Read a story in Country Today about Arcadia Wi. It unearthed a memory of a burial there when Becky and I lived in Winona, MN and I was Assoc. pastor at St. Martin’s Lutheran.  Future, sister -in-law Bev. taught at the school.

After the funeral at St. Martin’s I rode in the hearse with funeral director Tom Martin.  We started the 25-mile trip north along Hwy 93, crossing the Mississippi River and leading the procession through the hills and curves of the driftless area of S.E. Wisconsin. (Driftless, is the term where the last glacier, 10,000 years ago, did not rearrange the landscape.)

A police squad car met us at the edge of town and led us to the Catholic Cemetery; except we didn’t want to go the Catholic Cemetery.  Next, we drove to another cemetery outside of town. Alas, it was also not the right cemetery either.  By this time, I was enjoying Tom’s embarrassment.  “I should have come over and checked it out before today,” he said. Someone in the procession then spoke up.  “I think there is another cemetery in town.”  With the hearse no longer leading the way, the procession returned to town and someone led us down an alley between two brick building and there it was, a little cemetery located on a knoll right off main street.

The cemetery tour having been completed we finally laid the deceased in his resting place until the resurrection when all cemeteries will have become useless.

I have always maintained, funerals are more interesting and memorable than weddings.