Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 38, Number 33, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 January 1906 — TOMBSTONE TELLS A STORY. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

TOMBSTONE TELLS A STORY.

Flairs M«*morlnllai-s In Mnrble (he Work of n Lifetime. * In the cemetery at Boylston, Mass., is a tombstone which bears this Inscription, “The emblems on the four corners of the lot represent the dlf-

fervnt kinds of business in which I have been engaged." This memorial was erected by George A. Flagg in honor of himself. lie Is not dead f9t} far from it He is engaged in a prosperous business —chlermaking, with which be combines house building- He Wanted his tombstone to suit him and he had it done during his lifetime so that he could supervise the job. t It is certainly unique. The heavy block of white marble stand# In the middle of the lot, while

at each of the four corners there Is a smaller one of almost the same shape. But In the smaller ones the top is hollowed, and within this hollow on the first stone there Is a marble representation of a pile of cordwood; In the second Is a cow; In the third a cider barrel, and in the fourth a house. It would puzzle a stranger to fathom the meaning of this strange collection. Egyptian hieroglyphics seem, by comparison, as a child’s primer. Yet the mutter Is simple enough; those articles represent in marble the four different ways in which Mr. Flagg has amassed a comfortable fortune. He Is proud of .having been successful, and believes that one of the most vital characteristics of a man is his method of making money. So, briefly, he will Inform the world about himself when he dies. “How did I happen to erect such a monument?” he repeated, in reply to a question put to him. “Well, I’ll tell you. Ever since I was ‘knee high to a grasshopper’ I’ve been going through cemeteries looking at the tombstones. I used to like to read the Inscriptions, and then wonder about the men. On most of them there wasn’t much but ’Here lies Tom Grant,' or ‘Here lies Jim Smith-’ Now, that doesu't tell a "fellow much. What did I know of the man when I got through reading that? I could have hunted up some of their friends and found out, probably, but that isn’t the point Here was I, a stranger, just passing through, aad naturally curious to know something about the fellows who bad done their work nnd retired. “The more I got to thinking about this, the more I made up my mind (hat when It came my turn I wouldn't leave anybody who happened to pass by my tombstone In the same quundary. If I put on just ‘Here lies Georgs A. Flagg’ they wouldn’t know me from John Smith. 8o I said: ‘l’ll tell ’em something about George A. Flagg and how he made his money.' And I’ve done It.

UNIQUE MEMORIAL.