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With the effects of the recession and recent financial crisis, fewer people can afford to pay for their own burial and funeral cars when they pass away. As a result, local governments are getting stuck with the bill. According to an article in USAToday, there has been a 1.2% increase in the number of people reporting poverty-level incomes since 2001.

The cities and counties that have reported the highest number of requests for government-funded burials include Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Kenton County in Kentucky. In Los Angeles, there has been a 97% increase in these types of requests.

The desperation is becoming more widespread as more and more people are losing their jobs, losing their homes and finding fewer places to work these days. The problem is that no state is immune to these financial problems and coroner offices all over the country are struggling to find available funds to pay for the burials.

“It has put a major financial strain on this department,” said Lt. David Smith with the LA County Coroner’s Office. “I need to come up with $12,000 a month in a budget that’s locked up tight as a drum.”

Unfortunately, there is no easy solution to this problem. Do you have any thoughts or ideas?

We have written about the lack of respect that drivers have toward processions of funeral cars in recent years. Thankfully, however, I think more people show respect toward processions compared to the number of drivers who disrespect them. This editorial may be an indication of just that.

In the piece, the writer thanks the people who showed respect during her mother’s procession on July 23 as she followed the hearse to the burial place in El Paso, Texas. The procession of funeral cars traveled down Clinton to Emerson to Linden to Northtown Road. The cars then got onto the freeway.

The writer noticed many people slowed down out of respect while others completely pulled over until the funeral cars passed by. She wanted to take time to thank the people who did that and even said her mother would have been touched by the display.

On the other hand, the writer wanted to give a big “shame on you” to those who were “too busy to stop and spare a moment of their time.” She went on to say, “I can only hope and pray you will never be in my shoes, burying your mother.”

It only takes a minute to pull over for a procession of funeral cars. And you will never know how much it means to the mourners.

The Woodward Dream Cruise is one of the most popular annual events in the Detroit area. It features all types of cars from bygone eras and some of the best machines that The Motor City has ever created. But every year, someone brings unusual vehicles that make the event just a little more fun.

This year was no exception. One of the most unique vehicles this year was a wooden hearse. You usually don’t see many funeral cars at the Woodward Dream Cruise, but when there is a wooden hearse amongst the revving engines of Mustangs, Corvettes and other muscle cars, hearses of any sort tend to stand out and grab some attention. Of course, the truck with the flame throwers was a force to be reckoned with this year as well. Can you imagine driving a truck with built-in flamethrowers so you can get revenge on those drivers that cut you off or just tick you off in general?

Maybe next year they will combine the two – funeral cars equipped with flamethrowers. With the imagination that people have, it’s certainly not out of the question. Either way, if you are a car or hearse enthusiast, make plans to go see the Woodward Dream Cruise in August 2010. You’re guaranteed to see something that catches your eye!

It’s no secret that America has an obesity problem. All you have to do is take a look around and see that we are simply getting fatter. As a result, many industries are changing their products to accommodate that trend.

The funeral industry is no exception. Companies are manufacturing larger caskets, funeral cars and vaults so the super-sized corpses can fit inside. Instead of trying to squeeze the obese person in the normal-sized products, the larger products will make the whole process easier for funeral directors and others involved with laying the person to rest.

“People are eating more and, in most cases, a standard casket will not be suitable,” said Bob Mayhew, the owner of Mayhew Funeral Home in Jackson, Ohio. He has had to bury a man that weighed about 900 pounds. He required a casket that was 37 inches wide as well as an oversized vault to accommodate the size of the body. Mayhew said that is not even the biggest casket they make, which says something about the obesity problem in our society.

Currently, the funeral industry is trying to increase the size of crypts, burial plots and funeral cars. As a result, you may start seeing oversized hearses and larger plots in the near future.

On Wednesday, we introduced a story about Albert Snyder, a father of a fallen soldier, who is doing everything in his power to silence the hate group that protests at funerals of soldiers. They stand outside the funeral home or church and taunt, yell and scream hate at funeral cars as they pass by. Snyder recently won a multi-million dollar lawsuit against the church which has about 71 members.

Snyder has no problem going public with his fight. He wants a law that prevents these protestors from bothering families trying to have funerals for their sons or daughters who have died in service to their country. He even has a website – MatthewSnyder.org – encouraging people to write to their elected officials to ask them to pass legislation that would prevent this from happening.

Unfortunately, Snyder’s actions have not stopped the hate group from making plans of protesting other funerals. They spread their message of hate to at least two other funerals this month and they are using recent publicity as ammunition to keep doing what they are doing.

“I think initially they’re going to come back and do something just to prove their point,” said Snyder about their most recent protests, “but I think in the long run we’re going to have a tremendous impact on that.”

We have all heard about the group of protestors from Kansas that go around shouting at funeral cars carrying the bodies of fallen soldiers. In fact, I really hate the fact that they get so much attention because that just seems to validate their actions. But one man is serious about putting a stop to this hate group.

