'Art of the Undertaker' opens at museum Friday

MOSES LAKE — The history of the undertaker’s profession and the tools of the trade will be on display beginning Friday at the Moses Lake Museum & Art Center. The opening reception for “The Art of the Undertaker: The Kayser Collection” will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday at the museum, 401 South Balsam St.

The show will on display through June 2. Admission to the show and the reception are free.

Moses Lake Mayor Todd Voth will read a proclamation declaring Friday “Undertaker’s Day” during the reception.

The show also includes the photography of Jerry Kayser, owner of Kayser’s Chapel in Moses Lake. All displays are part of Kayser’s extensive collection of memorabilia.

Kayser’s Chapel co-owner Ronda Kayser said the collection follows the development of the modern funeral industry in the United States, from its roots in the Civil War. Much of the collection, from Civil War-era metal coffins to the 1939 Cadillac hearse, is covered in rich decoration. “There is beauty in the details of these items,” said museum director Freya Liggett.

The modern undertaking industry got its start in the Civil War, when soldiers died in circumstances that made it impossible for families to follow the old custom of performing the last rites. Kayser’s collection follows the story through funerals at home to the rise of funeral homes as a separate business. Many early undertakers also sold furniture, or had other businesses, to supplement their funeral business, Ronda Kayser said.

Funerals were held at home during the Victorian era, and funeral directors provided portable backdrops for coffins and services, what Donna Kayser called “Jack in the Box” setups. The collection includes Victorian mourning jewelry, woven from the hair of the deceased. There’s also more than a half-century of implements of the trade.

Three hearses from Kayser’s collection are on display, the 1939 Cadillac, a 1926 Studebaker and a horse-drawn carriage from 1900. The cars are “both restored to original” and have won national awards, Ronda Kayser said.

Jerry Kayser is a photographer as well, and the exhibit includes his outdoor photography and many photographs of the elaborate tombstones of pioneer cemeteries.

Jerry Kayser said his business left him little time for hobbies, so he began to collect old cars, which could be worked on at leisure, and artifacts connected to the undertaker’s trade.

Kayser showed some of the collection to Moses Lake Museum curator Ann Schempp and Liggett, and they asked him about displaying some of it at the museum. “This is very much in the spirit of the original Adam East museum,” Liggett said. (Donations of Native American artifacts from Adam East are the foundation of the museum’s collection.)

In fact, Liggett said she’s sure there are other people locally who have interesting collections. She said she’s hoping this exhibit will encourage other collectors who might be interested in sharing their artifacts and expertise.

Museum staff is continuing the "Adult Swim" program, which provides craft projects for adults during the opening reception. Friday's project is "faux backyard taxidermy," where people can preserve faux specimens under glass. There's a no-host wine bar with selections from Camas Cellars of Moses Lake, and refreshments.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at education@columbiabasinherald.com.