A Bit of History

I have been gone the past few days to Tyler, TX. YEAH KRIS, I CALLED THIS TIME AND SOMEONE NEVER ANSWERED!!!! Anyway, I was in Tyler for CE (Continuing Ed) Hours for my first official renewal of my TX Funeral Director's & Embalmers License. It's actually an excuse for a bunch of Funeral Directors to get out of town, for once. A "Vacation." We do learn a lot though and I met some of my dad's old friends and made a few new ones myself.

I learned many new techniques and different ideas about my trade as well as new laws concerning trade practices. Kinda boring at times and kinda cool at other times. We had a class about the National Museum of Funeral History in Houston, TX. It was extremely boring, seeing as I just went through Funeral Service History a few years ago, BUT I did learn one or two things.

Here's something you might find interesting, Nathaniel Alexander, an African-American inventor, invented the folding chair as we know today. Why is that interesting? Well, among other professions, he was also a Funeral Director. The reason a Funeral Director invented a folding chair was for the simple fact that in the "Old Days" people had wakes at home, which required the Funeral Director to carry chairs to the home. Well, if he's like every other Funeral Director in the world, he wanted the process to be as simple as possible. So, he invented a folding chair. Think about that the next time your setting up for an event or sit down on one.

Also, for those who know about Houston, TX. You probably have heard of Westheimer Blvd. Well, the Westheimer Family owned a Furniture Store/Funeral Home and you guessed it, Mr. Westheimer, a great founding father of Houston, was........drum roll.......... a Funeral Director.

So, there you have it. A bit of History and something to tell the grandkids.