Miles Martin Thanks Community for 80 Years

As a special thank you to the Mt. Morris community for 80 years of support the Miles Martin Funeral Home hosted an open house reception and invited Reflections to join in. What made this event so special for us is that the local junior high classes come to see the exhibit. It was a busy day of bus fulls of inquisitive minds but a fun one. They certainly had tons of questions and enjoyed being able to see the funeral home as well as the company vehicles.




It was very touching to hear stories from visitors about what the staff had done for their families and how they had touching their lives in some difficult times.

Temrowski Family Funeral Home Open House

The Temrowski Funeral Home in Fenton, MI hosted an open house this Saturday and invited us to join them. This is a stunning facility run by husband wife team, Becca and Ken Temrowski. They opened their doors to talk to families about what services they offer and provide. This was an event similar to others we have been at recently, a local funeral home that reaches out to thank the community for its support.

Wayne State Open House 2009

Thanks to the help from sponsors we were able to attend the Wayne State Mortuary Science program open house. Kaul Funeral Home, Will Funeral Home and Frigid Fluid; staff made themselves available for questions and the student volunteer to greet and guide guests. It gives you a sense of the pride Wayne State has in their Mortuary program.

We were joined by some special guests; Lloyd Young, Dean of the Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Services (far left), Matt Smith of Frigid (center), and Peter Frade, Program Director of the Mortuary Science Program at Wayne State (far right). It was an honor to guide them through the exhibit and express the pride we feel sharing this with communities.

There were many alumni that joined the event as well, many of which we have met at previous industry events.

With a line out the door most of the night, anyone can see how much this event means to the community. I spoke with a few people whom have attended in multiple years and some who expressed excitement about being future members of the program of study.

We were also joined by some officers and members of the Mortis City Hearse Club; hopefully we will be able to visit one of their events soon.

Wonderly Horvath Hanes Funeral Home - Fremont, OH

To celebrate 65 years of serving the Sandusky area communities Wonderly Horvath Hanes Funeral Home hosted an open house and reception. In addition to hosting the Reflections exhibit, refreshments, giveaways and pre-planning information was available.

Grand Traverse Heritage Center

After a great series of shows in Illinois, we headed into Michigan and made the scenic drive up to Traverse City. Our next event was sponsored by the Reynolds-Jonkhoff Funeral Home. The location for the event was at the Grand Traverse Heritage Center. They have a museum with many excellent exhibits about the area's natural history, Native Americans, local industries. They also have an impressive collection of military artifacts.


We were part of a special reception the first evening for guests invited by the Museum and Reynolds Jonkhoff. They enjoyed the premier of an exhibit on Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War. Michigan has a rich Civil War connection, as some of the largest Union Regiments hail from there. We enjoyed another 3 days there sharing with the community of Traverse City.

Catholic Cemeteries Conference

We were honored to attend the 60th annual Catholic Cemeteries Conference. One of the key events was a Cemetery tour of the formidable Queen of Heaven Cemetery in Hillside IL. Reflections greeted the attendees as they arrived at the cemetery's meeting facility. Our exhibit was well received by the two bus loads of national conference goers that made the trip. It was a great opportunity to meet with so many interested people and we hope to see many of them again. We were joined by Frigid Fluid the exhibits sponsor.

Malcolm X Community College

The next stop was in the windy city of Chicago at Malcolm X Community College. The school features a mortuary department, so it was our pleasure to provide its students with a unique educational experience. The turn out was pleasantly surprising as many others from the college ventured across the windswept parking lot to experience Reflections. We also included a special exhibit from Frigid Fluid, the events sponsor.

Reflections Participates In Rockford's Salute to Mr. Lincoln Weekend

We had a wonderful opportunity to participate in a very special event with Rockford Illinois' Salute to Mr. Lincoln event which included the dedication of a new 5 foot tall Abraham Lincoln sculpture in front the courthouse. We were able to set our exhibit in front of Rockford's Veterans Memorial Hall. It happens to be the first memorial hall of the nation and was dedicated by President Teddy Roosevelt in 1903.

The dedication of the sculpture was quite an event and the city pulled out all the stops. Hundreds attended the proceedings which featured historical reenactors, including Abe and Mary Todd Lincoln, Illinois 33rd Regimental Band, and several key speakers. It was an honor to participate in this one of a kind event.

The newest Lincoln Statue, "Iron Determination"

Cognetta Family of Funeral Home Hosts Reflections

On a very special invitation, Reflections joined the Hoyt-Cognetta and Nicholas F. Cognetta Funeral Home for open houses.


Our first event took place at the on the Green of Norwalk, Connecticut in front of Saint Paul's Church and Cemetery that was founded in 1737. It was beautiful setting for the exhibit and drew a steady stream of visitors throughout the day. We were not the vehicle there however. We shared our space with a sharp new Harley Davidson hearse that had come up from Moloney Family Funeral Homes of Long Island to participate. We also had an ice cream truck on location that was providing tasty treats compliments of the Hoyt-Cognetta Funeral Home. The home's manager, Danny Turocy, did an excellent a great job promoting the event and we were even featured on the local news that day.

Our second open house took place just down the road in Stamford on the grounds of Saint Bridget of Ireland Roman Catholic Church. We were quite busy early in the day as it was Sunday and two masses took place. The Cognetta Funeral Home staff were all present and providing information about funeral services and planning. Nick Cognetta was also providing complimentary refreshments for the event which including hot dogs, hot pretzels, ice cream, and cold beverages. No one left hungry!