If Albert Snyder succeeds in his mission, these hatemongers will no longer be able to hold up a sign that says “Thank God for dead soldiers” or anything similar at funerals for fallen soldiers. While many are afraid this type of regulation violates free speech, Snyder thinks shutting up these haters will not affect our concept of free speech.

Earlier this month, Snyder won a nearly $11 million verdict against the church in Kansas because they picketed his son’s funeral last year. He wants to run the church out of business so other families of soldiers need not endure this type of hatemongering while they are trying to have a solemn funeral for their fallen sons and daughters. “I don’t expect to collect $10 million,” said Snyder, “but I do intend to collect everything they have.”

Have you ever encountered this group that protests as funeral cars pass by with soldiers inside? Do you have a story about these people? How do you feel about making them cease their protesting? Let us know below.

In the UK, a “Tommy” refers to a veteran of the First World War. Earlier this month, thousands of people gathered in funeral cars to say goodbye to the last surviving Tommy – Harry Patch.

Mr. Patch died at the age of 111. He did not want a state funeral after his passing. He was a retired plumber who was living at the Fletcher House care facility for 13 years before passing away. Crowds lined the streets as the hearse carrying his body and the funeral cars behind made their way through town. Fire trucks from various facilities around the area also followed the procession of funeral cars.

Mr. Patch did not want a state funeral. Instead, his service was held at Somerset’s Wells Cathedral. Hundreds of people waited outside the beautiful church hoping to get a ticket that would allow them inside. More than a thousand tickets were allocated to the public. The ones who did not get a ticket happily waited outside to watch the service on a big screen television that was set up for that purpose.

Andy Tams, one of the people in attendance, had this to say about his reason for being there: “I have a lot of interest in the war so I felt it right to come along and pay our respects and say goodbye.” He went on to say that “Harry Patch represented the end of an era. It is a part of Britain that is now lost.”

It’s not very often that you see a procession of bicyclists following the funeral cars behind a hearse, but it was a sight to see earlier this month.

In Scottsboro, Alabama, a bicyclist was killed while riding his bike on Alabama 35. His name was Carlos Serrano, Sr. and he was part of the Tri-Sport Club, an organization in which members enjoy a number of activities that they enjoy as a group. Serrano was a longtime member of the biking club and he was active in his community and workplace for supporting and promoting physical fitness among employees. He was also very active in raising money for the needy.

While biking down Alabama 35, however, a driver struck him from behind. Guess what the driver was doing at the time: Reaching for his cell phone. He took his eyes off the road and it ended up costing somebody their life.

Following the funeral, several bicyclists from his group followed the hearse from the funeral home to the cemetery. It wasn’t as impressive as seeing a line of motorcyclists, but it was touching to see how much these other members cared for a fellow bicyclist.

Most people would not expect to see funeral cars at Detroit’s Woodward Dream Cruise, but this year they will see at least one!

Every August, the Woodward Dream Cruise in Detroit, Michigan, dazzles thousands of spectators who come to see the best that the automakers have put out over the years. More than 40,000 custom cars, collector automobiles, street rods and other impressive vehicles line Woodward Avenue revving their engines and showing people what they got. But this year there is going to be a new unique addition to the annual event.

Lynch Sons Funeral Home of Clawson has decided to display a classic 1939 Henney-Packard hearse at Peabody’s Restaurant in nearby Birmingham on Saturday, August 15. The hearse is going to be part of a much larger display that showcases the history of the American funeral. The display, which is aptly named “Reflections: The American Funeral,” is a museum on wheels complete with exhibits on funeral customs, practices and other funeral-related items designed to educate and entertain. The museum will also drive by the gravesites of historic figures buried along Woodward Avenue, including former Detroit Mayor Albert Cobo and others.

If you are going to be at the Woodward Dream Cruise this weekend, take a minute away from the roars of the engines and the smell of burning fuel. Visit the funeral display and see how far funeral cars and the funeral industry have come over the years.

A recent editorial by a man in Hernando County, Florida discussed the topic of respecting processions of funeral cars accompanying fallen soldiers. The disgruntled writer – Ron Dakin – was upset because he saw one of these processions go by and he was the only person who got out of his car to salute the fallen soldier.

Dakin witnessed the procession at the intersection of US 19 and Northcliffe. Traffic was stopped for the procession of United States Army Spc. Justin Coleman. Behind the procession were hundreds of bikers (probably from the Patriot Guard) paying their respects to yet another soldier who gave his life fighting for our country.

“It is a sad day in our country’s history when the general public would rather sit on their butts in a car, waiting to continue on with their travels, than to pay respect for someone who has been willing to protect their freedoms,” said Dakin in his editorial.

We’ve written several posts on this blog about drivers not even pulling over out of respect for processions of funeral cars. But I haven’t heard of someone getting upset over not saluting a procession for a fallen soldier. I think it’s a great sign of respect and I commend Dakin for doing so, but how many people would actually think of doing this? Let us know your thoughts about this story below.