I Don’t Like Scary, Gross, Creepy Places!

I don’t like creepy scary things! Keep Reading! 😃 I kept seeing this place come up when searching what to do in this area (Willis, Texas). Well, why not give it a try!?! The reviews said it is a great place. I don’t like to be frightened and I hoped this wouldn’t be the case. It is about 1/2 hour south of our campground at Lake Conroe RV & Camping Resort, Willis, Texas. The day was dark and cloudy with a little rain. National Museum of Funeral History, Houston, TX. A brick arch said it is a funeral service training center. I guess they need to be trained somewhere, right? The place is huge. Paid $13.00 each to get in to the museum. Some people get all weird about death, funerals, and cemeteries but death is a fact of life.

A beautifully worded sign: “The Funeral”

We saw the original funeral home bill of President Roosevelt – $450.00. Also there was the funeral home arrangement card of President Roosevelt.

A copy of President George Washington’s funeral bill – $11.25. How neat to see a copy of President George Washington’s funeral eulogy, dated 1800.

Fascinating to read the Funeral Arrangements for John Fitzgerald Kennedy – details to each step from the call to receiving to burial. The original President John F Kennedy Eternal Flame from 1967 to 1998 is here. And yes, it is still burning. I read that Jackie was the one who requested the eternal flame to be at his graveside. 

“One of the original Funeral Scheduling Books used by the Reagan staffers and guests for the state funeral of President Ronald W Reagan on June 11, 2004.” It was literally detailed down to 5 minutes from leaving DC to burial in CA. Wow! Funeral bill for President Eisenhower’s was $2681.00. Lots more there about other presidents and original things. I couldn’t believe it; a treasure trove! 

A beautiful tribute to 9/11. The “FDNY’s Emerald Society Pipes & Drums, played at more than 450 funerals in the two years after September 11th attacks”. A large display of real hearses, from horse drawn to motors. Some have been restored and some are as is. It talked about Jazz Funerals in New Orleans. There is a room of displays of a picture, maybe a few trinkets, and description each of famous people who have died. For example: Steve Jobs, Bob Evans, lots of musicians, actors, politicians, etc.

On display is a 1916 Packard Funeral Bus. It held the casket, pallbearers and 20 mourners. In San Fransisco, this vehicle was climbing a hill to a cemetery when the weight of the back section cause the bus to tip back. “Pallbearers tumbled over mourners, and the casket overturned. The embarrassed funeral director removed the bus from service and from its chassis. For the next 40 years a ranch hand called the funeral bus ‘home’”. HA

Floral Ribbon Mourning Quilt – where the ribbons from the flowers would be made into a quilt for loved ones to remember. Neat idea! Learning about embalming wasn’t gross; it was very informative. I didn’t know modern embalming came about from Dr Thomas Holmes who wanted a way to preserve bodies for medical study & research. It was also during the time of the Civil War and was used to preserve bodies for the trip home. There was a large section for Popes. Also there was a display and information about The Shroud of Turin. We learned about Day of the Dead and also Japanese funerals. Japanese go all out and a funeral costs $37,000.00 plus. Fancy/ornate cars are used in the funeral. I could go on and on about this place. It was a real highlight for us. We recommend it highly! We were there for 3.5 hours and the time flew by! After seeing the Mexican display of food set out for Day of the Dead, we were hungry for Mexican food. 😃 We found a nice Mexican restaurant just down the block.

We played mini golf at our campground. It was very humid and one end of a course had water. Kevin hit his ball into it and said “water hazard” of which made me laugh.

Kevin said he wanted to get a pickleball set so we could try it out. We bought a set and went to the pickleball court here at the campground. We are terrible at it but had a blast. We are sure we provided great entertainment to all watching. LOL