Life as an Undertaker
When you think of the word "undertaker," do you think of a sinister and mysterious character from a Charles Dickens story? Do you see a figure wearing a dark hood and lurking in the shadows, waiting to do some dastardly deed? You're probably not alone in making that assumption; after all, when it comes to planning a funeral, the word "undertaker" might not be a term you often encounter. It probably makes you think you're a character in a 19th-century tale! Cake.com explains how the term undertaker first came to be - during the Civil War, undertakers followed armies, and they did NOT have a good reputation. While they referred to themselves as doctors, no formal medical training was required to embalm a body or bury it at that time. In 1917, a small number of American undertakers organized a group called the National Selected Morticians. They undertook a "rebranding," if you will, and changed commonly used terminology to help others see their profe