Had this been an oil spill, it would have been an international story. But sugar beet waste water. Oh, well.
I was particularly fascinated about the note regarding concrete caskets. Didn't know they existed. Wow, that would be tough on a pallbearer. Maybe that's how the practice of "honorary pallbears" got started -- when someone noted that the casket was concrete.
Bruce, this is a quote from article.
ReplyDeleteThe concrete casket vault business is the only one of its kind for several hundred miles.
The concrete vault is what the casket is lowered into. then a concrete lid is placed on top so that the casket and landscape does not settle.. next time you get home to williston, go look in some of the old prarie cementary and you will note a ground depression on top of every grave.. this device prevents this ground settleing..
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
ReplyDeleteAfter I went back and re-read the story while posting the blog, I knew there had to be an explanation, but I would never have guessed that. I assumed, perhaps, they were for above-ground mausoleums, or some such thing.
Being Norwegian, and hearing many Norwegian jokes over the years, I thought perhaps some Norwegian thought concrete caskets were the way to go.
I never fail to learn something every day.
Bruce, the weigens call them concrete caskets Submarines..
ReplyDeleteNorwegian jokes? I've only heard Swedish ones...the one we used to tease a close friend with...'Ten thousand Swedes were in the weeds at the Battle of Copenhagen, ten thousand Swedes were in the weeds, being chased by One Norwegian.'
ReplyDeleteHere in Minnesota we call them "burial vaults". There is a very heavily used four lane highway on the North end of Minneapolis and St. Paul, H36. Along the highway is the Chandler-Wilbert burial vault company. I was under ten years old when I first saw their sign "Drive safely, we can wait!".
ReplyDeleteI stopped by onetime and saw a cutaway. Thick steel plate inside and out with a lot of zinc for anode protection. It is filled in with concrete. The top is very heavy and bolts down.
It has several layers of zinc paint and rubber paint.
Beyond ground collapse caskets are actually buoyant because they are well sealed and biological decay creates gases. Occasionally, without burial vaults ground gets saturated and caskets float up to the surface.
The things I learn on this blog! Thank you.
ReplyDelete