The National Museum of Funeral History is the perfect place for families to celebrate Father’s Day all month long.
On Saturday, June 13 from 10 am – 4 pm, fathers and grandfathers who are historical car enthusiasts will enjoy the Professional Car Society’s “Concours D’Elegance Show and Shine” car show at the National Museum of Funeral History. This unique car show is free and open to the public and is expected to attract dozens of exquisitely-restored or authentically-preserved professional vehicles, including vintage funeral hearses, flower cars, livery vehicles, ambulances, fire trucks and more from all over North America.
This year’s special highlight includes a FDNY fire engine used during September 11th rescue and recovery efforts and in 28 funerals for fallen firefighters. Prior to 9/11, the retired fire engine was used at the New York Fire Academy as a training vehicle. On that fateful September day in 2001, the engine was immediately put back into front line service for rescue and recovery efforts and then continued to be used for several months after 9/11. It was particularly valuable since FDNY lost a large number of its engines in 9/11 (approximately 40). The engine, which is currently owned by a retired Houston Fire Department firefighter, will make an appearance at the PCS car show, complete with a flag draped casket and accompanied by a performance by the Houston Fire Department’s pipes and drums ensemble.
Then, on Father’s Day weekend, Saturday and Sunday, June 20 and 21, spend quality time with dad exploring the museum and learning more about President Lincoln and his impact on our history. In honor of Honest Abe’s life and legacy and the 150th anniversary of his death, the Museum is rolling back pricing for dads to 1909 pricing (the year Lincoln first appeared on the penny!) dads get in for a “Lincoln” with purchase of one general admission!
From 2–4 pm, a President Lincoln impersonator will be on-hand to give visitors a true “Lincoln experience.” Museum goers will have the chance to pose for a photo with Honest Abe and interact with him, learning more about his life and legacy, his funeral train procession and the history of embalming, including how he was the first president to be embalmed, how embalming began during the Civil War, how Washington DC evolved into the country’s embalming Mecca’s in the 1860s and how it’s been perfected through the centuries. Families particularly interested in the practice of embalming can visit the Museum’s permanent exhibit, the History of Embalming, which maps a chronological path through the ages on the preservation of human remains from the mysterious rituals of ancient Egypt to the first techniques used in America during the Civil War and up through the early 20th century.
There will be Lincoln-related arts and crafts activities for the kiddos, including the chance to make Lincoln hats and beards, and learn about mourning badges, like the ones worn to President Lincoln’s funerals, and then craft their own.
Families and coin/stamp collectors alike will enjoy exploring a few new Lincoln-related artifacts and displays in the Museum’s Presidential Funerals exhibit such as a collection of rare Lincoln coins and stamps from the early 1900s, including a penny from 1910 and an authenticated collection of six stamps commemorating the anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation with stamps dating back to 1959.
History buffs can check out other new Lincoln items including a replica of Abraham Lincoln’s 1865 death mask created by Houston artist S.J. Stout and “The Faces of Abe,” a chronological portrait history of Lincoln featuring 20 images which illustrate the drastic transformation in Lincoln’s appearance over a nearly 20 year period, particularly during his four years as president, showing the toll his role as our nation’s leader took on him. Visitors also have the opportunity to peruse other Lincoln-related items, including a full scale re-creation of President Lincoln lying in repose, an authentic mourning badge worn by a guest at his funeral in 1865, an exact replica of the Derringer pistol used by John Wilkes booth in the president’s assassination, a model train depicting the journey of the Lincoln funeral procession across the county to Springfield, IL for his burial service, and more.
The National Museum of Funeral History houses the country’s largest collection of funeral service artifacts and features renowned exhibits on one of man’s oldest cultural customs. Visitors can discover the mourning rituals of ancient civilizations, see up-close the authentic items used in the funerals of United States presidents and popes and explore the rich heritage of the industry which cares for the dead. For more information, visit www.nmfh.org, like us on Facebook or call 281-876-3063.