Thursday, January 24, 2008

Burial in Winter

A 60 year old Emmonak man died last weekend of a heart attack. The funeral is tomorrow. I asked if they buried the body since it is so cold. This is what happens:

Usually, they put the body in a locally made casket. They then have the ceremony and then take the body to the burial spot. They usually put the casket on the ground and let it sit there until the ground warms up.

The home made caskets: Locals build them and the women make it comfortable and nice looking. The local I spoke to about it said it is quite well done and the cost is reasonable.

For those who insist on store bought: People can buy and ship a casket here, but it does not happen often.

WE HAVE HAD SNOW, SNOW SNOW! All day long. The wind has not been blowing so it really has not been too bad. It is about 5 to 10 degrees and no wind, so OK really.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sounds like the "last place" I'd like to be; in a well made box, on a plot of Alaskan snow. Be nice to those locals, Rich.

Ashley said...

Yeah, sounds interesting. Quite interesting.

Ashley said...

Oh, and do they have a hospital or clinic up there? How much do you think the docs get paid? What happens in case of an emergency?

Rich said...

We have a clinic. I think they have phone and internet contact with Doctors and a doctor may drop by regularly, but I dont think one is here, on site

Emergency: They call the doctors and a helicopter could be sent. Generally, people travel to Anchorage for operations and such

Anonymous said...

Yahoo, thank goodness for smart savvy nieces who can help not quite as savvy elder aunts figure out how to leave a comment on a blog, thanks again Ash...

Rich glad your adventure is turning out so positive for you, but I knew it would, just be sure to wear your hat and mittens...

Anonymous said...

we had snow today, so I opted to stay home and take an annual leave day....nice and relaxing for me.

All is well here in Puyallup, I love the family blog....

Congrats Gramps you finally have a granddaughter.