Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1888-08-03
TIE STROUD INDUSTRY.
Enormous Proportions to which II Inns
Grown Within Fcw Years.

In the past flrc years, says the Philadcl
phia Times, the shroIl IL ~ stry ina this cry
has grown 10 cporrlolS proportions, AMI
this dress OF the dead. WAilo =: has 'rya.s
unpopular III aOulo, Ids grown steadily N
favor with others. TIL rcasoU Tor The great
increase IN the blsi-ir5s i on account IL -
steady growth If the population. and ~
cause TIC bigger the poIr.latioa the bigger
tn ,.r-th rate.
IL used 70 be that shrouds wore made A.
mos; en;iray by layers-out Of the dead and
poor women. who Islde a regular business
CT il and -srScd early and late according
II tha number OF orders they had ShrouGs
were then made at short notice, because
after the person died there wasn't much
time 10 design and make the shroud, and
women worked all night TO III their orders.
Nowadays there are worry few professional
shroud makers in this city These few are
mostly women. who work regularly for some
particular undertaken, but they don't mako
much. \ shroulInakcr said that she used
70 have a nice income from her business,
but that the big uudcrtakers' supply stores
had ruined tho business for the shrouG.
makors about town, because they can mako
the .hrouds for great deal less money.
The woman was stitching away at "a shroui
al the time This Is fJr an old Quaker
lady," she said, vino died yesterday |
must finish it before / 90 TO secp What
business l get now Is almost entirely lo'
dressing old persons, principally women. IL
used 20 be THAI nearly cvcry BODY was lur.rd
In shrouds, and that isn't more tuan main u
dozen years ago.
a prominent undertaken, who has what ia
known in the business as a tony trade"
said: 81 don't suppose | have used moro
than half a dozen shrouds year. With my
class Of trade the custom is dying out. The
reOplc l bury arc nearly all cared for in
the.g sickness by professional nurses, who
have become as thick as hops in this city,
Nearly every physician has a list of dozen
men or women be can recommend. Well,
the professional nurses in tho past five
years have got TO preparing the dead for
burial and they can dress corpse Just az
well as they can q live person. My custom
ers prefer 10 have their relatives buried IN
either the clothes they wore in life or a
similar suit. a great many people bury
now are buried IN their dress suits that
they have worn OF weddings. receptions,
balls or banquets. 1t takes two persons 10
dress body, but il is done easily nowadays.
Five or six years AGO ii was looked upon as
almost an impossiDlity and UP 10 that time
nearly every body was buried in shrouGs
For my part like 10 see person prepared
for the grave 10 look az natural as they did
in life, and they certainly don't look hllo
themselves If they are attircd in a shroud."
The biggest uudcrtakers' supply store in
the country is in this city, where there arc
800 styles OF shrOuds 10 choose from, rang
ing IN prices from Slsj down 10 $40 Each
sample shr0ud is marked with a tag show
ing the price and is numbered. In big
book each number is accompanied by u
detailed description OF tho quality Of the
materials used and the style. Most Of these
sample shrouds arc duplicated in stock, 50
that an undertaken can take his customer
to the supply store aal pick out the style
and take 1t right OF. II The sample isn't in
stock the supply store can Cake it up in q
w Tor they employ large number Of
sons 20 make them. The shroud-mal.crs
very happy, and sing and joke and
..ugh over their work as much as If they
were trimming bonnct5. Thero are shroud
designers in the factory whose brains arc
busy all the time thinking out new styles
There are more styles If dress for tho
dead than there arc for the living. This big
supply store sends out hundreds OF shrouds
every week. They are shipped all over tho
country and are ordered from plate cngrav-
ings showing the style and the price, with
an appended description OF the material
Some Of the und ,rtakers keep shrou6s in
stock, bat most OF them buy them as they
are ordered.