Mourning Not Broken

What does it mean to mourn? For years it meant following strict rules related to etiquette, funeral rites, and customs and included superstitions if customs were not followed. "Final Respects," opening Sept. 6 at the Rogers Historical Museum, will explore the customs related to mourning through objects from the museum's own collection and other museum and private collections.

Life was hard and death came too soon for many at the turn of the century, as infant mortality was high and diseases were not well understood. To cope, Victorians brought a whole new meaning to mourning with etiquette rules regarding proper mourning attire, superstitions and elaborate funeral services and floral arrangements. Much of the anxiety to maintain the proper etiquette fell on the women with elaborate rules regarding how wide a black band on the stationary was or when she no longer needed to wear the full black veil.

For many years several local furniture businesses were also undertakers. This allowed the widow to call on the furniture or cabinet maker for a coffin but also allow them to arrange what else was needed. Often these elaborate funeral rituals caused families to go into debt. To combat this, many fraternal societies or privately owned insurance companies such as Mutual Aid groups provided families with life insurance.

The exhibit will include memorial hair jewelry, a mourning dress, elaborate memorial cards and other objects which explore all of etiquette rules, superstitions and customs that fell out of favor toward the end of World War I. "Final Respects" will remain on view through Dec. 27.

-- Terrilyn Wendling

Rogers Historical Museum