The Story Behind The Etching

In Mom & Dad’s later years, nothing pleased them more than to get in their Ford pickup each evening and slowly drive through the country roads, looking to see how many deer they might spot. Many people along their usual route could just about set their watch when Ed and Beulah drove by.

Wanting to make their memorial monument a little “special,” my sister and I both had been thinking about some type of etching that we could include on the stone – something that would represent a serene life, spent together, enjoying the nature that God has so graciously provided. What better memory than to depict these many enjoyable hours that they spent together.

As we were selecting the monument at J.W. Reynolds Monument Company, we described the scene that we both could see in our mind’s eye. Of course, the pick-up had to be a Ford; and it had to be an extended cab Ford. The Ford emblem on the tailgate would confirm that. And people would also know it was them by the “MAC” license plate on the rear of the pickup. Looking closely, one would see the silhouettes of Mom and Dad in the cab of the truck, as they rode down a little dusty Hardin County country road.

Off to the side of the road, sure enough, would be some of the deer that they would see on their journey. What an enjoyable way to spend an evening together!

That verbal description, given to the sales representative at Reynolds Monuments in Harrisburg, IL, was then repeated verbally by that person to the staff artist at Reynolds in Vienna, Illinois. So, from a second-hand description of what we were seeing in our mind, was born a depiction that we could not have imagined more accurately.

God has truly gifted this artist with an amazing skill. We trust that many future generations will enjoy the handiwork – and perhaps understand “the rest of the story” from this Memorial page.