THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER

ANSWER

TO THE HIGH COST OF DEATH

To an IWA member it’s as
simple as ABC: you call a
meeting, you decide what
you'll go for, elect a negotiat-
ing committee, submit your
demands to the other side and
then stick with the bargain-
ing until you’ve achieved the
best deal possible. It happens
in other spheres of thinking,
too.

In November 1956, about 50
people found themselves sit-
ting in a meeting because
they felt enough public sup-
port could be found to tackle
a specific problem: the high
cost of dying and a reduction
of some of the overdone trap-
pings foisted upon grief-
stricken survivors. They were
a cross-section of the public
— several trade unionists,
some office-workers and some
from manufacturing plants;
an accountant, a few house-
wives, ministers, an architect,
a personnel man, a social
worker, a couple of teachers.

Certain of the soundness of
their idea they applied to the
Registrar of Societies, set up
an executive and began look-
ing for members who would
work to develop the organiza-
tion.

CONSTITUTION

Members weren’t too hard
to find; but very soon the
group knew their most diffi-
cult task was to secure co-
operation from an undertaker
who would work with the Di-
rectors as directed by the
newly-executed constitution:

“fo ‘Promote, through ed-
ucation and otherwise, dig-
nity and simplicity in funeral
rites, and : Mae

“To ‘Assist in planning in
advance of death for the dis-
position of members’ r emains,
and for Memorial services.

By JEAN MOHART

Public Relations Director, of the
Memorial Society of B.C.

Much persuasion, after
many futile interviews, finally
secured a. minimum price on
the four basic services we re-
quired. These four basic serv-
ices form the crux of our
work, they cover necessary
items in the simplest possible
manner. Strict instructions
from our members were to
transact business only with
an undertaker who would
agree to the following:

1. Pick up remains

2. Registration of death and
one death certificate

3. Minimum cost coffin

4. Transportation of remains
to crematorium or ceme-
tery.

Arrangements for a Mem-
orial service were left for the
member to. state on the Des-
ignation Form provided by
the Society. 3

SEARCH

It was an exhausting search
to find such an undertaker.
The conventional “Funeral

Director” offers quite a num- ~

ber of services with a price
which does not show a break-
down of costs. Our members
insisted they wanted no sham-
pooing, face-powder, skin
tinting, embalming (which
entails horrors too gruesome
to describe), fancy lining in
coffins, extra pillows (stuffed
with old newspaper cuttings) ,
‘slumber’ rooms or any of the
totally unnecessary primping
ad nauseum. Until 1960 we
were tolerated by three firms,
but their obvious reluctance
to do business with us slowed
our work, We realized that
until we could work with
someone more cooperative we
were going to wander in the
wilderness of a modern di-
lemma.

Watching a television pro-
gram in which our Society

JEAN MOHART

was featured Doug Foreman

caught the idea. He was then
working for a pre-need fu-
neral establishment with
which he found himself more
at odds every day. Their bus-
iness procedures and public
relations didn’t seem at all in
keeping with his thinking on
matters of death. He knew,
from day-to-day contact, that
people were put to unneces-
sary grief because no plans
were made prior to death.

CONTRACT

He observed that when
overcome with the loss of a
member of the family or close
friend people ‘went over-
board’ on expenses or just fol-
lowed whatever suggestion
was made by the undertaker.
More often than not the serv-
ices rendered were designed
to emphasize rather than di-
minish grief, and some prac-
tices were positively repug-
nant,

Foreman founded First
Memorial Services Limited,
and after careful research and
negotiation into the best pos-
sible methods for serving our
membership, the Memorial
Society signed a contract with
his firm, which provides the
four basic services mentioned
earlier in this article to our
members for $100.00. Work-
ing closely in every aspect in
a type of business which re-
quires unusual sensitivity to
every individual we serve,
we have achieved a record
envied by all other Societies
on this continent. With more
than 8,000 members and a
100 new members per month,
we are the third largest on
the continent and have the
best services to offer of any
Memorial Society, anywhere.

A continuing battle against
a large, vested interest is
something we have learned
to cope with. Misrepresenta-
tions are circulated in the
hope of prejudicing the pub-
lic against us. During the
most recent session of the
provincial legislature the un-
dertakers sought to have leg-
islation enacted which would
compel the odious practice of
embalming. They sought the
power to create themselves
as a judicial body which
could grant or withhold lic-

ense to embalm, to revoke
that license or make regula-
tions as they saw fit, to pen-
alize a violator $25.00 a day
(payable to their Board), in
short, to legislate Memorial
Societies out of existence. Bob
Strachan’s keen perception
and nimble legislative talent
prevented enactment of this
insidious and undemocratic
Act.

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QUALIFICATION

To join the Memorial Soci-
ety is simple. An individual
membership is $5.00 for a
family (two or more persons)
it is $10.00, Applications may
be mailed to Box 917, Van-
couver 1, B.C, Each member
completes a Designation Form
which covers _ individual
wishes in regard to services,
and whether one wishes to
donate eyes to the Eye Bank,
etc. Free from emotional
stress, our members indicate
their wishes which guarantee
that a great load of anguish
and unnecessary expenditure
is lifted from the shoulders of
those left to carry out final
arrangements; and our Soci-
ety preserves its original pur-
pose by respecting those
wishes with fact and dignity.

“DEEP WELLS" OUT

The following is a copy of
the letter received by the
Alberni §© District Labour
Council from the Hon. Ray
Williston, Minister of Lands,
Forests, and Water Resources,
in reply to the Council’s appeal
for a study of the water pol-
lution problem in the Alberni
Valley.

“Dear Sir:

“This will acknowledge re-
ceipt of your letter of May
11, 1965 with which you kind-
ly presented material for our
consideration relating to deep
well disposal of pulp mill
wastes in Pennsylvania.

“While we are interested in
the possibilities of recharge
wells for the disposal of
wastes, I must point out that
such a method of disposal is
only possible where unusual
underground geological for-

FRED IBIS,
Local 1-424, Prince George,

seniority problems.

left, newly appointed Business Agent of

Sel g is shown with Tage Mogensen
the Local’s Financial Secretary. The two officials sie in

Vancouver attending the staff meeting held to discuss

mations exist. I am advised
that the possibility of such
formations existing in the Al-
berni Valley are most unlike-
ly. The cost of carrying out
a survey, involving drilling,
would be extremely expen-
sive. It is probable that con-
ventional waste treatment
methods will always be the
economical answer for the
mill at Alberni, since it is sit-
uated on a salt water inlet.
The mill in the article pre-
sented by you was in a fresh
water location. Fresh water
does not have the same ability
to assimilate discharged pulp
mill wastes.

“Please be assured that we
shall avail ourselves of every
possible economical means to
protect our resources. Thank
you for your interest.”

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