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Pioneer life in the Benton Co. WA area
Tri-City Herald
11 February 1962
Pg. 14 col.
Death Struck the Young
Early Funerals Recalled
By Burton Lum
Having personally attended all burials that occurred in Kennewick from 1889 to
1900, I will give a short and authoritative report on each. The first burial was
Charley Gray, the five —year old son of Capt. Al Gray and his wife Carrie. Capt.
Gray was the captain of the ferry boat Frederick K. Billings that transferred
the trains across the Columbia before the Kennewick N.P.R.R. bridge was built.
Capt. Gray erected quite a large picket fence around his son’s grave and donated
the fenced grounds as a burial place for the entire cornrnunity. This first burial
was held about 73 years ago. The cause of death was thought to be spinal meningitis.
The second burial was t h e infant child of Charles Aune and wife Gina, from infantile
diseases, about 71 years ago. The third burial was the second son of Mr. and Mrs.
Rice. I am at this time unable to recall their given name. The cause was a bowel
obstruction. The date of this burial was about 66 years ago. The fourth burial
was that of Clarence Martin, the oldest son of William Martin, Sr., and his wife,
Ella. The cause of Clarence’s death was tuberculosis. This burial was about 64
years ago, The original land that Capt. Gray donated for burial-purposes, was
located about a half mile up-stream from the Kennewick portal of the NP.R.R. bridge
and a quarter of a mile back from the river bank, near Capt. Gray’s windmill tower.
These burials were quite vividly impressed upon my mind with the exception of
the Rice boy’s funeral. Father Charles E. Lum would always make the coffin and
Mother, Almyra A. Lum, covered and trimmed it with black calico. Father and mother
donated everything to each grief-stricken family. Father helped dig the grave
and prepared the grave boxes to receive the coffins. There was neither priest
nor parson in this community in those days. Father had to substitute at the funerals.
He offered a prayer. He gave a short talk at the funeral in which he gave a resume
of the deceased life. Mother sang several appropriate songs. Father assisted the
pioneer pallbearers in lowering the coffin into the grave box using the reins
out of a four-horse set. The grave box cover was securely fastened. Father repeated
“Ashes to ashes and dust to dust,” and dropped some dirt on the grave box and
prayed. After which everyone sang “Blest Be the Tie That Binds.” Then the friends
of the deceased relatives led them sorrowfully away to their conveyances and took
them home. Other friends stayed at the graveside and back filled the grave with
stones and gravel to keep the coyotes and other animals from molesting the grave.
Burials, except in real cold weather, were held quite shortly after death had
been completely determined. This was necessary because there were no methods then
available to embalm the corpse. After the fenced burial ground had been donated
by Capt. Gray, the pioneers who had relatives buried in this burial ground would
bring wild flowers when they were in bloom and decorate the graves of their departed
loved ones. The soil of this tract was extremely sandy and barren. There was touching
pathos in the rusty tomato can that stood alone, empty and forlorn, at the head
of a grave. This can’s once shining interior bad been filled with crystal water
that sustained the wild flowers, which loving and remembering hands had placed
therein. The heat of the hot dry atmosphere had evaporated the water. The wild
flowers perished and were blown away. The shiny Interior of the can became emptv
and rusty. A blinking sand lizzard slithered around on the rusty rim.
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