Mark Maynard | coffins

Talking about Highland Cemetery’s Starkweather Chapel, and the history of Ypsilanti’s death industry

By Mark | December 18, 2019

The Starkweather Chapel in Ypsilanti’s Highland Cemetery, for those of you who may not have noticed, has been undergoing some much needed renovation work this past year. Here, with more on the history of the building, and the preservation work that’s been done thus far, is a conversation I just had with lifelong Ypsilanti resident […]

Posted in History, Ypsilanti | Also tagged 1841, 1883, Ainsworth Mill, animal infestation, Barry LaRue, Battle of Bunker Hill, Beezy's, big death, Bill French, Daniel Quirk, DTE, Ebay, Elijah McCoy, EMU, funerals, George McCoy, grave digging, Greek Revival, Highland Cemetery, Historic District Commission, historic places, historic preservation, Historic Preservation Office, home funerals, Huron River, J.E. Moore’s Furniture Store, Jasper Pennington, John D. Pierce, John Starkweather, Mack & Mack Furniture Store, Mary Ann Starkweather, Mason & Rice, memorial services, Normal College, Old Ypsilanti, oral history, plaster, Playboy, pornography, Prospect Cemetery, Prospect park, public art, public education, renovations, solar power, SPARK East, stained glass, Starkweather Chapel, Starkweather Hall, Starkweather House, State Historic Preservation Office, Stevens T. Mason, the funeral industry, underground railroad, Walter Loomis Newberry, water fountains, winter receiving vault, Ypsi history, Ypsi Solar, Ypsilanti, Ypsilanti Public Library | 6 Comments

The silent rattlesnakes of Truman Capote, and the hoax behind Hand-Carved Coffins

By Mark | April 2, 2019

Late last week, I took a few days off from work and went to Chicago with the family. We visited friends, ate really good brisket, poked our heads into the small and dark apartment of Henry Darger, invested way too much time studying the habits of the longnose walking batfish, and spent Linette’s birthday seeing […]

Posted in Art and Culture, Uncategorized | Also tagged 1975, 1980, Al Dewey, Amphetamine Reptile, amphetamines, Chicago, decapitation, Department of Homeland Security, domestic terrorism, drinking, fiction, folk art, Green Street Meats, Hamilton, Hand-Carved Coffins, Henry Darger, hoaxes, In Cold Blood, Intuit, Jake Pepper, Jean Henry, Johnny Carson, Kansas, Linette Lao, longnose walking batfish, murder, Music for Chameleons, Perry Smith, pumpkins, rattlesnake, Richard "Dick" Hickock, Richard Nixon, Rose Styron, Shedd Aquarium, silent rattlesnakes, snakes, Studio 54, Thanksgiving, The Tonight Show, Truman Capote, vacations, visionary art, white nationalism | 57 Comments

‘Escape from Vermont,’ by Chelsea Lowe

By Mark | September 13, 2011

As you may recall, I got pissed off a few weeks ago at House Majority Leader Eric Cantor for suggesting that funds not be allocated for relief efforts in the wake of Hurricane Irene until such time that federal spending cuts were made elsewhere. I was particularly pissed off because a friend of mine, a […]

Posted in OCD, Other, Uncategorized | Also tagged acts of God, Anni MacKay, Bethel Mountain Road, cell phones, Chelsea Lowe, community, community coming together, Creemees, disaster relief, Edgar Allan Woolf, Eric Cantor, extreme weather, Florence Ryerson, global climate change, Hurricane Irene, hurricanes, Larry Strauss, natural disasters, Noel Langley, Pittsfield, rain, Rochester, Ross Laffan, The Road, Vermont, Waterbury, Wizard of Oz | 8 Comments

Detroit’s Funeral for the Fag

By Mark | April 27, 2010

As you all know, in just a few days, all the bars and restaurants in Michigan (with the exception of those that allow gambling, I believe) will go smoke free. And, it sounds like our friends in the Detroit Party Marching Band are planning to usher in the new prohibition era in style. Here’s the […]

Posted in Ann Arbor, Civil Liberties, Detroit, Health, Ypsilanti | Also tagged 8 Ball, bars, Bronx Bar, Cass Corridor, cigarettes, Detroit, Detroit City Party Marching Band, Detroit Party Marching Band, fags, funeral dirges, funeral for the fag, jazz funeral procession, pallbearers, performance art, PJ's Lager House, Powell's, prohibition, Slow Drag Combo, smoking, smoking ban, the Screaming Eagle | 19 Comments

Tag Archives: coffins

Talking about Highland Cemetery’s Starkweather Chapel, and the history of Ypsilanti’s death industry

The silent rattlesnakes of Truman Capote, and the hoax behind Hand-Carved Coffins

‘Escape from Vermont,’ by Chelsea Lowe

Detroit’s Funeral for the Fag

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