John M Ross and Son Inc Information

a burial to make, and the man who normally did it was sick, or could no longer perform the task, so they asked my grandfather, John, if he would dig the grave and he agreed. So the story goes, hours digging graves than being a market farmer, working dawn to dusk. So over the next 40 years, he sold off the rest of his farm and Congregations to create new Cemeteries. After WWII and a stint in the Navy, his son Edward, who had been also bought their first backhoe in 1955. John retired in the late 50s, and passed away in 1962. Ed married summers in the Cemeteries in 1965. In 1970 I graduated from My step-father, Ed, passed away suddenly in 1972, and Ellie and I continued the family tradition of caring for your cemeteries. It is interesting how the industry has changed over the past ¾ of a century. John dug his first grave (we found the burial permit) on July 8, 1929 in the Sons of Jacob Cemetery with a pick and shovel and wheelbarrow. Today graves are nearly always dug with a backhoe, and a truck or gas-powered cart to haul away the excess soil. In 1929 the frost was removed with a sledgehammer and wedges; today we use jackhammers. (Some larger cemeteries actually use a propane powered device to MELT the frozen ground) In 1929, the cemeteries were mowed once a year with a scythe, just before the Holidays (and my grandfather saved the hay for his cows): when I started in the 1960s we used small 24 inch gas powered mowers and trimmed around monuments and markers with hand clippers: today we use 48-72 inch mowers, and trim with weedwackers. Today 3 men can accomplish what it took a swarm of 8-10 college kids to do. While the equipment is more expensive, it is significantly less costly than paying todays higher labor rates to so many individuals. AND you dont have to pay the mowers or backhoe on the days they arent being used, or when its raining, while you DO have to pay the employees, if you want them to be available when you do need them. In 1929, John Ross had no telephone. The or Funeral Director would call a ...