The Washington herald., 1908-01-12
GROWS TREE FOR HIS COFFIN
Ember MasOn'e Wish VIII Not Be
Carried Out in Full.
Boards He Cared for VIII he Used
for Rough Box that VIII In
close the CasEet.

! The wish Of Ember Mason, a farmer,
made fifty years ago and carefully fos-
tered through the long years following.
that he be buried in a coffin made from a
walnut tree which he had grown him
SELF IS only to be partly granted. Ma
son died last night at his home near
/ Leads says the Kansas City Star.
Fifty years ago Mason found a young
walnut tree, particularly straight and
pretty, while he was clearing some
ground on his farm. He was a man Of
queer ideas and he decided 10 let that
tree grow for the particular purpose Of
providing wood for the coffin that would
be used for his body when he died. The
tree grew in the center of q meadow
from which all the other trees had been
cleared. Fearing, however, that it might
be struck by lightning and destroyed,
and IL was already grown large enough
for the purpose for which he intended il
Mr. Mason about three years ago had Il
cut down and sawed up into lumber
The but cut" from which ne took the
lumber for his coffin, squared fourteen
inches. The boards were placed in Mr.
Last night Mason died. after an Illness
that had lasted for several years. but
tomorrow. by the decision of the family,
these boards which he cut from the wal
nut tree will be used, not for the coffin.
but for the box i'm which the casket will
be inclosed. Burial win be in Pitcher
Cemetery, near Leads
EmbeT Mason was unety-one years old
when he died lie came TO this county
hfty-six years ago and settled on the
farm where he lived until his death. He
leaves a daughter and two sons
A queer old man was Ember Mason, [
and he took great delight in caring for
his coffin tree, and later for the boards
cut therefrOm
I reckon Ill take those boards 10 town
an have 'em made up pretty soon," he
said to a visitor several years ago
I'm givin' out putty fast o. late an I
might need that coffin most any time"
But those boards" were never taken to
town. The old man became weaker /
every day and never found the opp0r-
tunity. For flfty-six years, with the ex-
ception OF four years in the civil war /
Mr. Mason lived in his home, a quaint /.
0ld-styled structure on a high hin over /
looking the valley Of the Blue River He I
was born in Tennessee and used to re- 4
mark often that he was "a 'Hlckry Jack |
son" Democrat a rebel in the civil war,
and besides all that, a "hardshell Bap-
tst"
An they didn't lick us in tn civil /
war" he used to say. we jes' got plum
wo' out a KILN them NOrtheTners."
For the last several years of his life.
Mr.. Mason gave up work in the fields.
but he kept several hives of bees. by
which he used to sit all day watching
over them.
Mr. Mason could remember when the
first grand jury of Jackson County held
its first meeting under a tree in Inde-
pendence before the first courthouse was
built.
But I like 10 stay right here on my
farm he said to a visitor one day. /
Don't like Kansas City much Too many
)f these new tangled bicycles an 90
devils a-WhizZin' round Why. i'm nv
younger days there wasn't nothin' like
that. Boys o tn neighborhood used 10
make up a pony purse, buy a gallon o.
whisky with it, go 'coonin' or 'possumIn'
an bee-treein' in the East bottoms an
them was times. Went to school tbre.
lays an got nine lickin's," the old man
continued. Then ] quit. I low as how
got along putty we'll without that eddv-I
alton"
Mr.. Mason owned eighty acres OF land /
he farm on which he lived