shtml |
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